News
Gov’t halts building of Koh Rong island port

“The company has the legal right to invest in Koh Rong from the state, but on June 7, the provincial working group had to stop the construction of the port of tycoon Kith Meng’s Royal Group because it was illegal,” said Sihanoukville City Governor Y Sokleng, ...
Vietnam may have new agency to manage state enterprises

The Vietnamese government is considering setting up a new agency to manage state-owned enterprises more effectively, but some economists have questioned the necessity of such a plan. Economist Ngo Tri Long urged the government to consider the plan thoroughly, arguing that a new agency means more resources ...
Ministry promotes more water efficient crops

Taking precautions against drought, the Ministry of Agriculture is encouraging farmers to stop growing summer paddy in areas where water is scarce, according to deputy minister U Tun Win. Though the previous government wanted farmers to prioritise growing paddy, with water reservoirs near empty in several ...
DSI pledges to push trafficking cases

With more than 1,000 human-trafficking cases pending in the courts including a large number of Myanmar victims, Thailand has promised to speed up the legal process, the Department of Special Investigation deputy chief Pol Colonel Songsak Raksaksakul said on 14 June. Songsak met on 14 June with ...
Gold miner Besra Vietnam suffers massive losses

Canadian Besra Inc.’s Besra Vietnam, the operator of two gold mines in the central province of Quang Nam, namely Phuoc Son Gold Company Ltd. and Bong Mieu Gold Mining Company Ltd., has suffered a loss of over VND1 trillion ($44.7 million) with a short-term debt ...
Montagnards wary as deportation rumours circulate

On 14 June, at about 11:30am, several officers from the refugee department visited Phnom Penh’s Por Sen Chey district to photograph and take names of some of those residing at a guesthouse where about 100 Montagnards have been staying with support from the UN refugee ...
Laos, China to ink further tourism cooperation initiatives

The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism of Laos and China’s National Tourism Administration will sign a memorandum of understanding on ‘Development of Quality Standards for Tourist Attractions’ in the near future to boost bilateral tourism cooperation between the two countries. These fairs offer many countries ...
PM directs crackdown on illegal logging in Khammuan
Prime Minister ThonglounSisoulith travelled to Khammuan province on 13 June to direct local authorities to strengthen their efforts to clamp down on illegal logging and better protect forests for future generations. His visit to the province took place following an incident involving an exploding bus in ...
No authority to prevent new Mekong River projects: MRC

The Mekong River Commission does not have the authority to stop projects even if they have trans-boundary effects, delegates to the fourth Green Mekong Forum said on 13 June, while the Thai Irrigation Department presented a water diversion project to fight poverty. If the MRC member states – ...
Rangoon division parliament demands crackdown on drugs

On 14 June, more than a dozen National League for Democracy lawmakers in the Rangoon Division parliament demanded that authorities crack down on big-time drug dealers and smugglers in the city, who keep evading arrest, citing the worsening effect of drugs on Rangoon’s youth. “One of ...