News
Last body recovered from mine collapse in northern Vietnam

Rescuers early on 23 November recovered the body of Bui Van Quy, 23, the last of the three dead victims in a coal mine collapse in the northern province of Hoa Binh last week. His body was found behind a large rock at about 2:30 a.m., nearly 700 meters ...
370 foreign companies approved under Thailand's Foreign Business Act in first 11 months
Thailand’s Business Development Department approved the operations of 370 foreign companies under the Foreign Business Act during the first 11 months of the year. Keep reading ...
Thai TPP opponents voice major concerns

Consumer and farmer advocacy groups have urged the government not to enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, saying Thailand is unprepared to handle the negative impact. Nusaraporn Kessomboon, a lecturer in Khon Kaen University’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, raised concerns that the TPP would obstruct Thai people’s ...
Lecturers tell NCPO: Stop threats to academics and students
A group of lecturers on 23 November called on the junta to stop threatening academics and students expressing political views. The group, gathered under the network of lecturers concerned for detained students, submitted a letter to chief of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Prayut ...
Medics need to address malnutrition in Laos
Government leaders at all levels have been urged to prioritise the implementation of effective measures to solve malnutrition in Laos, according to a leading official. Speaking at the 3rd National Nutrition Committee Meeting and the 1st Nutrition Forum, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and ...
Myanmar landslide: 'Many missing' at Kachin jade mine

Many people are still missing after a massive landslide at a jade mine in Myanmar’s northern Kachin state. At least 104 bodies have now been recovered, with some estimates saying more than 100 people are still missing. The incident happened in Hpakant on 21 November when a huge ...
Malaysia hands over ASEAN chair to Laos
Malaysia has handed over the chairmanship of ASEAN to Laos, having fulfilled its eight priorities as ASEAN chair for this year. On 22 November, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak handed over a gavel to Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong – ...
US president notes election success at ASEAN Summit
The weekend’s ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur put US President Barack Obama and President U Thein Sein together for the first time since the election. While peddling his Asian pivot trade deal at the meeting, Mr Obama took a softer diplomatic tone than usual, lauding the ...
Government spokesman rejects calls for Rohingya citizenship

A spokesperson for President Thein Sein took to social media on 21 November to reject recommendations that Rohingya Muslims be granted a path to citizenship. The minister’s comments were made in the wake of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review, a comprehensive human rights examination comprising recommendations from ...
Election offers glimmer of hope for Kayan

Among its many victories in the 8 November election, the National League for Democracy won the seat of the minister for ethnic Kayan people in Shan State. The incoming minister, U Khun Aye Maung, says now things are going to change. Known to the world’s tourists ...