People and government
Orange Line plans hit giant bump
The Transport Ministry is planning to review the western section of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority’s (MRTA) Orange Line — from the Thailand Cultural Centre to Taling Chan — after residents refused to relocate. News of the review comes a day after the cabinet approved the construction ...
Supplementary budget approved without opposition
For all the storm and fury directed at it, MPs on 9 December passed unopposed a supplementary budget request that amounted to 11.95 percent of the existing budget for the current financial year. Not a single program or a single kyat was cut. Finance Minister U Win ...
New idea floated to allow NLD leader to assume presidency
A new idea has been presented that would allow Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to get around a constitutional provision that bars her from the presidency. The proposal appears to be gaining ground and has now received the backing of a former senior military officer serving ...
Dirty greens: Why some southern farmers refuse to eat the water spinach they grow
A man takes a big bowl of waste vehicle oil from a bucket and splash the thick black liquid directly onto his water spinach field. Some of his farming neighbors in Thuong Xuan Ward in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City are showed doing the same in a ...
Laos National Assembly approves second amendment to constitution
National Assembly (NA) members on 8 December approved a second amendment to the constitution in response to changing needs in the current era of development. The constitution serves as the foundation for the enactment of the country’s laws and the changes aim to better manage state and ...
Child abuse costs Cambodia: study
Violence against children cost Cambodia approximately $168 million in 2013, or just over 1 per cent of GDP, according to a new report from the government and UNICEF that explores the economic impacts of physical abuse. Titled The economic burden of health consequences of violence against ...
Thai Government to mull power offer from Laos
Thailand will consider a proposal to increase the memorandum of understanding on the purchase of electricity from Laos from 7,000 megawatts to 10,000MW after committing to buy 3,316MW this year, Energy Minister General Anantaporn Kanjanarat said on 9 December. He was speaking after a ceremony to ...
Cambodia to stay young as region ages: report
Ageing populations will hit Asia hard, but younger, poorer countries like Cambodia will buck the trend for several decades, the World Bank found in a massive demographic study released on 9 December. While working-age populations will shrink 10 per cent in countries like China, Thailand and ...
Report slams dam payouts
Households displaced by the massive Lower Sesan II hydropower dam project in Stung Treng province are being under-compensated by as much as $80,000, according to a new study. The research, published by the Rivers Coalition of Cambodia and led by political aspirant Kem Ley, found that ...
Blacklist awaits foreigners overstaying visas in Thailand
The Immigration Bureau plans to fine and blacklist foreigners who overstay their visas from March or April next year. Bureau chief Pol Lt Gen Nathathorn Prausoontorn said on 9 December that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had approved the bureau’s proposal on Nov 27 to fine and ban ...
