By Chris Brummitt The Associated Press HAIPHONG, Vietnam (AP) — A court sentenced a family of four Vietnamese fish farmers to between two and five years in prison on Friday, April 5 after finding them guilty of attempted murder for fighting back with homemade guns and land mines against a state eviction squad.
Laotians top growers of marijuana on Calif. farms
By Gosia Wozniacka The Associated Press FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Last fall, narcotics agents confiscated thousands of marijuana plants, many 10 feet tall, from a 140-acre farm just on the edge of Fresno — one of the biggest pot busts in the county’s history. The pot grew hidden among rows of rotting peppers, tomatoes, and […]
Loans cleared to jumpstart Myanmar investment
By Staff The Associated Press YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — The World Bank on Sunday, Jan. 27 announced a long-awaited deal to allow Myanmar to clear part of its huge decades-old foreign debt, opening the door for new much-needed lending to jump-start its lagging economy.
South East Asia and Japan get closer over China concerns
By Tran Van Minh The Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Japan’s prime minister promised closer security and economic ties with Vietnam on Wednesday, bolstering an alliance that shares concerns over rising Chinese territorial assertiveness in regional waters.
Vietnam prime minister admits mismanaging economy
By Chris Brummitt THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Hanoi, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam’s embattled prime minister acknowledged Monday, Oct. 23, that he had mismanaged the country’s slumping economy, and he pledged to push forward with difficult reforms of bloated state-owned enterprises.
Asia’s major military powers double defense spending
By Matthew Pennington THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — Asia’s top powers have doubled defense spending in the past decade, spurred by the explosion in military expenditure by China, new research shows.
COMMENTARY: Two elephants and a mouse, a piece about outsourcing
By Jack Towe For Northwest Asian Weekly We have two elephants in our national living room, and we’d better deal with them before they crush us. First elephant: Why do our major corporations outsource work to other countries? Cheap labor, of course. That was the initial reasons for shipping production work abroad. However, there’s also a byproduct […]
Obama, Clinton gamble on Myanmar
By Matthew Lee The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is taking a foreign policy gamble by sending Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on a historic trip to the isolated Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar this week. The administration is betting that the first visit to the country, also known as Burma, […]
Malaysia–Cambodian maids speak of abuse
In the six weeks that she worked as a maid for a Malaysian family, she says she lost 22 pounds (10 kilograms), while toiling 20 hours a day with little to eat. Often, she was slapped and punched by her employer, she says …
Malaysia, Australia sign refugee exchange pact
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia and Australia sealed a pact Monday, July 25, to swap refugees in a contentious new strategy aimed at deterring asylum seekers from undertaking perilous boat journeys to Australia. The deal will see Australia send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia over the next four years in exchange for Australia resettling […]