News
A blockchain boost for the airline industry
Blockchain refers to a shared, public ledger of records or transactions that is open to inspection by every participant while not being subject to any form of central control. It is these very capabilities that align particularly well with the characteristics of the airline industry, according ...
Religious freedom violations in Asia increasing – UN Rapporteur
Religious freedoms in Asia are “eroding”, with an increase in religious fundamentalism across much of the continent, according to UN Religious Freedom rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed. Shaheed spoke during an event, hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Club in Thailand’s capital Bangkok, on the back of the 4th Southeast ...
Mekong countries attend friendship border exchange program in Vietnam
Delegations from all six members of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), including Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam participated in the third friendship border exchange program in Vietnam’s Hanoi capital on Saturday evening. During the exchange program, with the presence of Vietnam’s top legislator ...
Lao government, World Bank assess renewable energy development in southern river basin
The Lao government and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, are conducting a basin-wide Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) of renewable energy development in southern Laos’ Xekong River Basin. According to local online newspaper Vientiane Times on Sunday, it is the ...
Drugs Flooding Over Thailand’s Borders as Safe Mekong Initiative Intensifies
CHIANG RAI – Large quantities of methamphetamine and crystal meth have flooded into Thailand this year as producers have tripled output to keep up with intensified crackdown efforts. The Safe Mekong Coordination Centre in Chiang Mai held meetings over the weekend amongst the six countries in the ...
Dawbon Bridge linking four townships in Yangon opens

The new Dawbon Bridge that links four townships in Yangon – Dawbon, Thaketa, Pazundaung and Mingalar Taung Nyunt – opened on Saturday, which was also Japan-Myanmar Friendship Day. Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein said the opening of the bridge would lead to faster development ...
Myanmar Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo await verdict
Two Reuters journalists who documented a massacre of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar are due to hear whether they will be jailed for violating a state secrets act. Keep reading ...
Mekong countries attend friendship border exchange program in Vietnam
Delegations from all six members of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), including Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam participated in the third friendship border exchange program in Vietnam’s Hanoi capital on Saturday evening. The exchange program is of importance because it has helped regional countries ...
Study shows forest conservation is a powerful tool to improve nutrition in developing nations
A first-of-its-kind global study shows that children in 27 developing countries have better nutrition—when they live near forests. The results turn on its head the common assumption that improving nutrition in poorer countries requires clearing forests for more farmland—and, instead, suggest that forest conservation could be an important ...
Demand for affordable apartments on the rise Read
The affordable apartment segment will be the star of the property market in the coming years, but its supply is increasingly scarce while the demand for this type of apartment remains high, according to an analysis by property services firm CBRE Việt Nam. Keep reading ...