News
Laos boosts hydropower, explores coal deposits for shale gas
Laos aims to sharply boost its hydropower generation to 10,000 megawatts by 2020 and is exploring for shale gas as part of plans to export electricity to its neighbours, its vice minister of energy and mines said on 26 October. Laos is among Asia’s poorest countries ...
Cambodian Government acts on employment
Long beset by low-paying jobs and a lack of skilled labour, Cambodia launched its first national policy for employment last week in an attempt to provide better employment opportunities for its people. The 13-page document, which took five years to draft, aims to improve the productivity ...
Rice scare in Poipet reveals plastic pieces
A rice-milling company has admitted to letting pieces of plastic from its machinery make their way into bags of rice after residents and authorities in Banteay Meanchey’s Poipet town raised fears of “plastic rice” upon finding their rice abnormally sticky since the Pchum Ben holiday. Keep ...
Locals told to move from waterfall site
Preah Sihanouk provincial authorities have told residents around the Kbal Chhay waterfalls to leave the area or risk being ejected, amid concern over pollution of the popular tourist attraction. Keep reading ...
Overstayers in Thailand face stiff re-entry bans
The Immigration Bureau has asked Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to exercise his special powers to issue a ban on foreigners found guilty of overstaying in Thailand from re-entering the country for one to 10 years. The move is aimed at cutting the number of illegal migrants ...
China pledges support for next Myanmar government regardless of winner
China will support the new government that emerges from next month’s elections in Myanmar no matter which party wins, senior officials told The Myanmar Times in Beijing. During an interview at a media forum in the Chinese capital last week, Sun Haiyan, director general of the ...
Ex-ruling party chair says USDP unlikely to win November poll
Speaking to reporters on the campaign trail in Pegu Division’s Phyu on 25 October, former ruling party chairman Shwe Mann has admitted the party will likely struggle in the upcoming general election. With 25 percent of seats in Myanmar’s legislature reserved for military appointees, the USDP needs ...
Southeast Asia may see rise in dengue fever cases as strong El Nino unfolds
Higher temperatures in Asia, including those during a strong El Niño cycle, can drive up the incidence of dengue fever, a group of international researchers has found. For the first time, researchers have been able to review the big picture of dengue epidemics on a continental ...
International hackers attack CAT Telecom
The international hacking collective called Anonymous declared cyberwar on the Thai government on 22 October, leaking documents on the single gateway plan and stealing data from CAT Telecom customer accounts. Keep reading ...
Vietnam wants to take it slow with fast 4G wireless service
With a fast-growing mobile market of more than 136 million subscribers, Vietnam is now at the dawn of a new technology upgrade. But how fast should the country switch to hi-speed services remains a question. At a conference in Hanoi on 21 October, Tran Tuan Anh, an ...