News
Mrauk-U conservation seen as reconstructing not preserving
Heritage zones in Myanmar’s Mrauk-U, Rakhine State, are under threat due to renovations that have altered the designs of ancient pagodas, the Mrauk-U Heritage Trust claims. The Department of Archaeology and the National Museum in Sittwe are both operating construction sites. Keep reading ...
Mekong diversion under way in Thailand
The Thai government’s planned diversion of billions of cubic metres of water from the Mekong River, described last week by a Thai Ministry of Water Resources representative as being as far as two years away, has already begun. The pumping, which is pulling water from the ...
John Kerry touches down in Cambodia
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned opposition leaders they will face ruling party rallies at home if he is met with anti-government demonstrations during his high-profile trip to the US next month, a threat that raised the spectre of pro-government protests in October that ...
WWF mapping project shows Mondulkiri forest in danger
A sophisticated new environmental analysis software package has painted a grim picture of Mondulkiri province’s future environmental health. Presented and debated in Phnom Penh on 25 January, the WWF-led project, dubbed InVEST, short for Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs, predicts that by 2030, Mondulkiri, ...
China vows to advance strategic partnership with Laos
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping has expressed his willingness to advance the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Laos, a Chinese envoy said on 26 January. Keep reading ...
Bomb-clearing in Laos may get more U.S. help
Secretary of State John Kerry said on 25 January that the United States is considering increasing financial aid to help Laos clear the countryside of unexploded ordnance left over from the Vietnam War more than four decades ago. Speaking at the end of a one-day stop in ...
US to increase aid to clear unexploded bombs in Laos
Secretary of State John Kerry said on 25 January that the United States is considering increasing financial aid to help Laos clear the countryside of unexploded ordnance left over from the Vietnam War more than four decades ago. Speaking with reporters at the end of a one-day ...
Tariffs on 1,100 items may go
Thailand’s Finance Ministry is seeking cabinet approval to waive import tariffs on more than 1,000 items, says Customs Department director-general Kulit Sombatsiri. If approved, 56 categories of imported goods and a total of 1,100 items will be allowed into the country without tariff, Mr Kulit said. Keep reading ...
Board of Investment to propose privileges for smart farmer scheme
Thailand’s Board of Investment (BoI) is set to propose promotional packages to support “smart farmer” projects at its next board meeting. Secretary-general Hiranya Sujinai said packages should combine both the BoI’s investment privileges and other support such as finance, technical assistance and market access development. Keep reading ...
ADB keen to support megaprojects
The Thai government’s megaproject investment is likely to use domestic lending sources in the initial phase with foreign lenders joining in the later stage, says the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Based on discussions with the Finance Ministry, Yasushi Negishi, the country director for the ADB’s Thailand ...
