News

Viet Nam's Economy to Remain One of the Fastest Growing in Asia Despite Sharp Slowdown Due to COVID-19

Viet Nam’s economic growth rate is expected to slow sharply in 2020, to 4.8%, from the initial supply shock to economic activity from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the subsequent and ongoing drop in demand from Viet Nam’s principal trade and investment ...

Cambodia's Economic Growth to Slow in 2020, Rebound Expected in 2021 — ADB

After two decades of strong performance, Cambodia’s economic growth is expected to drop to 2.3% in 2020. This is due to the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the resulting economic slowdown in the major advanced economies and the People’s Republic of China, and the country’s ...

World Bank approves $20 million to assist Cambodia fight COVID-19 pandemic

The World Bank has approved a $20 million line of credit from the International Development Association (IDA) to assist Cambodia’s COVID-19 emergency response. This is part of the banks first emergency support package dedicated to fast-track COVID-19 aid. The World Bank said, the funds will help ...

Sok Chan

Five provinces receive funds to fight saltwater intrusion

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has allocated 800 million VND (nearly 34,000 USD) to five provinces which have declared an emergency due to saltwater intrusion. The money comes from the ministry’s Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund. The provinces are Long An, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Kien Giang and Ca ...

Governors told to look at public land seizures

The Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers, Hing Thorasky, has issued a report ordering ministers and three provincial governors to check for irregularities among lower-level officers who have illegally seized public land. These irregularities occurred in Battambang, Pailin and ...

Long Kimmarita

Rights Group: Myanmar's camps face 'catastrophe' from virus

Hundreds of thousands of people displaced by conflict in Myanmar face a health “catastrophe” from the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, a rights group warned, as international calls grow for an end to fighting. Overcrowded camps with an estimated 350,000 people were “Covid-19 tinderboxes”, Human Rights Watch said. Myanmar ...

Vietnam growth among Asia’s highest despite Covid-19 slump: ADB

The Covid-19 pandemic could see Vietnam’s growth slow down to 4.8 percent this year, but it will remain among Asia’s fastest growing economies. The 4.8 percent GDP growth forecast, compared to over 7 percent in the last two years, is estimated on the basis of a ...

Dat Nguyen

Lao Villagers Lose Farmland to Chinese Banana Grower

Villagers in Laos say a Chinese-owned banana plantation in has unfairly acquired the land of 46 families in the northern part of the country, many of whom were coerced by authorities into selling for a miniscule compensation package The 46 families sold 60 hectares (148 acres) ...

RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

COVID-19 and Cambodia’s human rights concerns

In late January, Cambodia’s Prime Minister, Hun Sen, made a televised statement about the spread of misinformation regarding the COVID-19 virus outbreak originating from Wuhan, China. He also threatened to “kick out” reporters or officials seen wearing a face mask. He said that the real illness ...

Jillian Louis

The coronavirus pandemic is an opportunity for organized crime in Asia

To say the global novel coronavirus pandemic is causing chaos and affecting lives in real and tangible ways is certainly no understatement. But one impact that has not received significant attention is how its spread is hurting the efforts of governments to combat transnational organized crime ...

Jeremy Douglas

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