People and government
Poverty scheme moves to 2nd phase
The Pid Thong Lang Phra (doing good without any intention of getting anything back) royal programme seeks to secure the participation of educational institutions and private companies for its next five-year development plan to help address rural poverty. The project’s secretary-general MR Disnadda Diskul said the 2016-20 programme aims to tackle ...
Myanmar carries out litter collection drive
Myanmar’s National League for Democracy, which scored a stunning victory in November’s general election, carried out a litter collection drive over the weekend. Keep reading ...
Thai PM tells SRT to make mass-transit rail more affordable
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha told the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) on 14 December to make fares on new mass-transit rail lines affordable for the poor. Presiding over the start the test runs for the for the Purple Line between Bang Yai and Tao Poon, Gen Prayut said ...
Family of missing Laos activist Sombath Somphone reveal new evidence three years after disappearance
Fresh footage of an abducted activist’s classic American Jeep could crack open a three-year-old mystery in Laos, campaigners say. On 15 December 2012, Sombath Somphone was driving home when he was pulled over just metres from the Australian Embassy Recreation Club in the capital, Vientiane. Mr Sombath ...
Mixed feelings over COP21 agreement
Cambodia’s delegates are returning with mixed feelings about the agreement to try and save the planet from catastrophic climate change that was adopted on 12 December at the UN Climate Talks in Paris, known as COP21. In an email sent just before the treaty was adopted, government ...
Cambodia ranks low on gender equality
In spite of gains, gender inequality in Cambodia remains significant, particularly in education and political empowerment, according to the World Economic Forum’s recently released 2015 Global Gender Gap Report. While the Kingdom is ranked 109 out of 145 countries in the world, slipping one place compared with ...
Minister encourages food, drink safety following deaths
Minister of Health Mam Bunheng on 13 December asked the public to stop drinking rice wine and eating sick animals after 19 people died and 170 fell ill in Kratie province over the past month. Improperly fermented booze can contain methyl alcohol or methanol, which is harmful ...
Packed cities, empty villages: Vietnam's migration dilemma
When Vu Thi Linh moved her family from their spacious rural home to a tiny rented room in Hanoi, she hoped her children would be able to get the education she never had. The Linhs are among hundreds of thousands of people moving to Vietnam’s bulging ...
South Korean PM leaves for Laos, Mongolia
South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn left for Laos on 13 December to discuss enhancing bilateral ties and South Korea’s possible participation in constructing a power plant in the Southeast Asian country. Hwang’s trip to Laos is on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the re-establishment ...
Police mull defamation suit against asylum-seeking officer
Police on 11 December said they were considering suing a former officer investigating human trafficking for defamation over comments he made implicating senior officials in the trade. Pol Maj Gen Paween Pongsirin arrived in Melbourne a few days ago and told the Australian Broadcasting Corp on 10 ...
