Social development

More than 40 civil society organisations urged the World Bank to stop a project worth US$250 million (K380.3 billion) in eastern Myanmar over concerns it could undermine Karen culture and traditions.   The Peaceful and Prosperous Communities Project targets the development of conflict zones in eastern Myanmar.  According ...

Damage to property in Hongsa and Xaysathan districts of Xayaboury province has been estimated at over 2 billion kip after at least 300 families were affected by an earthquake last week. Director of the province’s Labour and Social Welfare Department, Mr Nouphone Xaypanyachith, said two earthquakes ...

The Lao Women’s Union and the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family have joined forces to provide vocational training for Lao women, to improve their job prospects. A meeting to discuss the management of the project took place on Friday at the Lao ...

The National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development (NCDD) has approved a draft sub-decree to improve the provision of health services in a quality, safe, effective and equitable manner. Consisting of eight chapters and 27 articles, the sub-decree outlines the delegating of authority in health service provision ...

Growing up in a rough neighbourhood rife with gambling and prostitution, peer pressure drove 31-year-old Oun* into using drugs while he was a teenager.  Addiction soon followed, leading to him quit school during his third year of junior high. Later, as his strained relations with his ...

Huy Vannak, president of the Union of Journalists Federations of Cambodia, on Tuesday during the Asia-Pacific Summit in Phnom Penh called on all journalists across the world to take part in curbing fake news and learn about the value of peace. Mr Vannak, who is also ...

A group of Myanmar satirists on Monday (Nov 18) racked up a second prison sentence for a performance that criticised the military, a decision the artists said showed the judges were “puppets” of the military. The group of seven, known as the Peacock Generation, were arrested ...

Much of the recent ASEAN summit was focused on political snubbing between Donald Trump and the region, an Asian trade agreement, and the South China Sea dispute, but one topic was not a priority: human rights. So says the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights organization, (APHR) ...

There are approximately 124 million people around the world who suffer from acute hunger. According to the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2018 report, without intervention, 50 countries will fail to achieve the United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of zero hunger by 2030. On ...

Technological advancements and artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionising manufacturing for industries around the world. The International Federation of Robotics estimates that by 2020, the worldwide stock of operational industrial robots would have increased to 3,053,000 units, with the capability to help produce cars, electronics and ...