News
Experts wary as Kingdom mulls private prison plan
As Cambodia moves towards opening its first privately run prison, international experts have warned the government may have misunderstood the concept and cautioned that privatisation likely isn’t the best way to tackle chronic overcrowding in prisons. Keep reading ...
ADB see China slowdown hitting Thailand through 2017
Softer growth prospects for China and a weak recovery in major industrial economies are expected to suppress economic growth in developing Asia and cut Thailand’s growth by half a percentage point, according to an Asian Development Bank report released March 30. Keep reading ...
Drought in Vietnam will become 'dangerous' in April: forecast
Drought and saltwater intrusion in Vietnam’s southern and central regions will persist through April, according to experts. Nguyen Dang Quang, a drought expert at the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, said at a Monday forum in Hanoi that the intense El Nino phenomenon from last year ...
Four Years Later, Arakan’s State of Emergency Lifted
According to state media, the state of emergency that had been placed on Arakan State in June 2012 following communal riots was lifted on Monday. The emergency was originally declared by the government of Burma’s outgoing President Thein Sein due to escalating violence between Arakanese Buddhists ...
PM asks Korea for $10M more to build road
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday made a public appeal to the South Korean government for an extra $10 million – on top of $52 million already provided – to complete the second phase of a road project. Keep reading ...
Central bank to relax rules, diversify risks
The Thai central bank will relax rules governing investment in products linked to foreign exchanges and transferring money internationally via mobile phones at the end of this month. Keep reading ...
Rosewood haul found in Tbong Khmum tied to local chief
Provincial authorities in Tboung Khmum province on 26 March said they discovered 17 tonnes of illegal rosewood hidden on a commune chief’s family’s land, only to have a mob of armed local residents break into the property that night and steal potential evidence. Keep reading ...
Yangon monitoring meningitis outbreak after 8-year-old’s death
Health officials have placed Yangon Region on high alert as a deadly meningitis outbreak appears to have spread from Mandalay. The Department of Public Health is monitoring all 44 townships following the death on March 18 of an 8-year-old girl in South Dagon township. Meningococcal meningitis ...
Charoen Pokphand group stung by 'bald mountain' accusations
Embattled Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group will launch a social enterprise in Nan province to encourage farmers to grow cash crops other than maize, as a long-term solution to the problems created by deforestation, which has resulted in khao hua lone, or bald mountains. Suphachai Chearavanont, vice-chairman of ...
Koh Kong locals seek land’s return
Representatives of 526 Koh Kong families hopped on their motos on 25 March to deliver petitions to their district town halls calling for the return of land taken from them by a 2006 economic land concession (ELC), as well as compensation for lost crops. In 2006, a ...
