News
Series of small quakes near Yangon under watch
Seismologists are keeping a close eye on a series of small earthquakes shaking Yangon, with the Myanmar Earthquake Committee suspecting they are aftershocks of a larger jolt that occurred on the evening of 12 January, blacking out wide areas of the city. That quake, widely felt ...
No bounce in Luang Namtha rubber price
The rubber price in Luang Namtha province has fallen continually since 2013 causing a large number of growers to plant other crops instead. The rubber price in the province is currently 3,000-3,500 kip per kilogramme, down from 4,000-4,500 kip per kg over the past year, an ...
Japan provides grant for bridge reconstruction
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has provided a grant of over 4.6 billion kip (70 million Japanese yen) for the detailed design component of the reconstruction of two bridges on National Road No. 9. The project will be carried out under a cooperation agreement between JICA ...
Dongmakkhai water treatment set to come on line
More Vientiane households in six districts of the capital will be able to make use of mains water supply early this year after the Dongmakkhai water treatment plant in Xaythany district was completed recently. The plant will go a considerable way to solving the water supply ...
Trash pact in crosshairs
City Hall has warned Phnom Penh’s sole waste management firm that it has just one more opportunity to lift its game before its oft-criticised contract comes under threat. Following a meeting on 12 January between Cintri and local authorities to review the firm’s performance, Ieng Aunny, deputy ...
National Road 4 toll fees nixed
Prime Minister Hun Sen on 13 January abruptly scrapped toll fees for National Road 4, ending a controversial 15-year contract with the politically connected business AZ Distribution Co. As of 12am today, drivers of cars, trucks and buses no longer need to pay at any of the ...
Donors slash funding for MRC
As disputes multiply over the use of the Mekong, including over planned upriver dams in Laos contested by Cambodia and Vietnam, and a newly unveiled Thai plan to divert water to its drought-ravaged farms, the body tasked with mediating among the four nations is losing ...
Hundreds pray for release of unionists
Hundreds of workers from the Agile Sweater factory in Kampong Speu province gathered in front of the provincial court on 13 January, praying for authorities to release five unionists arrested at the factory on 12 January. The workers lit incense sticks as they massed in prayer, ...
Labour agencies mull boycott of Malaysia
A tenfold increase in visa fees has prompted employment agencies to consider boycotting Malaysia, long a favoured destination of Myanmar migrant workers. The threat, which could be backed up by demonstrations, followed an announcement by the Malaysian embassy to raise visa application costs from US$6 ...
Canal repair reduces Yangon water supply
Householders in 19 Yangon city townships are being urged to store water as repair work proceeds on the canal that supplies much of the city’s water. The city’s Irrigation Department will be working on the canal between the Ngamoeyeik dam and the city’s Nyaunghnapin pumping station ...
