News
VFF leader discusses religious issues with US guest
Freedom of religion and the building of a law on belief and religion in Vietnam were discussed during a meeting between Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Le Ba Trinh and visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Tom ...
Hluttaw eyes fixing repressive laws
Parliament is taking steps to slash one repressive law used to crack down on activists and will debate heavily revising another later this week. The junta-era, 1975 State Protection Act was revoked by the Pyithu Hluttaw on 9 May after the conclusion that the law was explicitly ...
Auctions of illegal timber to resume, officials say
Top officials on 9 May said the government would be auctioning off some of the 70,000 cubic meters of wood authorities have seized in recent months, backtracking on a recent pledge Hun Sen made to stop the sales. In a surprise move at the Education Ministry’s annual ...
Majority in NE understand ‘less than 20%’ of draft charter
Most residents of the Northeast understand only a small part of the draft constitution, a public opinion poll found. As many as 54.3 per cent of respondents said they understood less than 20 per cent of the draft’s content, according to survey results released on 9 May by ...
Firms have to set up business in Singapore to export Vietnamese rice
A lot of companies have had to give up exporting rice because they cannot satisfy the requirements set by Decree 109. In order to be eligible, export companies must have storehouses that can contain 5,000 tons of rice, and a husking workshop with minimum capacity of ...
New support to protect Lao wetlands from climate change
The Global Environment Facility has pledged US$4.7 million to protect Lao wetlands from climate change. Laos has defined two wetland areas under the Ramsar Convention on ‘Wetlands of International Importance’ which covers all aspects of wetland conservation and wise use. These wetland areas are Xe Champone in ...
Public figures ‘must tolerate criticism’
Academics and activists on 8 May called for the government and its leaders to tolerate criticism as its reaction to being mocked could violate people’s freedom of expression. Public figures must be able to take criticism otherwise they should stay at home and raise grandchildren, said ...
Govt urged to promote at least three $1-billion tech start-ups in five years
Thailand should nurture at least three technology business start-ups worth US$1 billion each within the next five years, according to an industry white paper. Citing the white paper submitted to the government, Patai Padungtin, president of Thailand Start-up Association, said the country needed to quickly develop the ...
HCM City needs over $22m to control air pollution
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment has built a project on an air quality observation center in the phase 2016-2020, which will need a total fund of VND495 billion (U$22.18 million) to build 27 automatic and 200 semiautomatic observation stations.Keep ...
PM calls for expedited action over rice losses
“The prime minister would like to tell all bureaucrats that this was an expensive lesson. They should bear in mind that they have to adhere to righteousness, integrity and the law,” the spokesman said. “Bureaucrats should not allow themselves to become a tool of politicians.” This ...
