Social development
Rice scare in Poipet reveals plastic pieces
A rice-milling company has admitted to letting pieces of plastic from its machinery make their way into bags of rice after residents and authorities in Banteay Meanchey’s Poipet town raised fears of “plastic rice” upon finding their rice abnormally sticky since the Pchum Ben holiday. Keep ...
Southeast Asia may see rise in dengue fever cases as strong El Nino unfolds
Higher temperatures in Asia, including those during a strong El Niño cycle, can drive up the incidence of dengue fever, a group of international researchers has found. For the first time, researchers have been able to review the big picture of dengue epidemics on a continental ...
Ho Chi Minh City smog to hang for another month
The smog covering Ho Chi Minh City since early this month will continue until at least the end of November when Indonesia is expected to put out its forest fires, an expert has said. After lifting for a while, the thick haze is back over many ...
Cambodia's dengue cases up 300%
The number of dengue fever cases in Cambodia has skyrocketed, with children hit hardest by the killer disease, according to new government figures. Incidences of dengue leapt by more than 300 per cent to 11,828 cases between January and September this year. Keep reading ...
Road safety efforts ‘insufficient’
A new study warns that a UN initiative to cut global road deaths in half by 2020 is on course to fail amid “clearly insufficient” efforts, with middle- and lower-income countries such as Cambodia at the forefront of the battle. Keep reading ...
A dreaded homecoming for Montagnards
With the deadline looming for hundreds of Montagnard asylum seekers in Cambodia to return “voluntarily” to the site of their alleged persecution or be forced back across the border, a group who have spent months living in the shadows this week spoke out about their ...
Food and Drug Administration to test drinking water, cooking oil
The Myanmar Food and Drug Administration is taking action against peddlers of dirty “purified” water and fake peanut oil. Officials said for the safety of the public the FDA will be testing products consumed daily, going ward by ward to take samples. “First, we will take ...
Malnutrition feared in Myanmar's hard-hit flood zones
Widespread malnutrition and food shortages are feared in the aftermath of devastating monsoon floods that wiped out large tracts of the agriculture and livestock industries, according to a new survey report. An assessment team from the United Nations, the World Food Programme and other international aid ...
Deportation delayed for Vietnam asylum seekers
The Cambodian government on 20 October announced that it has extended deadlines for all Montagnard refugees and unregistered asylum seekers to leave Cambodia. Keep reading ...
Myanmar rural women organise nationwide network
Widow and mother of four Daw Nyo Nyo San saw years of hard work pay off as she aided in the 15 October launch of May Doe Kabar (Women’s World), a group dedicated to educating rural women about their rights, providing them with small loans ...
