People and government
China is stepping up its global power play
With US president-elect Donald Trump threatening to build a wall on the Mexican border and force Asian allies to increase defence spending, Beijing is busy luring countries across the eastern hemisphere into its orbit. President Xi Jinping, who is consolidating his power at home, is ...
Adolescents with HIV struggle with drug regimens, stigma
Young people with HIV are facing unique challenges, according to a recent report from Doctors Without Borders Myanmar released ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1. Adolescents with HIV aged 10 to 19 are three times more likely to experience failure with first-line anti-retroviral treatment ...
Tea touted as solution to budgetary woes
As the government has found itself without enough cash to complete development projects scheduled in the current fiscal year, one cabinet member has aired an unusual proposal for financing the shortfall: tea money. Speaking in parliament on December 1, the minister for agriculture, livestock and ...
Carrying a stranger’s child through an uncertain time
Ly Raksmey left her home in the heart of the country’s rice bowl in January and headed to a hospital on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. The 34-year-old stayed there several nights, in a facility that was better and cleaner than any hospital she had ...
Some 7.87M registered to vote: NEC
Just under 7.9 million Cambodians enrolled to vote in next year’s commune elections during the registration period that closed on November 30, results released on December 1 show, with the figure well short of the goal of 9.6 million people older than 18. The official figures ...
Boom built on ‘slavery’
The use of debt bondage to trap workers in “modern day slavery” is widespread in many of Cambodia’s brick-making factories, indicates research by rights group Licadho, whose findings suggest the Kingdom’s recent building boom is built on the illegal practice. In a report released on ...
Canal stoppage main cause of flooding in Saigon

The flooding in HCM City is becoming more serious despite money spent on solutions to prevent floods. The filling of canals with rubbish and the illegal building on waterway banks have both slowed canal drainage. A report of the HCMC Anti-flooding Center shows that the number ...
Internet, phone lines down in Muse after bomb blast hits cable

Local internet and phone connections were disrupted in the town of Muse yesterday after an explosion rocked the Swonlon Bridge in Muse township. U Zaw Min, Muse district administrator, said internet connections were severed entirely, while phone calls were not transmitting audio. An acquaintance was able ...
EU ‘Green card’ for Thailand expected over IUU fishing

Thailand will at some point receive a “green card” from the European Union for its efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, once the EU realises the real progress the government is making in this regard, according to Steve Trent, executive director of the Environmental ...
Four-year plan aims to boost tourism

The National Tourism Policy Committee has unveiled a four-year plan to enhance tourism competitiveness and has also approved a special zone focusing on four islands in southern Thailand. Deputy Prime Minister General Tanasak Patimapragorn on November 30 said the committee would organise a series of training programmes ...