Social development
Asian Development Bank announces $45M loan for secondary education
The Asian Development Bank has approved a $45 million loan for Cambodia to overhaul its upper secondary education in order to address the increased demand for skilled workers. Several measures will be undertaken to reform the sector: math, science and information technology curricula will be reviewed ...
Ethnic minority families claim violent evictions in Preah Vihear
Six ethnic Kuoy families were violently evicted from their homes in Preah Vihear over the weekend, according to eyewitnesses, with further evictions threatened for another 13 families this morning. Boeng Choen, 44, was ploughing her rice field in Tbeng Meanchey district’s Brame commune on October 15 when ...
Aid delegation meets displaced Arakan State communities
A delegation from the United Nations, led by the under-secretary general of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, visited displaced communities outside of the Arakan State capital of Sittwe on October 14. Reporters from The Irrawaddy accompanied Stephen O’Brien, who also serves as ...
Will hydropower turn the tide on the Salween River?
Both history and future development plans point to risks for the Salween River and its eco-systems and communities. Over-development, lack of public consultation and the appetite for energy threaten Asia’s last free flowing, international river. It is among the most visited, most photographed and most ...
Lao businesses join efforts to fight malnutrition
The European Union Delegation and World Food Programme hosted a business leaders networking cocktail night to establish the Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network at the country level in Laos. Vice-Minister, Ministry of Health and Chair of the National Nutrition Committee, Assoc. Prof. Dr Phouthone Moungpak, European ...
Mother Nature and a hydropower onslaught aren’t the Mekong Delta’s only problems
Early this year, many Mekong Delta farmers fought a losing battle against an epic drought, the worst since 1926. Was the drought a harbinger of climate change? Perhaps it was, but more certainly it was an artifact of El Niño. The same ocean-warming phenomenon that ...
Activists say urban insecurity hampers women’s capacity
Women’s rights activists have called on the government to consider the needs of women in its delivery of public services while also increasing its budget for women, and enacting and enforcing laws and policies to protect and promote their rights. Action Aid Myanmar, in cooperation with ...
Tackling project bottlenecks to improve development outcomes
Through the 8th National Socio-Economic Development Plan , Laos has focused on maintaining high economic growth that benefits all people and in continuing to reduce poverty. The country welcomes the work of its international partners to improve and enhance the assistance they provide to help the ...
PM urges more efforts in research work
The Ministry of Science and Technology has to work harder in developing the sector so that its achievements serve those of other sectors, contributing to socio-economic development in the country. Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith relayed the message on October 12 in his address to scientists, officials and ...
170 Vietnamese asylum seekers given two weeks to leave
Almost two years since the latest wave of Montagnard asylum seekers began crossing into Ratanakkiri province claiming to be fleeing persecution in Vietnam, an immigration official said on October 12 that the 170 remaining in Phnom Penh had two weeks to return home or face forcible ...
