News
Documentary raises alarm over Shan region threatened by Salween dam
Activists on September 28 released a 30-minute documentary as part of a campaign against a mega-dam in central Shan State. The documentary, called Drowning a Thousand Islands, includes local people from the remote Kunhing area voicing their concerns that the proposed Mong Ton hydropower project will irrevocably ...
’Quảng Nam should model sustainable development’
The central province of Quảng Nam should become a rapid, sustainable and comprehensive development model, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc told the province’s leaders in a meeting on September 28 in Hà Nội. The PM asked the province to work with neighbouring Đà Nẵng City and Quảng ...
Global land rush enters “more dangerous stage”, says anti-poverty group
International land deals, often for giant agriculture projects, now cover an area the size of Germany and a growing share are getting up and running, fuelling fears that local residents will be displaced, the anti-poverty group Oxfam said on September 26. More than 1,500 large-scale land ...
Thailand drops to 34th in competitiveness
Thailand’s ranking in the Global Competitiveness Index 2016-17 has dipped two places to 34th from last year. The report is an annual assessment of the factors driving productivity and prosperity in 138 countries. The degree to which economies are open to international trade in goods ...
ADB puts Thailand’s GDP growth forecast at 3.2%
The Asian Development Bank has slightly revised up its forecast for Thailand’s 2016 economic growth from 3 per cent to 3.2 per cent, praising the country’s investment in infrastructure. “Government infrastructure investment is a key contributor to growth in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand,” ...
WHO: 90 percent of world's population breathe dirty air
Nine out of 10 people globally live in places with poor air quality, the World Health Organization has said, blaming a worldwide air pollution crisis for being a major factor in millions of deaths per year. In a new report released on September 27, the health agency ...
Vietnam calls for Japan’s investment in agriculture
Vietnam will step up improving the investment climate and hopes to see Japanese firms increase investments in agriculture in the coming time, a Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development official said. General Director of the MARD’s Department of International Cooperation Tran Kim Long delivered the message ...
Hydropower plants or “hydropower bombs”?
The recent incident at Song Bung Hydropower Plant has alerted Vietnam to reconsider the construction of so many hydroelectric plants, which have been compared to “timebombs”. Those who visit the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang cannot miss Ma Pi Leng, one of the four most ...
Flood protection embankment to be built in Hadxaifong
Construction of a 30-km embankment along the Mekong River starting near the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge in Vientiane will soon begin. The flood protection levy will run from the Vientiane-Nong Khai Friendship Bridge downstream through Huaymarkhia village to Dongphoudy and Thamuang villages in Hadxaifong district. The project, known ...
Cabinet mulls ways to boost investment in special economic zones
The government cabinet has been exploring ways to better facilitate and promote investment in Special Economic Zones, after many zones have been set up in the provinces and in Vientiane. The cabinet on September 26 convened an extraordinary meeting and discussed a draft of the Law on ...
