Social development
Human rights
In response to pollution complaints, a coal plant in Indonesia offered soap and mops
Village leaders in Sumberejo, East Java, once had plans to entice travelers to their coastal town. Tourist facilities were planned for Ndaki Beach where the waves of the Indian Ocean crash upon this Indonesian island. Nearby Bawur Beach was also seen as having tourism potential. ...
Factory owners say fake ‘squatters’ extorting them
The issue of illegal tenants and land compensation remains a major challenge for the Yangon Region government, and, in the absence of solutions, the matter has taken a new turn with factory owners now accusing farmers of trespassing and extortion. U Aye Thaung, chair of the ...
Pacitan villagers say coal plant reduced livelihoods, brought little new employment
The waves of the Indian Ocean crash against the breakwater at Bawur Bay, a protective arm shielding the Pacitan coal-fired power plant. A few meters away, a barge full of coal is berthed. Its cargo is unloaded onto a conveyor belt and transported about 500 ...
Khmer Krom ethnic group denied many rights: report
While Cambodia in theory offers full citizenship to members of its Khmer Krom minority, in practise, many members of the community remain in a legal shadowland, unable to access a wide range of rights, a new report released yesterday shows. Despite a professed open-door policy ...
Hin Nam Nor submission to UNESCO next year
The final master plan of Hin Nam Nor National Protected Area in Khammuan province for submission to the World Heritage list will be sent to UNESCO early next year for assessment. An official for the Hin Nam Nor National Protected Area, who asked not to ...
Pak Beng Hydropower project looks set to move forward
The construction of the Pak Beng Hydropower Project is expected to begin at the end of this year after reaching agreement among Lower Mekong countries. A group of technical officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, Lao National Mekong Committee Secretariat and media organisations ...
Families, authorities reach relocation deal
Locals and authorities came to a relocation agreement on January 23 after some 100 villagers, representing about 200 families living on a riverbank in Kampong Chhnang province protested on Sunday to demand proper compensation after they were told they must move to pave the way for ...
Wa State suffers as fewer Chinese come to party
In a remote casino in northeastern Burma, China’s pervasive campaign against graft has taken its toll. Hundreds of local traders and farmers place petty bets as low as 10 cents, outnumbering a few Chinese who were once the VIPs of a gambling hall decorated with ...
Myanmar, Malaysia agree over aid flotilla
The flotilla spat appears to have come to an agreeable end. Myanmar has permitted a group of Malaysian organisations to send aid earmarked for Rakhine State after an official permission request was forwarded to the president, and a delegation smoothed over the arrangements on January ...
Tax cut planned for low-cost housing purchases
The government is planning to drastically reduce the taxes it levies when people purchase state-commissioned low-cost housing, which developers say puts many units out of reach for ordinary buyers. Union Planning and Finance Minister U Kyaw Win, in a speech to developers and business leaders ...
