News
Asean, Obama to ink cooperation pact
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and US president Barack Obama will jointly endorse guidelines to enhance cooperation in the first stand-alone US-ASEAN Summit at California’s Rancho Mirage next week, says government spokesman Werachon Sukhondhapatipak. The result of the summit will be issued in cooperation ...
Media restrictions remain in place in Magwe
Journalists in Magwe blocked from parliament for the past five years have had their hopes of entering the chamber dashed. The previous hluttaw, dominated by Union Solidarity and Development Party representatives, refused to grant them access. But at the opening of the Magwe Region Hluttaw on ...
Community tourism begins to pay in Magwe
Community-based tourism is finally paying off in rural Magwe Region, says a local NGO official. A four-year project in Myaing township has hosted its first tourists, according to U Aung Min Naing, regional manager of ActionAid Myanmar. ActionAid launched the project in 2012 in the Inn ...
Evicted residents to lobby NLD for resettlement
Residents violently evicted in Mingaladon township last week are to petition the National League for Democracy for a speedy resettlement. They also want an investigation into the violence with which they were driven from their homes. The long-simmering issue of unlawful residents has taken on new ...
Lang Biang reserve a hot spot for biodiversity
The Lang Biang Biosphere Reserve is home to an array of species, making it ideal for research and eco-tourism. It has been seven years since Dr Brandon Buckley from Columbia University in New York cooperated with the Bidoup – Nui Ba National Park in Lam Dong ...
Domestic retailers urged for better links
Vietnamese domestic enterprises in the retail industry should strengthen their connections to take better advantages of resources and increase their competitiveness over foreign investors, Chairman of the Hanoi Supermarket Association Pham Vinh Phu said. According to Phu, Vietnamese retailers are vulnerable to integration because of their ...
Foreign diplomats question Thai draft charter
Foreign diplomats queried the merits of the Thai draft charter on 9 February, raising questions as to how the draft could prevent the country from plunging back into political conflict. The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) and the Foreign Ministry held a briefing on 9 February on the draft constitution ...
Thai shares dip as global recovery stalls
Thai stocks fell briefly below the psychological 1,300 mark on 9 February as intensifying anxiety over the global economy fanned demand for safe-haven assets, with local gold bullion momentarily hitting 20,050 baht per baht-weight. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index started the day on a ...
Thai AirAsia the first LCC to serve Luang Prabang
Laos has finally opened its restricted skies to Thai AirAsia (TAA), which has relentlessly pursued the issue for eight years. The neighbouring state will from 24 March allow the no-frills carrier to operate regular flights from Bangkok to Luang Prabang, with Vientiane a second destination on ...
NLD signals end to squatter crackdowns
The sight of bulldozers smashing shanty towns as police drive out squatters from their flimsy homes could be a thing of the past, as National League for Democracy MPs take the helm in Yangon and Mandalay regions, as well as in Nay Pyi Taw. NLD MP U ...