News
Prison outreach day ‘stymied’
A prominent local rights group has been forced to abandon its annual International Human Rights Day (IHRD) events in Cambodia’s prisons for the first time in 20 years because of “prohibitive” conditions imposed by the government, it said on 6 December. In a statement, Licadho said ...
Suu Kyi, Than Shwe discuss Myanmar's future
Myanmar election winner Aung San Suu Kyi and long-time former military junta leader Than Shwe met for more than two hours and discussed the country’s future, sources said on 6 December. The 4 December meeting at military headquarters in the political capital Nay Pyi Taw was facilitated ...
Ho Chi Minh City passengers, drivers are getting off the buses
Buses, essentially the only public transport available in Ho Chi Minh City, are turning both passengers and drivers away due to a lack of investment, officials said at a conference on 4 December. The city’s transport department estimated that the system will have seen nearly 324 million ...
Vietnam's biggest airport to stop receiving new flights during rush hours
As overcrowding is getting more serious at Vietnam’s largest airport Tan Son Nhat, local aviation authority is now looking to stop receiving new flights during rush hours, a local official said on 5 December. Dang Tuan Tu, director of the Ho Chi Minh City-based airport, was ...
Dams slash Mekong fish stocks
More than 70 Vietnamese and international scientists and other experts and officials from ministries and international organisations discussed ongoing research into the impact of dams on the mainstream of the Mekong River at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on 4 December. At the conference ...
Yuan's effect on Vietnam economy uncertain
With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) including China’s yuan in its elite reserve currency basket, impacts from the step on Vietnam’s economy will depend on its preparation, according to experts. The IMF’s decision will impact global finance and Vietnam is not an exception, especially when the ...
Dairy firms protest customs' demand for $43.84 mln in back taxes
Eight dairy producers and importers in Vietnam have sought the government’s help, claiming that they are unfairly asked by customs to pay around VND1 trillion (US$43.84 million) in back taxes. In a letter sent to the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance this week, the ...
Education ministry says Vietnam has too many teachers, institutes
Vietnamese education is facing the pressure of teacher redundancies while more and more pedagogical students have been unemployed after graduation. The situation, according to experts, is due to an improper calculation between supply and demand. Besides, the massive number of teachers training institutes is also contributing ...
EU supports Lao farmers at first Vientiane Expo
The European Union is promoting agricultural products and handicrafts produced by Lao farmers as part of the first Vientiane Expo. The local products consist of consumption products, other agricultural goods as well as handicrafts, especially those produced as part of development projects supported by the EU ...
Huaphan roadwork slowly uncoiling bends
The winding road between Xieng Khuang and Huaphan provinces in the northern part of the country is steadily being straightened and widened, an official confirmed. An official from the Huaphan provincial Public Works and Transport Department Mr Ounchay Sisaengchan, told Vientiane times on 1 December that each ...
