People and government
At 97, this Vietnamese grandma has mastered the Internet
At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss Le Thi as just another raddled old woman. At 97, she has lost almost all her teeth and a severe hunchback impedes her movement. She spends most of her time lying in bed on her side, slowly chewing ...
Myanmar ethnic groups partially agree on federal state principles
Representatives from the Myanmar government, military and eight armed ethnic groups reached agreements on various matters of contention, including the basic principles for establishing a democratic federal system that would give the groups greater autonomy, at the second meeting of the 21st Century Panglong Peace ...
Japanese life insurers take hit from BOJ's negative rate policy
The Bank of Japan’s negative interest rate policy dealt a blow to Japanese life insurance companies last fiscal year, with premium income shrinking at 11 out of 15 major players. Basic profit — a measure of profitability from core operations — decreased at seven groups for ...
Day care wait lists still growing in much of Japan
Day care waiting lists have declined slightly overall but still grew on the year in 16 of 34 major Japanese municipalities, suggesting that the government remains far from its goal of clearing the chronic backlog. The Nikkei surveyed 20 cities and Tokyo’s 23 wards, with ...
Free speech takes a hit ahead of the Thai vote
An explosion at a military hospital in Bangkok on the third anniversary of the ruling junta underscored Thailand’s delicate political situation ahead of the first full-fledged election in seven years. The kingdom’s two largest political forces have remained deeply split since the coup that brought ...
Booming Southeast Asian vehicle sales drive urban congestion
Vehicle sales in Southeast Asia are set to outpace all other regions of the world during 2017, according to industry research, highlighting surging economic expansion in some parts of the region. But the growing number of new cars and trucks in urban centers is likely ...
Tourism industry wants visa waiver for 5 European countries extended
The HCM City Tourism Association has urged the Government to extend the visa waiver for tourists from five Western European countries — France, Italy, Germany, the UK, and Spain. A visa waiver programme for the five countries ends next month, Nguyễn Thị Khánh, deputy chairwoman ...
HCM City set to clear canals
The HCM City People’s Committee has asked district authorities to work with agencies to crack down on illegal encroachment on rivers, canals and the drainage system in an aim to prevent flooding. Lê Văn Khoa, vice chairman of the People’s Committee, said that illegal encroachment on ...
Reasons revealed for slow power grid expansion
A number of unapproved power grid expansion projects have been suspended stemming from the fact that there has been no progress on the projects, a minister recently told the National Assembly. Minister of Energy and Mines Dr Khammany Inthirath made the comment while responding to ...
Cross-border crimes in cross-hairs as ASEAN enhances cooperation
ASEAN member states and dialogue partners have committed to enhance their cooperation efforts in combating transnational crimes in a bid to maintain the security at and across borders in the ASEAN region. The 17th Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) and its related meetings ...
