People and government

Vietnam has a Thai man and 17 others after a blitz on drug crime uncovered major stashes of heroin, cannabis and precursor chemicals, state media have said. Six Vietnamese were arrested in Hanoi after being caught with some 120 kilogrammes of heroin hidden inside household gas ...

To welcome the launch of the Asean Economic Community and help Greater Mekong Subregion countries cope with e-commerce, an international conference was held recently to bring specialists and officials together to swap ideas and experiences. The 8 July event, titled “Mekong Forum 2015 – Modernising the ...

 A new report from Thailand’s government says that Bangkok, its capital city and home to some 14 million people, could be underwater in the next 15 years thanks to a combination of sinking land and rising global sea levels.         The conclusion comes from Thailand’s National Reform ...

With tourism on the rise in Myanmar, the sector must better prepare for an influx of orphanage and child-sex tourism – problems that are already prevalent in the more travel-worn neighbouring countries, a report by three NGOs has warned. The tourism impact assessment was conducted by ...

Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Sunday that the imprisonment of 11 CNRP activists for “insurrection” last week was a message from Prime Minister Hun Sen that the party must end its campaign to highlight encroachments along the Vietnamese border. Mr. Rainsy’s comments came after the ...

Cambodian authorities arrested six demonstrators 26 July as they protested against the recent passing of a controversial law regulating non-governmental organisations, officials and a rights group said. The six demonstrators — five men and a woman — were among dozens who rallied outside of the parliament building ...

Vietnam has found an effective way to crack down on tax laggards as it struggles to fund infrastructure projects and curb rising debt: make the names of the offending businesses public to shame them into paying up. The Ministry of Finance published a first-ever list of ...

Nationwide ceasefire talks billed as a last chance to forge a deal before the start of election campaigning look set to continue as both sides of Myanmar’s long-running conflicts haggle over details of the text and who will sign it. U Hla Maung Shwe, a senior ...

Beijing hit out at long jail sentences handed to more than 150 Chinese nationals for illegal logging in Myanmar, in the latest tremor to shake relations between the neighbours. The mass sentencing, which has sparked outraged editorials in Chinese state-run media, comes after the loggers were ...

The latest round of peace talks between Myanmar’s government and armed ethnic groups ended 24 July without finalizing a nationwide peace accord, due to disagreement over the exclusion of six rebel groups and ethnic-proposed amendments, negotiators said. The Union Peace Working Committee, the government’s negotiating team, failed ...