News
Auditor proposes tax exemption review
The State Audit Organisation (SAO) has proposed that the Ministry of Finance’s Department of Customs review tax exemptions and provide detailed accounts of the implemented financial measures. The proposal was included in the audit report, as part of the final implementation report of the 2013-2014 state ...
New maid training DIY
Cambodian recruitment agencies are drawing up more extensive training programs for maids being sent to Malaysia following a lifting of a ban on the practice in December. However, it remains unclear by what standards the programs created by the agencies – many of which have been ...
China protests to Myanmar after landmine injures official
China said on 5 January it had lodged a protest with Myanmar after one of its border officials was blown up by a landmine after going to investigate an earlier explosion close to the frontier with the Kokang region of Shan State. A spokesperson for the Chinese ...
Authorities move to clear squatters from town water supply
Pyin Oo Lwin officials are cracking down on forest dwellers squatting near a road construction site alongside the city’s only water supply. The township’s Department of Environmental Conservation and Forestry blamed the squatters around Lake Thit Ta Pin Taung for causing forest degradation by lighting forest ...
Masked man at Koh Tao rally demands meet with Interpol
A masked vigilante on 5 January stood up in a swell of protesters and said he has evidence that can prove the innocence of two Myanmar men sentenced to death in Thailand. Ko Zaw Lin and Ko Wai Phyo were handed guilty verdicts on 24 December for ...
Putting the brakes on tests
As of 6 January, possessing a licence to drive a motorbike on Cambodia’s roads no longer requires a driving test. Prime Minister Hun Sen on 5 January announced the elimination of the test along with a decision to more than halve the cost of a licence in ...
Businesses want say in union law talks
Employers have requested to meet with a bipartisan committee reviewing the draft trade union law in a bid to air their own concerns about the controversial legislation. So far, the joint committee has only addressed unions’ concerns about the law threatening their freedom to organise – ...
Three holdouts cloud ASEAN's future of open skies
ASEAN’s ambitious open-skies scheme has clearly missed the 2015 year-end deadline, and its full implementation appears elusive. Three members of the 10-nation bloc — Indonesia, the Philippines and Laos– seem reluctant to join the scheme for full liberalisation of Southeast Asia’s aviation sector. Keep reading ...
Downward spiral persists in exports of Lao coffee amid world price slump
The volume of coffee exports from Laos has decreased continually over the past couple of years due to a slump in coffee prices on the world market. Total coffee exports in 2014 reached 26,000 tonnes at an estimated value of US$60 million (Bt16.6 billion), which fell ...
Lao Government officials review drug issues
The Lao National Commission for Drug Control and Supervision is attempting to address drug problems nationwide by working in cooperation with neighbouring countries. The annual meeting of the Lao National Commission for Drug Control and Supervision (LCDC) began on 5 January, to summarise the commision’s work ...
