People and government
Gov’t warns of lawsuit over new illegal logging report
Environment and agriculture ministry officials 26 August warned the authors of a new report accusing the government of colluding with timber magnate Try Pheap to illegally log the protected forests of northeastern Cambodia that they could be sued unless they made changes to the text. Keep reading ...
Parliament approves more than $300m in soft loans
The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw on 26 August gave the green light to US$305 million in new development loans focused on improving electricity supply, water supply and a major highway. MPs approved a $240 million loan from the Asian Development Bank, $20 million from the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund ...
Fighting erupts between Bangladesh, Arakan Army
A skirmish erupted along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border on 26 August between the Border Guard Bangladesh and the Arakan Army ethnic armed group, resulting in the injury of one Bangladeshi border guard. Keep reading ...
Poverty rate falling as services improve, 2014 survey finds
The poverty rate has reduced dramatically in rural households from 27.1 per cent in 2012 to 13.2 per cent in 2014 while access to public services such as vocational and educational training and health care has improved. This was revealed at a workshop held on 26 ...
New Muslim rebel front calls for revived talks with Thailand
A new umbrella group of Muslim rebels who are waging a bloody insurgency in southern Thailand called on 27 August for a resumption of stalled peace talks but it was unclear whether the Thai military junta would recognise them. Representatives of Mara Pattani, which claims to speak for ...
Foreign arrivals to Vietnam up 12 pct in August
Vietnam is expected to welcome 664, 985 person-times of international visitors in August, up 12 percent compared to July and up 7.5 percent year-on-year, said the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) on 26 August. Keep reading ...
Rohingya IDPs detained in Yangon: Police
Police in Yangon Division’s Hmawbi Township have detained 10 Rohingya Muslims and the driver of the vehicle in which they were found riding, according to local law enforcement. A police officer in Hmawbi Township told The Irrawaddy that local authorities were holding the internal migrants, but he ...
Thailand preparing students for the new business environment
Thailand has been transitioning to a service-based economy, which accounts for just over half of GDP, and universities are being urged to enhance the capacity of new graduates to meet changing market demand. Bangkok University has noted this changing trend and is grooming students to serve ...
Sumprabum IDPs miss out on state government aid
The Kachin State government has ruled out providing aid to most people displaced by fighting in Sumprabum township because they have fled to areas close to Kachin Independence Army-held territory. The state government and Tatmadaw have in recent weeks blocked local aid groups from sending aid to ...
Myanmar tobacco products to display warning pictures
Packaging for cigarettes made in Myanmar will soon bear photos and text cautioning against the deleterious health effects of consuming tobacco products, Health Minister U Than Aung has said. “We have drawn up a notification to include health warnings in pictures and text covering 75 percent ...
