News
ASEAN trade beckons strict food safety measures
Rising income levels combined with an increase in cross-border trade in Southeast Asia has meant many countries in the region have had to begin strengthening food safety measures in order to meet growing consumer awareness. Under new food safety laws revised in July, the maximum punishment for food poisoning and ...
New bridge slated for Mandalay-Muse highway
A new concrete bridge will be built on the Mandalay-Muse Highway, the main route for border trade through Shan State to China, according to a statement by the Ministry of Information on August 5. The bridge will incorporate a two-lane highway as well as hard shoulders ...
ASEAN to focus on jobs for addicts
ASEAN will deal with the narcotics problem by focusing more on healthcare and jobs for drug addicts as part of the bloc’s 10-year anti-drug action plan, says Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya. He was speaking on August 24 as he chaired the 37th meeting of ASEAN senior ...
PM tries again on deforestation
In recent months Prime Minister Hun Sen has made an effort to show that the government has a handle on the voracious deforestation that has ravaged the country’s forests over the years. Yet his speeches and decrees have done little to slow down, much less ...
Powerful earthquake hits central Myanmar
A powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit central Myanmar on August 24, the US Geological Survey reported. The quake, which the agency said struck at a depth of 84 kilometres, was felt in Yangon, as well as in the Thai and Bangladesh capitals. Officials from Myanmar’s Relief ...
Battambang rice-farming families fear floods
About 40,000 Battambang rice-farming families already suffering steep losses from a severe drought are at risk of seeing their crops wiped out entirely by devastating floods as late seasonal rains start to kick in. A drought that meteorologists have blamed on the tail-end of an El ...
Mekong Delta needs $4bn for transport infrastructure
The Transport Development and Strategy Institute under the Ministry of Transport has recently proposed mobilizing over $4 billion to develop infrastructure and logistics systems in the Mekong Delta during the 2016-2020 period. The Delta needs $3.2 billion for 39 road transport projects, $806 million for 23 ...
Vietnam seeks deepened ties with Brunei, Singapore
The upcoming State visits to Brunei and Singapore by President Tran Dai Quang aim to realise the foreign policy set forth by the 12th Party Congress and deepen relations with the two ASEAN member countries. Vietnam and Brunei established diplomatic ties on February 29, 1992. Since ...
Existing airports left idle, new airports built
While many airports in the Mekong Delta are still idle, the Ministry of Transport is considering building new ones. MOT is planning to build an airport in the southern province of An Giang with estimated investment capital of VND 3.4 trillion. The domestic airport, designed ...
Policy makers call for recognition of inherited lands
Policy makers have called for recognition of lands which local people have inherited from their parents, despite land titles having not been issued for those lands. They made the calls as policy makers from various organisations shared opinions to improve and finalise the Draft National Land ...
