Social development
Lao authorities charge woman with ‘slander’ for alleged extortion photos
Authorities in Laos have formally charged a young woman who has been detained since May after a photo she took was posted on Facebook, allegedly showing police officers extorting money from her brother during a stop for a traffic violation, according to an official source. Phout ...
Could damming the Mekong destroy south-east Asia's greatest river and food bowl?
Conservationists, politicians and at least one prime minister are warning the quest for hydro power for booming urban centres in China and south-east Asia is threatening the food supply of more than 40 million people, including millions in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s food bowl. Kraisak Choonhavan, ...
Hundreds infected in Yangon cholera outbreak
Health officials were insisting last week a cholera outbreak in Yangon’s South Okkalapa township was under control, after hundreds of patients presented at an emergency clinic and Thingangyun Sanpa Hospital for treatment. The outbreak had originally been diagnosed as gastroenteritis but Dr Tin Thit Sa, an ...
Chinese dam builder in Myanmar cuts food aid to protest-backing families
China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), builder of the controversial Myitsone Dam in Myanmar’s Kachin State, has cut off food assistance to at least two families—among hundreds displaced by the project—after they backed protests against the dam. The two families were from Aungmyinthar village, one of two ...
