People and government

A Tender for private companies to work on a US$2.2 billion upgrade of the railway linking Myanmar’s two largest cities will be called at the end of this year, an official said on 23 May. Work on the Yangon-Mandalay railway, led by the Japan International Cooperation ...

The trade surplus in the first quarter of 2016 alone was five times higher than that of the entire year of 2012. But this could be bad news. In 2012, the country got trade surplus for the first time after 20 consecutive years of witnessing trade ...

The National Election Council’s Office reported more than 65.5 million voters nationwide or 98.77 percent of the electorate went to the polls by 22:20 on May 22 to elect deputies to the 14th National Assembly of Vietnam and all-level People’s Councils for 2016-2021.Keep reading ...

Police oppose measures to relax regulations on migrant workers holding a temporary work permit, saying the move breaches international immigration principles and will adversely affect the country’s migrant labour management. The police Immigration Bureau recently voiced its objection to the measures through deputy national police ...

People smoking tobacco in offices, restaurants and other public spaces will have to indulge their habit in clearly demarcated smoking areas or both the smoker and establishment owner will face fines, Cambodia’s Ministry of Health announced. Following the government’s approval in March of a sub-decree banning ...

Switzerland has agreed to provide a grant of US$16 million, while the World Bank has expressed its intention to offer a low interest loan of US$30 million to fight poverty in Laos. If secured, the funds will be used to finance Phase III of the Poverty ...

Proposals to amend the 2013 anti-corruption law were submitted to parliament on 19 May aimed at cutting the state budget. U Myint Soe of the Pyithu Hluttaw’s Public Affairs Management Committee said the main proposal was to allow for a reduction in the size of the 15-member ...

Malnutrition costs the Cambodian economy an estimated $266 million each year, according to a new report, which urged the government to invest more in tackling the problem. Suboptimal breastfeeding and malnutrition in mothers were also factors, accounting for $36.9 million, which Wieringa said pointed to an ...

The World Wide Fund for Nature reported that suspended sediment load in the Mekong Delta declined from 160 million tons in 1992 to 75 million tons in 2014 due to the construction of hydropower dams and reservoirs on the mainstream and branches of Mekong River. It noted that sand ...

The Preah Vihear Provincial Court on 17 May sentenced four men for burning a contentious fence during a 2014 protest against an economic land concession in Kulen district held by the FP Malaysia (Cambodia) Plantation. Lor Chan, the provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc said,“Even though the ...