News
Ratanakkiri official defends disputed land
A Ministry of Interior immigration official at the centre of a long-running land dispute in a gem mining district of Ratanakkiri spoke out for the first time on 29 October, just days after 200 villagers protested what they termed their illegal eviction. The villagers from Bakeo ...
Difficult rainy season ends
As a fickle rainy season that has seen areas of Cambodia plagued by drought draws to a close, the country’s rice production remains nearly on target, though food insecurity is still a problem for individual communities, according to the World Food Programme. The season’s slow start affected 234,695 ...
Lao forestry officials dismiss WWF report about illegal logging
Lao forestry officials dismissed a recent WWF report which exaggerated the scenario of illegal logging in Laos, a senior official in charge at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has confirmed. Deputy Director General of the Department of Forest Inspection under the Ministry of Agriculture and ...
Lao Ministry to deploy teachers to wipe out illiteracy
The Ministry of Education and Sports is sending over 20 volunteer teachers to educate illiterate rural areas around the country early next year to replicate an earlier successful Saravan province pilot programme. The teachers will come from the Physical Education Teacher Training College, Dongkhamxang Teacher Training ...
Lao Government to negotiate for lower interest-rate rail loan
The Lao Government has entrusted a committee in charge to negotiate with China to lower the interest rate of a loan Laos intends to borrow from China to develop the planned Laos-China rail project. Minister of Public Works and Transport Dr Bounchanh Sinthavong told the recent ...
From bombs to bracelets, this jewelry line is clearing land mines
“After the war, we live afraid of unexploded bombs, and we’re very careful when we go and do anything,” says Somechit Phouangsavat, an artisan from Ban Naphia, also known as War Spoon Village, in Laos. The 32-year-old works alongside 30 other artisans at Article 22, a company ...
Thai deputy transport minister hints at S44 for dual-track projects
Section 44 of the interim charter could be invoked by the prime minister to expedite six double-track rail projects, Deputy Transport Minister Ormsin Chivapruck says. In a radio interview on 29 October, Mr Ormsin said the six projects need a shot in the arm to speed ...
Lat Krabang locals suffer canal stench
Desperate residents along Khlong Prawet Burirom have threatened to take their grievance over a severely polluted canal to the highest levels of government. Suchin Kummanee, head of the Sangkharacha community in Lat Krabang district along Khlong Prawet Burirom said almost 20,000 residents in 20 communities ...
Thai Government to roll out decree in IUU fight
The Thai government will roll out an executive decree and other measures next week to deal with illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Speaking after chairing a meeting 29 October on the problem, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said a committee set up to tackle IUU ...
Side effects: AEC ‘could open drugs floodgates’
Police seized more than 54 kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine in the border province of Stung Treng in June – one of the biggest drug busts in the country’s history. Analysts caution that large drug busts like this will only become more common as Cambodia ...
