People and government

Hlaing Tharyar residents who were considered unlawful squatters by the former government are appealing to the new administration to end the policy of violent evictions. Union Minister for Commerce U Than Myint said the government has no plan to evict squatters and illegal residents are citizens and ...

Vietnam’s National Assembly on 2 April swore in Tran Dai Quang, Minister of Public Security, as president, who promised to “push forward with comprehensive reforms” in the country. Among the 481 valid votes, 452 – or 91.5 percent of the total 494 members of the unicameral house ...

In its first, tenuous start toward a policy on migrant workers, the National League for Democracy is drawing up a bill to address the millions of citizens outside the country. “We are now making observations for the bill. I think it will take three months to ...

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut said the government had asked all 7,000 sub-districts or tambon across the country to look for new tourism attractions or create activities in their areas in order to draw visitors and use the tourism sector to generate income for their communities in the ...

Sixty two percent of people in Phongsaly province continue to practice open defecation which is higher than the national-level average rate of 40 percent. “Even where you are improving dietary intake and you have more diversified crops, where there is still open defecation, it has ...

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung officially stepped down from the position after concluding two five-year terms in a National Assembly session on 6 April. “Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung has fulfilled all his tasks during his terms,” President Tran Dai Quang said in the session. Keep reading   ...

Vietnam has predicted “very high adverse effects” on the Mekong River environment and economy if 11 proposed dams are built on its lower mainstream. Mekong River Commission said it considers the report an internal document and is not yet releasing it. Vietnam has not released ...

A 30-month study by Vietnamese researchers on the impact of 11 proposed hydroelectric dams in the Lower Mekong Basin has found that the economic damage to Cambodia alone will be worth some $450 million per year. According to the researchers, the Mekong River at Kratie could, ...

Over 1 million temporary passport holders in Thailand will not be allowed to renew their expiring residency documents, issued between 2009 and 2013 as part of a national verification process. Instead, they are being told to forfeit their legal status, and apply for “pink cards” that ...

ADB President Takehiko Nakao on 4 April met Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, Minister of Finance Dr Lien Thikeo and Minister of Planning and Investment Mr Somdy Douangdy, to discuss how the ADB can support the country’s infrastructure, private sector, skills development, and health services to enable ...