News
Japan gives boost to human resource development in Laos
The government of Japan is providing grant assistance of 308 million yen for the continuation of the Human Resource Development Scholarship Project in Laos. An agreement was signed on 4 July in Vientiane by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ms Khamphao Eunthavanh and Japanese Ambassador to Laos ...
Mass cattle deaths scar country’s northeast
There was little rain to settle the red dust in Krolah. The wells dried up. The cattle died. The people fell sick. The village, 30 km over steep hills from the provincial capital of Banlung—already hit by rampant deforestation—bore the brunt of the harshest drought in ...
WFP extends support for mother and child health
The World Food Programme has forecasted a budget of over US$8.5 million in assistance for the 2016-17 fiscal year to improve the health of mothers and children in Laos. This support forms part of the 12-month project “Mother and Child Health and Nutrition Programme”, which is ...
Caritas Luxembourg funds livelihood improvement in Xieng Khuang
Caritas Luxembourg has provided a grant of over 1 million euros (more than 9 billion kip) to improve the Strengthening Livelihood Systems Project in Mok district, Xieng Khuang province. The project agreement was signed recently by the Director of the provincial Agriculture and Forestry Department, Mr ...
Urgent plans needed to adapt to climate change, rising sea levels
The historic drought this year affected 45,000 hectares of rice and crops, causing a loss of VND8.114 trillion in total. The drought and saline intrusion caused 2 million people to lack water for daily use, 1.75 million people to lose their livelihood, and put hundreds ...
Rice industry body president gets wary vote of confidence
Cambodia’s apex rice industry body held its annual general meeting on 2 July, with its members unanimously re-electing its well-connected incumbent president, Sok Puthyvuth, for a second term in what some are calling a dress rehearsal for his political ascendancy. Puthyvuth, the son of Deputy Prime Minister ...
US spending bill ties aid to end of government ‘violence’
According to a Senate report accompanying the bill, the vast majority of the recommended budget for Cambodia, $69.9 million of it, would go toward health programs and development assistance. Most of the rest would go to military education and training, demining, anti-terrorism and related programs. ...
Farmers squeezed by ‘reclaim forestland’ campaign
Many people’s hearts sink every time they see news photos about treeless mountains in once-verdant Nan province or mask-wearing people in frequently hazy Chiang Mai. “We used to have our own land plots and earned a living as farmers – but not anymore,” lamented a middle-aged ...
Isolated and lacking labor rights, housemaids toil in silence
Khin Htar Kyu was in her late teens when she left her village in Irrawaddy Division’s Wakema Township with her younger sister to find work in Yangon to help her indebted family. Across Myanmar, there are tens of thousands of girls like Khin Htar Kyu who leave ...
Revenue gain not equal to forestry losses: Govt
Even though more than US$100 million has been generated in national revenue from the timber industry over the past 10 years, this is insufficient to compensate for the loss of the country’s forestry resources. Forestry officials said losses in revenue from the timber industry were ...
