People and government

Ministry representatives from Cambodia and Thailand have held a meeting to solve migration issues between the neighbouring countries amid the pandemic. The meeting was held via a conference call on November 5 between Labour Minister Ith Samheng and Deputy Minister of Labour, Surachai Chaitrakulthong, who was ...

One of two Muslims allowed to run for the governing party in Buddhist-majority Myanmar’s general election on Sunday, Sithu Maung, worries fake news on Facebook could damage his chances. Within a torrent of racist abuse and misinformation posted about him ahead of the polls are false ...

A total of 7,612 cases of dengue fever have been recorded across the country since January, according to the Lao Ministry of Health. Deputy Director-General of the Department of Communicable Diseases Control under Lao Ministry of Health, Phonepaserd Sayamoungkhoun, told a press conference in Lao capital ...

Ahead of elections in Myanmar on 8 November, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has stated his hope that the vote would help advance “inclusive sustainable development” across the country. Calling for a “peaceful orderly and credible” election process in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Guterres also expressed his hope that ...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$484-million (624.52-billion-kyat) loan to construct a new expressway connecting Bago Region and Mon State, which lie along Japan’s planned East-West Economic Corridor, a grand infrastructure scheme for the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). The ADB said the new GMS ...

Vietnam is set to receive tens of millions of dollars to help it keep a promise not to cut down trees, part of a controversial World Bank program that critics say does not produce its intended effect — carbon emission reductions. The Southeast Asian nation has ...

Myanmar is planning to adopt a new community-based containment strategy in an effort to become a coronavirus-free country in a matter of months, said the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Sports. “It is a community-based program designed to restore the current situation of high ...

IFC’s pandemic response is focused on reaching the most vulnerable people in developing countries. Of the US$8 billion in IFC COVID-19 fast-track financing approved by the IFC Board in March 2020, US$4 billion has been committed to date, of which close to half is expected to benefit people ...

Myanmar has been preparing for the return of hundreds of thousands of workers – some 650,000 are in Thailand alone – and one of the key tasks was to set up quarantine facilities for those returning migrants. Sandi Swe, who has been working in a ...

Despite Myanmar’s growing coronavirus caseload and continuing unrest in some areas, early voting began Thursday for the November 8 general election, which involves nearly 100 political parties and contests for the upper and lower houses of the national, state and regional governments. Early voters include citizens ...