News

Four Cambodian domestic workers sent to Malaysia despite an official moratorium on the practice have been repatriated amid claims of unpaid wages and harsh working conditions, though the company that recruited them has insisted that the terms of their employment didn’t technically violate the government ...

A prominent anti-dam activist in Cambodia’s Koh Kong province who has been jailed since October was convicted on 3 March of illegal logging and given a suspended prison sentence, allowing him to walk free but leaving the shadow of a criminal conviction hanging over him. The decision ...

Vietnam has challenges to tackle if it wants to achieve economic targets and deeply integrate into the world’s economy in the context of new trade agreements. Speaking at a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on 3 March, Tran Dinh Thien, director of the Vietnam ...

Ho Chi Minh City on 1 March took the first step to make its public transport system more environmentally friendly by introducing 23 brand new buses that use compressed natural gas (CNG).   Nguyen Van Trieu, chairman of the May 19 Bus Transport Cooperative, said the new buses ...

Brazil will challenge Thailand at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over “subsidies” for sugar producers that it says have dragged down global prices, the Trade Ministry said.  Brazil said the Thai government had given support to cane growers and sugar mills that was inconsistent with international trade ...

Thailand’s Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has adjusted its water distribution plan after the water in 10 main dams across the country receded to critical levels. Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chatchai Sarikulya  said on 2 March the water discharge plan of each dam has been tweaked to cope with ...

The Cambodian government has contracted the private sector to build a third submarine communications cable linking Cambodia to a major international telecommunications artery in a bid to significantly increase internet speed while helping to bring down prices. The Ministry of Post and Telecommunication signed a 25-year ...

A newly formed coalition of rice millers and exporters has raised alarm bells, forecasting the imminent “collapse” of Cambodia’s rice sector within two years and blaming in part “governance failure” by the industry’s apex body. The 18-member group, whose initiative is called the Rice Industry Strategic ...

Business operators at Chaungtha are hoping the reopening of a bridge on the road to Pathein will restore tourism to the beach. U Toe Bridge, near U Toe village, about 5 kilometres east of Chaungtha in Ayeyarwady Region, has been temporarily closed for upgrades since January. ...

United Nations representatives are continuing to pressure Myanmar on the international stage over its treatment of Muslim minorities and internally displaced people. A high-ranking UN official who recently toured IDP camps in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states on 2 March spoke of his “heartbreaking” experiences. John Ging, director ...