News
Thai PM urged to await verdict before paying constructor of Klong Dan project
A civic group on 3 December petitioned Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to exercise his special power and cancel the Cabinet’s resolution approving the payment of Bt9.6 billion in compensation to the constructor of the corruption-plagued Klong Dan wastewater-treatment project. Keep reading ...
Polish activist not among prisoners to be pardoned in Laos this year
A Polish citizen of Lao heritage jailed in Laos for criticizing the government online will not be among hundreds of prisoners granted pardons by the end of the year because he “does not meet the proper criteria,” according to a public security official. Lao authorities arrested ...
China starts work on Laos railway, eyeing farther horizons
The first Southeast Asian rail project to grow out of China’s transcontinental vision for new economic links got underway on 2 December. The president of Laos, Choummaly Sayasone, dug into a tidy pyramid of white sand at the groundbreaking ceremony in Vientiane for a roughly $6 ...
One thousand prisoners released on Laos' anniversary year
Over 1,000 prisoners were released nationwide this year, according to Laos’ Ministry of Public Security on 2 December. Officials from the Prison and Rehabilitation Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security reported to Vientiane Times that across the country they released about 1,029 prisoners, including 232 ...
Rainsy hit with third court case in three weeks
National Assembly President Heng Samrin has become the latest government official to accuse opposition leader Sam Rainsy of defamation, with a lawyer for the ex-president filing a complaint against Mr. Rainsy over false claims that the 1980s communist regime sentenced King Norodom Sihanouk to death. Mr. ...
Companies begin to feel the heat as import costs climb
Myanmar’s plummeting currency has prompted a vicious circle of rising prices in the import-dependent economy, in which even export-driven companies face rising costs, say businesspeople. New laws and regulations are urgently needed to control the kyat, they said, which has fallen by more than 25 percent ...
President and NLD leader discuss transfer of power
President U Thein Sein and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi met for 45 minutes this morning to discuss the transfer of power following the landslide election victory of her National League for Democracy. U Ye Htut, a spokesperson for the president, said the meeting focused on ...
Scramble behind the scenes as Yangon Stock Exchange nears launch
Just a week before Myanmar’s first modern stock exchange is set to open on 9 December, a much-delayed announcement on the names of securities companies has not yet been made, underwriters have not received licences and domestic IPOs seem a distant dream. Ten companies have been ...
Fire breaks out in Ho Chi Minh City slum
A fire broke out in a slum in Ho Chi Minh City on 1 December afternoon, burning out 13 houses but no injuries were reported. The fire started at around 3:15 p.m. in the neighborhood near a small market in District 1’s Cau Ong Lanh Ward. The ...
11 primate species in Vietnam are critically endangered: study
A new study by global primate experts found Vietnam in a dire situation with an increase in critically endangered species, several of which are endemic to the country. Experts assessed the threat of extinction for 182 kinds of primates in South China, South and Southeast Asia, ...
