News
Communities demand regulation as jade mining destroys landscape
Ywel Jer remembers a time when Saijarbon, an ethnic Kachin village perched upon a hilltop in Hpakant Township, was surrounded by mountains. In the past 10 years, however, vast mountain areas around the village here in northern Myanmar’s Kachin State have been turned into rubble by ...
Health Ministry will levy fines for public smoking offenders
People smoking tobacco in offices, restaurants and other public spaces will have to indulge their habit in clearly demarcated smoking areas or both the smoker and establishment owner will face fines, Cambodia’s Ministry of Health announced. Following the government’s approval in March of a sub-decree banning ...
Donors pledge millions to extend fight against poverty
Switzerland has agreed to provide a grant of US$16 million, while the World Bank has expressed its intention to offer a low interest loan of US$30 million to fight poverty in Laos. If secured, the funds will be used to finance Phase III of the Poverty ...
Woodside raises offshore gas estimate
Australian firm Woodside Petroleum believes it has found more gas than previously estimated following two discoveries in Myanmar offshore earlier this year. The company has raised the estimated size of contingent resources in two of its blocks by 83 million barrels of oil equivalent to 4481mmboe, ...
Public had no say in Tak SEZ, NHRC finds
The National Human Rights Commission will report to the government after its investigation on 23 May into alleged human rights violations in the Tak Special Economic Development Zone. Its conclusion was that the main problem in the dispute was the lack of opportunity for public involvement in the ...
Investor excitement builds ahead of MTSH listing
Investor appetite is high for shares in Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings Limited, which will on 20 May become the second company to list on the Yangon Stock Exchange, securities firms say. MTSH, established in 2013 by a nine-shareholder consortium, will list 3.9 million shares at a base ...
Savannakhet folk get lesson in fruitful farming methods
Provincial agriculture officials are helping the people of Nateuy village in KaysonePhomvihane district, Savannakhet province, to improve crop cultivation and livestock production methods. The Savannakhet Agriculture and Forestry Department and village authorities gathered on 18 May to explain the best ways to grow fruit, rice and ...
Myanmar anti-corruption commission may be reduced
Proposals to amend the 2013 anti-corruption law were submitted to parliament on 19 May aimed at cutting the state budget. U Myint Soe of the Pyithu Hluttaw’s Public Affairs Management Committee said the main proposal was to allow for a reduction in the size of the 15-member ...
Amid drought, diarrhea poses severe threat
Teachers at Toul Mead Primary School in Siem Reap province tell students to bring drinking water from home to keep them hydrated in the scorching heat. But water is increasingly hard to come by as the worst drought in decades drags on. There is no free ...
Nutrition shortfalls harming Kingdom's economy, report finds
Malnutrition costs the Cambodian economy an estimated $266 million each year, according to a new report, which urged the government to invest more in tackling the problem. Suboptimal breastfeeding and malnutrition in mothers were also factors, accounting for $36.9 million, which Wieringa said pointed to an ...
