News
Hun Sen talks poverty
Prime Minister Hun Sen has outlined Cambodia’s strategy for tackling poverty in a keynote speech to a United Nations forum in Beijing marking the 2015 International Day for Eradication of Poverty. The premier lauded the 1 billion people brought out of poverty worldwide since 1990, noting ...
Chinese arrivals to Cambodia to jump to 2M by 2020
Cambodian tourism authorities are formulating strategies to carve a larger share out of the Chinese outbound tourism market and have set a target of drawing over 700,000 Chinese visitors this year, and up to 2 million a year by 2020. Rising incomes have transformed China into ...
Transport problems slow down resettlement in Chin capital
The state government says it has identified a new site for their damaged homes, but the remote location and lack of roads has so far prevented them from bringing in the necessary building materials. U Tin Maung Soe, a director in the Chin State government, told ...
Cambodia's garment unions weigh protests
Garment workers unions unhappy with next year’s recently announced $140 minimum wage for the sector will meet this week to determine whether or not to hold demonstrations to protest the disappointingly low figure. The unions were pushing for $160 a month when the government announced the ...
Carbon credit schemes, concessions slashed
The Ministry of Environment has cancelled seven carbon credit schemes and reduced the leases of six economic land concessions as part of an ongoing reform effort, according to a 16 October announcement. Keep reading ...
Reconstruction promises exchanged for votes
In landslide-ravaged Chin State, displaced residents say the election has fallen to the bottom of their priority list, causing some parties to fear opportunist electioneering may be in the works. “I have to vote for whoever will give me a house to live in,” said Pu Lung ...
Mandalay farmers battle municipal committee
Angry farmers in Mandalay have hit back at local officials by launching a court action against those they say destroyed huts and signboards on their land. A private company, Phwit Phyo Thit, has signed an agreement with Mandalay City Development Committee to build a golf resort ...
In Laos, an invisible minority is finding its voice
If there is one word to describe the LGBT community in Laos, the landlocked nation sandwiched between Thailand and Vietnam, it might just be “invisible.” This is the ninth part of a 10-part series on LGBT rights in Southeast Asia, which uncovers the challenges facing the LGBT ...
Laos to adopt public-private partnership in poverty reduction
Officials from the Laos government and autonomous organizations have pledged to involve the private sector in poverty reduction programs to ensure its effectiveness and efficiency. The officials were speaking at the 4th ASEAN Forum on Rural Development and Poverty Reduction, which began on 15 October in ...
NGOs push for postponement of Don Sahong dam on Mekong
The lower three Mekong Countries, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam as well as environmental groups, have expressed concern about the Don Sahong dam’s impact on the environment, movement of fish and water quality and flow. The project has yet to be approved by the Mekong River Commission, ...