Social development
Cambodia's road deaths up almost 15%
A national road safety action plan established in 2011 is severely off target and road deaths could surpass 3,200 by 2020 unless drastic action is taken, the National Road Safety Committee (NRSC) warned on 30 September. In total, 2,226 people were killed in 4,645 recorded traffic ...
Positive early results for Cambodia ‘back to school’ push
Some 14,000 school drop-outs have returned to class under a $19 million scheme launched last year by a coalition of education groups, the organisations said on 30 September. Out-of-school kids include children from poor and remote communities, ethnic minorities, kids over-age for their grade level, street ...
Lao court jails Polish activist following online criticism of Government
A court in Laos has sentenced a Polish activist to nearly five years in prison after he posted criticism of the Lao government online, according to state media, drawing criticism from a diplomatic official who said the defendant was never given access to an attorney. Keep reading ...
Thai govt websites crash in symbolic act by critics: officials
Several Thai government websites temporarily crashed due to a “symbolic act” by people against plans to introduce a single Internet gateway, officials said on 1 October, a measure critics say will make it easier for the ruling junta to censor the web. Keep reading ...
Nationwide ceasefire accord collapses
Talks in Chiang Mai among leaders of 18 armed factions saw 10 groups, including the powerful Kachin Independence Army, declaring they would not sign the agreement because of the government’s refusal to extend the accord to include three allied factions fighting in the Kokang border ...
Lao Government promoting CSO involvement in national development
The government wants to encourage more involvement of Civil Society Organisations (CSO) in Laos in a bid to boost government policy in the fields of national construction and development. The government sector and representatives of CSO in Laos began meeting at a seminar in Vientiane on ...
Pollution from coal-fired power plants kills 4,300 Vietnamese every year: study
Diseases linked to pollution caused by a fast growing network of coal-fired power plants kill around 4,300 people in Vietnam each year, according to a new estimate by scientists. A study released at a conference in Hanoi on 29 September claims that once all planned power projects become ...
Government internet gateway plan sparks fury
Activists campaigning for internet freedom have slammed the government’s recent move to develop a single internet gateway to expand state control over online media. Last week, citizens learned of the government’s intention to build a single gateway, after it ordered the Ministry of Information and Communication ...
Ethnic armed groups still deadlocked over ceasefire signing
No breakthrough was reported on 28 September as leaders of 18 of Myanmar’s armed ethnic groups failed to resolve differences over how many would sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement with the government next month. Pu Zing Cung, general secretary of the Chin National Front and a member ...
Youth leaders debate new development goals
Forty young people from throughout the country gathered in Yangon on 26 September to exchange ideas about adopting sustainable development objectives in Myanmar. The youths, who represented a range of ethnicities and social groups, were participating in the Social Good Summit at Chatrium Hotel in Yangon. Keep ...
