New Mandala

In the 1990s, China reportedly established a signals intelligence base on Great Coco Island, though it was never confirmed. And now, Burma’s tourism authorities intend to open the islands up to foreign and domestic tour groups with the first ferry of tourists due to sail on Friday…A return ticket price for the first tour has [...]

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From the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers:
It has come to our attention that their is still continuing debate around the issue of the French Culture Minister,
Frédéric Mitterrand, and his admission that he paid for sex with male sex workers in Thailand. We have seen attacks on him from both the left and the right [...]

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[Simon Creak, a PhD Candidate at The Australian National University, has examined the issues at stake in next month's SEA Games in Laos for Asia Times Online. Supposedly a massive achievement for the small country, the games have been scaled back and are dependent on enormous foreign funding. What to make of the paradox? Read [...]

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Myanmar government figures for the latest financial year have been released and essentially it’s more of the same.
Gas sales to Thailand amounted to about US$2.38 billion, a slight drop on last year’s $2.53 billion, and continued to be by far the largest export earner. However, the volume exported dropped sharply from 516 billion cubic feet [...]

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Remember Visit Myanmar Year? Back in 1996 the regime was touting its country as a new Southeast Asian destination for package tourists and those looking for an exotic alternative to more familiar and popular countries in the region. That year it targeted half-a-million visitors but fell far short at just over 300,000, which by the [...]

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No. 1 on our list, for the second year in a row, is Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej. He is worth $30 billion, $5 billion less than last year, as a result of double-digit declines in real estate and stocks owned via the Crown Property Bureau, the state investment vehicle of which he is a trustee. [...]

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In early April there was a brief period of aggression after a Thai incursion onto Cambodian territory at the Preah Vihear complex. There were conflicting reports as to the number of causalities, but possibly four Thai soldiers were killed and ten were taken hostage. More recently, Phnom Penh is demanding a little over US$ 2 million [...]

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[Click on each image for a larger version.]
1. The Northern Economic Corridor — Laos’ national Route 3, shown here under construction in late 2006, is the final stretch of what is sometimes called the Singapore-to-London Highway. Funded by loans from the Asian Development Bank and the governments of China and Thailand, Route 3 is part [...]

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The reactions of Thailand’s commanding northern neighbour have been heavy on the minds of Western media during the events of recent weeks. As the BBC noted in the aftermath of the protests that postponed the ASEAN Summit:
Mr Abhisit had to make a grovelling phone call to apologise to Premier Wen, who, despite diplomatically saying he [...]

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From the Tourism Authority of Thailand situation update  fact sheet:
The situation in Bangkok has returned to normal. Residents and visitors to Thailand are enjoying the Songkran Thai New Year celebrations throughout the Thai kingdom, including in Bangkok.
From The Nation:
Sondhi Limthongkul is in serious condition after being shot as a bullet hit his left skull. The [...]

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