News
Thailand’s low ranking in human trafficking report could hamper trade deal
With the Obama administration pushing to conclude a vast Asian trade pact, the State Department on 27 July upgraded its assessment of Malaysia’s efforts to combat human trafficking, a move that could ease the country’s inclusion in the trade deal. Though the human trafficking report from the State ...
Jailings linked to border campaign, Rainsy says
Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Sunday that the imprisonment of 11 CNRP activists for “insurrection” last week was a message from Prime Minister Hun Sen that the party must end its campaign to highlight encroachments along the Vietnamese border. Mr. Rainsy’s comments came after the ...
World Bank report casts doubt on Vietnam's actual debt burden
Local economists have advised the Vietnamese government to be extremely careful with spending because its public debt has reached a dangerously high level. They raised their concerns after the World Bank reported that Vietnam’s public debt exceeded US$110 billion last year. The figure is higher than ...
Arrests made at Cambodia NGO law protest
Cambodian authorities arrested six demonstrators 26 July as they protested against the recent passing of a controversial law regulating non-governmental organisations, officials and a rights group said. The six demonstrators — five men and a woman — were among dozens who rallied outside of the parliament building ...
Cambodia is prime for first slaughterhouse
Riding the wave of rising demand for beef in Asia, Cambodia’s long-awaited slaughterhouse could not come soon enough, with an emerging middle class in Cambodia also hungry for more premium meat from Down Under. Since 2013, Cambodian company SLN Meat Supply has been building Cambodia’s first ...
Koreans to conduct Laos – Vietnam feasibility study
Korea Rail Network Authority and Seoul University are to conduct a feasibility study for a new rail link between Vientiane and the southern Vietnamese port of Vung Tau. Keep reading ...
Vietnamese think economy not running well, prices still too high: survey
A survey has found that many Vietnamese are not happy with high consumer prices and the widening rich and poor gap in their country. Members from the World Bank and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said at a conference that their new survey found ...
Vietnam’s name-and-shame corporate tax list enjoys success
Vietnam has found an effective way to crack down on tax laggards as it struggles to fund infrastructure projects and curb rising debt: make the names of the offending businesses public to shame them into paying up. The Ministry of Finance published a first-ever list of ...
Thai locals worried about plans to divert water from Mekong
A network of Thais living along the Mekong River have voiced their concern about a plan to divert water from the river to special economic zones. “Careful studies must be conducted before such a plan is implemented,” said network representative Jintana Kaysornsombat, who described the plan as a ...
Thai court holds hope for transboundary justice in the Mekong
The closely watched lawsuit filed by Thai Mekong communities against the Xayaburi Dam’s power purchase agreement (PPA) has reached a critical juncture: the final day that the Administrative Court will accept evidence into the case. It has been just over a year since the Thai Supreme Administrative ...
