Aid and development
World Food Program extends aid program to end of 2017
The UN World Food Programme will extend its current Myanmar operations into the end of 2017, despite a funding shortfall of US$40 million. The announcement comes as the organisation continues its early recovery missions in areas affected by the monsoon floods in August, as well as internally ...
Critics doubt Thai PM's climate pledge
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on 1 December declared in front of the world community that Thailand would slash greenhouse gases by 20-25 per cent within 15 years, but critics panned the plan, saying it was just for show, as it looked unrealistic. Prayut told the two-week-long United Nations climate-change ...
Thailand 'to reap rewards' from IMF's yuan move
Thailand’s trade and investment will benefit in the long run from inclusion of the yuan in the special drawing rights currency basket of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), says a senior central bank official. Greater use of the Chinese currency would help to slim down foreign ...
UN warns of need to boost immunisation
The United Nations has called for an expansion of immunisation to combat the threat of polio and other preventable diseases, after two cases of a vaccine-derived form of the virus were detected in northern Rakhine State. The World Health Organization and the UN Children’s Fund said ...
Human rights envoy warns of ‘dangerous tipping point’ in Cambodia
The renewed tensions between the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party threaten to push Cambodia towards a “dangerous tipping point” if not resolved, the UN’s human rights envoy has said. Her words came as CNRP president Sam Rainsy, a warrant issued for ...
Japan supports the replacement of bridges on Laos' National Road No.9
The Japanese government has provided a grant for the ‘Project for Reconstruction of the Bridges on National Road No 9 in Laos,’ valued at 70 million Japanese Yen (over 4.6 billion kip). The signing ceremony was held on 24 November at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in ...
More suspected cholera outbreaks reported
Local politicians and relief workers in central Shan State have reported two suspected outbreaks of cholera among villagers displaced by the fighting that is focused on two townships, Kye-thi and Mine Shu/Mong Shu. Shan Youth Group activist Ko Sai Oo said he was trying to ...
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 ...
Sunlabob to implement rooftop solar at World Bank office in Laos
Sunlabob Renewable Energy Ltd., a venture-backed company specializing in renewable energy and clean water products, recently finalized a contract to implement a 40 kWp building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solar system on the roof of the new World Bank office in Vientiane. Keep reading ...
Cambodia at low risk of debt distress: IMF
Cambodia’s external public debt is well within acceptable limits, but remains vulnerable to financial shocks such as export slowdowns or exchange rate fluctuations, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest assessment of the Kingdom’s economy. “Cambodia’s debt distress rating remains low with all debt ...
