News
New rule allows Vietnam coast guards to chase invading boats with weapons
The Vietnamese government has introduced a new rule allowing coast guard forces to use weapons to chase away foreign vessels entering the country’s waters illegally. Keep reading ...
Guarantees for SME lending set to jump
Loan guarantees for small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) are expected to surge 67% to 10 billion baht a month in the wake of the new credit guarantee portfolio scheme by Thailand’s state-owned Credit Guarantee Corporation. Keep reading ...
Thai rice stockpile under scrutiny
Provincial officials have 30 days to complete the inspection of rice stored at 1,800 warehouses nationwide under a deadline set by the National Rice Policy Committee chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Keep reading ...
Farmers banned from planting ask for aid
Rice farmers in Ayutthaya are appealing to the government for social assistance after irrigation authorities requested growers in the Chao Phraya River basin not to plant any new crops because of low water levels in the four main dams. Keep reading ...
Ten reported dead in latest clashes
Renewed fighting in Shan State is reported to have claimed at least 10 lives even as the government and leaders of armed ethnic groups met in Nay Pyi Taw in their latest attempt to hammer out a nationwide ceasefire accord. Representatives of armed ethnic groups warned ...
Almost $20b in dirty money left Myanmar in five decades: Researchers
Almost US$20 billion in dirty money linked to corruption, crime and tax evasion has left Myanmar in the past five decades, slashing government revenue and driving a thriving underground economy, a money-laundering watchdog said on 9 September. Fraudulent invoicing of trade deals and physical smuggling of drugs, ...
Myanmar peace deal tentatively set for October as President, ethnic leaders meet
Talks held between Myanmar’s President Thein Sein and leaders of the country’s armed ethnic groups on 9 September ended with a tentative agreement to sign a nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) next month, according to sources and state media. Hla Maung Shwe, senior advisor of the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace ...
Environment experts discuss dam dangers
Thirty-five experts from environmental organisations in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam gathered on 8 September to discuss water management and the effects of hydropower dams. They participated in a one-day seminar held in Vietnam’s Dong Thap Province in the Mekong Delta and discussed the impacts that dams ...
NGO files suit over ‘seizures’ in Phnom Oral
A Kampong Speu-based NGO has accused a police officer and several rangers working for the provincial Environment Department of seizing more than 100 hectares of Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary, demanding a court order to restore the land and hold the parties to account. Keep reading ...
Mega Mekong travel expo opens 10 September
Vietnam and the Mekong region’s largest travel exhibition – the International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City (ITE HCMC 2015) – will be held from 10 to 12 September at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the People’s Committee of Ho ...
