Social development
Laos to highlight progress in MDGs in UN forums in New York
Despite its being a tiny landlocked nation, Laos has made some inroads in its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly in providing primary healthcare to Laotian mothers and children in the country’s hinterlands. This will be the message that Laos President Choummaly Sayasone will bring to New ...
Under pressure on all sides, Union Election Commission reinstates 11 Muslim candidates
Eleven Muslim politicians have successfully challenged their controversial disqualification from contesting the November elections following a surprise reversal by the Union Election Commission. Their reinstatement after appeal followed concerted pressure from the United States and eight other governments, which had urged Myanmar to hold “a credible, ...
No options for families in Poipet facing eviction
Forty-three families from Poipet town and the nearby village of Kbal Spean 1 say they will ignore the 28 September deadline of an eviction notice from the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court. Resident Ith Sim said the families have lived on the land for over a decade. Keep ...
Time’s up for MDG targets
As the United Nations meets this week to draw up a new set of sustainable development benchmarks, the era of the body’s landmark Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is coming to a close, with some wondering – in spite of gains – what efficacy such targets ...
Laos Christian in jail for praying dies after authorities refuse to give him medication
A man from Laos who was jailed for praying has died after he was refused vital treatment in prison. According to the Human Rights Watcher for Lao Religious Freedom group, Tiang Kwentianthong was imprisoned with four others last year, when he prayed for an elderly woman ...
'Economy would improve if we can increase women’s incomes': Cheery Zahau
Tuan Cer Sung, better known as Cheery Zahau, is aiming for a Lower House seat in Falam Township, where her parents were born. She is one of five women candidates from the Chin Progressive Party (CPP) to run in the 8 November polls in Myanmar. In an interview with ...
IFC to lead sustainable hydro in Myanmar
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has signed to advise the government on environmental and social risk management for hydropower projects nationwide. This is the first time anything like this will be done in Myanmar. Commentators say they hope it will serve as the basis for transparent ...
Thai farmers plea for debt relief if second rice crop again banned
Farmers’ leaders have called for an interest-free debt moratorium of 5-10 years if the government bans the planting of a second rice crop for the third time this year. Thai Farmers Association chairman Wichian Puanglamjiak on 22 September said if the the government asks farmers to not to plant second-crop ...
Thailand printers withhold NY Times edition over king article
The New York Times has said that its local printer in Thailand has refused to print its Asia edition because it featured an article on the ailing king. The paper said the printer found the front-page article “too sensitive”. The entire newspaper for 22 September, however, can ...
Top cop says no capacity to convict
A high-ranking police official yesterday bemoaned Cambodia’s lack of capacity to fight cybercrime, just a week after the government’s announcement of a new Anti-Cybercrime Department prompted fears of an online clampdown on dissent. Keep reading ...