News
Thai PM launches 'people's state' policy
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has unveiled a new strategy to build “a people’s state” to bring together the state, the people and businesses for the long-term sustainable development of the country. The prime minister said the Pracha Rat (people’s state) strategy aims to strengthen the country’s ...
India, Laos signed two MoUs to strengthen bilateral ties
India and Laos on 18 September 2015 signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to strengthen bilateral ties between the two nations. The MoUs were signed by Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari and President of Lao Choummaly Sayasone in the Presidential Palace Ho Kham, Vientiane. Keep reading ...
Vietnamese environment group voices concerns over Mekong dam
An environmental watchdog based in Vietnam is asking the Laos government to reconsider the construction of a controversial hydropower plant along the Mekong River. The non-governmental organisation Vietnam River Network issued a press release on 18 September stating that the Don Sahong project, the second largest ...
Vietnam prepares for UN climate change talks in Paris
Vietnam is quickly finishing the Intended National Determined Contributions to participate in the 21st Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, set to be held in Paris this December. Countries across the global have committed to create a new international ...
Developers flock to city hotspot as land prices soar
The Ratchathewi-Phetchaburi zone in Bangkok has become a hotspot attracting significant interest from property developers thanks to its potential to become a major urban transit interchange in 2020. Land prices in the area have risen at a pace comparable with the Siam Square area, according to ...
Festive period likely to boost rice prices
Rice prices are forecast to increase by as much as 10% late this year and early next year thanks to year-end festive celebrations and lower supply. Chookiat Ophaswongse, an honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said rice prices were likely to rise by 8-10% ...
Vietnam expels Chinese man for illegal mass earthworm hunting
Quang Tri border guards have deported a Chinese man who had asked locals to help him hunt earthworms using an illegal chemical and promised to buy the crawl for a high price. Gan DeQiang, 40, was also fined VND16 million (US$712) for his violations, according to ...
Laos to receive technical training from Chinese on proposed high-speed railway
Chinese railway experts are providing technical training this month for Lao officials in charge of a U.S. $7 billion high-speed railway project that will link the two neighboring countries and extend to Thailand, although the Chinese government has yet to sign a contract to begin ...
India, Laos agree to allow direct flights
Vice-President Hamid Ansari on 18 September signed two memorandums of understanding with his counterpart in Laos, Bounyang Vorachith in the Presidential Palace Ho Kham. The MoUs cover an air services agreement — allowing airlines to start a direct flight between the two countries — and another agreement ...
Myanmar-China illegal timber trade still thriving: report
Timber extracted from Myanmar’s frontier forests is flowing into China in illegal transactions worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year, according to a report published on 17 September. The research, by the UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and partly financed by the UK, the European ...
