News
Low-cost housing project in Yangon struggles to secure water supply
Supplying water to the estimated 100,000 residents of a new housing development in Yangon could put supplies to the rest of the city at risk, the Myanmar government has warned. Next year, the first 6000 of the 19,600 apartments now being built in the Ayeyarwun and Yadanar ...
Mandalay jade traders say worst year ‘ever’ for sales
Jade traders in Mandalay say this could be the worst year ever for business. The main cause they cite is the absence of Chinese buyers, possibly nervous about the outcome of next month’s election. In interviews on 25 October at the Maha Aung Myay Gem Trading ...
Letpadan students set to expand hunger strikes
Legal proceedings at Tharyarwady District Court against students arrested last March have been at a standstill for the past several weeks, but that did not stop a crowd from appearing there on 27 October. Most had come to show their support for Ko Aung Hmine San, ...
Ratanakkiri minorities say land stolen
Ethnic minorities in Ratanakkiri province have accused local authorities of selling community forest land to a provincial court official and threatening to put them in jail, according to a complaint filed on 27 October. The complaint was filed to the provincial office of rights group Adhoc ...
UK backs STEM push in Cambodia
Young Cambodians will be urged to consider a career in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), through a joint initiative launched on 27 October by the Ministry of Education, the British Embassy and the international employment and training organisation IDP Education. Keep reading ...
Vietnam Rubber Group stripped of accreditation
A giant Vietnamese rubber company that has faced repeated accusations of illegal land and forest grabbing in Cambodia has been stripped of its accreditation as a sustainable forestry product supplier by the world’s leading forest certification body. In a damning report, the Forest Stewardship Council claims ...
Phnom Penh congestion costing ‘$6 million a month’
Phnom Penh authorities on 27 October offered an economic argument for ministries, motorists and citizens to respect traffic laws, claiming that congestion-related costs in the capital were setting the country back about $6 million per month. Speaking at a national seminar, Effects of Traffic Congestion on Environment ...
Yields from fishing take a dive
Exports of fresh fish and fish products fell significantly during the first nine months of the year, raising concerns about businesses and families operating in the Cambodia’s fisheries sector. Fresh and frozen fish export shipments fell 21 per cent during the first nine months of the year ...
World Bank drops post-coup Thailand's business ranking
Post-coup Thailand barely retained its position among the World Bank’s top 50 economies worldwide and has ranked third among ASEAN countries on the ease of doing business during the past year. In its annual Doing Business 2016: Measuring Quality and Efficiency survey, Thailand fell three places from the ...
School curriculum overhaul under way in Myanmar
For the first time in 20 years, education specialists are overhauling the curriculum used in Myanmar’s state schools. The process, which began in 2014, will be completed in stages over the coming years. U Myo Thein Gyi, director general of the Department of Myanmar Education Research Bureau, said ...
