People and government
Myanmar to use US$1 billion loan for infrastructure projects
Economic development, agriculture, electricity, and infrastructure projects will be the focus of a framework for loans between South Korea and Myanmar. On September 3, Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations U Thaung Tun and South Korea’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Ms Kang Kyung-wha signed ...
Thiha Ko Ko
Cambodia Launches Campaign to End Child Labor in Brick Industry
Cambodia has launched a campaign to end child labor in the brick industry by 2020, a move industry observers cautiously welcome while expressing doubts the goal will be achieved, and calling for more structural changes. The industry drew international attention last year when a report, Blood ...
Leonie Kijewski
China’s hegemonic choice in the Mekong region
If you are the world’s second-largest power, what do you dream about? How do you go about making this dream come true? Put bluntly, the Mekong River region represents a crucial testing ground for Beijing’s mid- to long-term ambitions — not acknowledged officially — to become ...
Sebastian Biba
Vietnam to build $1.3 billion expressway in Mekong Delta
A state-owned construction company is planning to build a 155-km (96-mile) expressway through the Mekong Delta using ODA and public funds. The Cuu Long Corporation for Investment Development and Project Management of Infrastructure (Cuu Long CIPM) has worked with authorities in the delta’s Can Tho City ...
Cuu Long
Detained RFA Blogger in Vietnam Has First Meeting With Lawyer
An RFA blogger held in Vietnam on charges of corruption has been allowed to meet with a lawyer for the first time since he was abducted in Thailand earlier this year and forced back to Vietnam, his attorney told RFA on Thursday. Truong Duy Nhat, a ...
Athan: 250 people face charges for social media posts
More than 250 people faced criminal charges for expressing their opinions on social media in the first half of the year, according to a report by local free speech group Athan. The report said 70 cases with 250 respondents were filed over opinions expressed on social media ...
Khin Myat Myat Wai
Laos, S. Korea to strengthen close ties
President Bounnhang Vorachit and his counterpart President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Moon Jae-in met for important talks in Vientiane on Thursday, when they reaffirmed their strong commitment to enhancing the two countries’ relations and expanding cooperation. The meeting of the top Lao and South ...
Myanmar youths to join ASEAN environmental meet
Five Myanmar university students have been chosen to represent the country at a regional youth meeting on the environment, the Environmental Conservation Department said. The Environmental Forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus three (China, Japan, and South Korea) will be held on Thailand’s Phuket ...
Myat Moe Aung
Asia Pacific Climate Week gets underway in Bangkok against backdrop of damaging floods in northern Thailand
The Asia Pacific Climate Week got underway in Bangkok today, aimed at raising global ambition and intended to “grasp the many opportunities of climate action and to stave off the worst impacts of climate change, which are becoming increasingly costly for the region,” a UN press ...
Education in Mekong Delta yearning for heavy investment
All through Vietnam, the society is preparing for the new academic year of 2019-2020. Sadly, despite being a key agricultural region, the Mekong Delta region is short of both infrastructure and human resources to successfully achieve the educational goals for this year. This results from ...