News
'Economy would improve if we can increase women’s incomes': Cheery Zahau
Tuan Cer Sung, better known as Cheery Zahau, is aiming for a Lower House seat in Falam Township, where her parents were born. She is one of five women candidates from the Chin Progressive Party (CPP) to run in the 8 November polls in Myanmar. In an interview with ...
Cambodian unions divided
A secret ballot on 23 September failed to resolve Cambodian garment union splits over what to demand at upcoming minimum wage talks, with at least one independent union rejecting the majority vote of $158 and vowing to put forward $178. The division came a day after Labour ...
H&M workers ‘sold short’
The widespread use of short-term contracts in Cambodia’s garment industry has come under fire in a new report, which looks at ongoing issues with the practice at H&M supplier factories amid pledges of reform. A Short-Term Solution, which was released by Swedish NGO Fair Action, uses ...
Rights group asks for land data sharing
Rights group Licadho has called on the government to make available statistics on the full extent of economic land concessions in response to data collected by the organisation over five years. Keep reading ...
Election takes a back seat as flood-hit Magwe’s farmers struggle to rebuild
For the tens of thousands of farmers in Magwe Region still reeling from last month’s floods, the November election may not register as high-priority. With upwards of 100,000 displaced and having lost their livelihoods, the immediate need to rebuild means the election is the last ...
Myanmar fishermen compensated for years of unpaid work on Thai vessels
After a long fight, a handful of Myanmar fishermen yesterday received compensation for their work on fishing trawlers plying remote Indonesian waters. Out of the 105 fishermen repatriated to Myanmar on 6 September, 65 were sent reimbursements on 22 September, according to the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta. “We are ...
IFC to lead sustainable hydro in Myanmar
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has signed to advise the government on environmental and social risk management for hydropower projects nationwide. This is the first time anything like this will be done in Myanmar. Commentators say they hope it will serve as the basis for transparent ...
Government puts mining licences on hold
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on 22 September told villagers protesting against a planned expansion of gold-mining areas that no new mining permits will be issued during ongoing legal disputes and an assessment period. He was responding to a rally by protesters from 12 provinces who oppose the planned ...
Thai deputy PM takes over reform pick duties
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has assigned his deputy Prawit Wongsuwon to oversee the selection of members for the National Reform Steering Assembly and new constitution drafting committee while he attends the United Nations General Assembly. Speaking after a cabinet meeting on 22 September, Gen Prayut said he ...
Vietnam draft decree on sea freight transparency worries foreign shipping lines
Several foreign logistics companies have expressed concern about a proposed government decree requiring shipping companies to publicize their freight tariffs to protect exporters and importers, the media reported 21 September. Switzerland-based MSC, French-owned CMA-GM, and Singaporean-owned APL-NOL voiced their opinion through London-headquartered law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus ...