People and government
City bomb horror in Bangkok
Central Bangkok descended into chaos on evening of 17 August when a bomb exploded at Ratchaprasong intersection, killing 20 people, including three foreigners, and injuring at least 125. The explosion occurred about 7pm near the Brahmin statue at the Erawan Shrine on the intersection packed with evening rush-hour ...
Poverty reduction for Laos receives boost from further World Bank financing
The Government of Laos and the World Bank on 17 August signed agreements for three projects aiming to improve the efficiency and reliability of electricity, to improve women’s and children’s health and nutrition, and to enable the construction of vital infrastructure including schools, health clinics, roads, ...
Lack of press freedom mars Lao media anniversary
Reporters in Laos must cover the news in greater depth, an official said as the country marked the 65th anniversary of Media and Publication Day, but sources claim journalists are hamstrung by a lack of press freedom in the communist nation, with the public increasingly ...
Mekong Hospital opens in Vientiane
The privately-owned Mekong Hospital in Saphangmuek village, Xaythany district, Vientiane, opened its doors to the public on 15 August. Hospital Director Mr Huangsubin said the Mekong Hospital will not only treat illnesses but will investigate the prevention of disease and carry out research, while also providing ...
Cambodian opposition senator faces up to 17 years in prison for Facebook post
A Cambodian opposition senator could be jailed for 17 years after a court charged him on 16 August over the posting of a disputed document on social media about the border with Vietnam. Senator Hong Sok Hour was arrested on 15 August. Keep reading ...
Study links polluted air in China to 1.6 million deaths a year
Outdoor air pollution contributes to the deaths of an estimated 1.6 million people in China every year, or about 4,400 people a day, according to a newly released scientific paper. The paper maps the geographic sources of China’s toxic air and concludes that much of the smog that ...
Myanmar halts rice exports as floods hit crop
Myanmar halted rice shipments after floods over the past month inundated farmland, raising the specter of supply disruptions in the sixth-biggest exporter. The Myanmar Rice Federation voluntarily suspended exports to prevent an increase in prices after more than 200,000 acres (about 81,000 hectares) of paddy fields ...
Influential leader in Myanmar is removed as head of governing party
The head of Myanmar’s governing party has been removed from his post in what one aide described as a “coup,” the most visible sign yet of splintering within Myanmar’s military elite and the resurgence of conservative forces that dominated under decades of military rule. The removal ...
Opposition senator arrested after Hun Sen’s order
Opposition Senator Hong Sok Hour was arrested at the CNRP’s Phnom Penh headquarters on the morning of 13 August, little more than an hour after Prime Minister Hun Sen delivered a speech ordering police to apprehend him over a Facebook post, his party leader in the ...
Turmoil in Myanmar's military-backed ruling party as leaders are deposed
Myanmar security forces have surrounded the headquarters of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development party in the country’s capital, Naypyidaw, and senior regime figures have been removed from their posts, as tensions mount ahead of elections in November. Sources within the headquarters of the USDP – which ...
