Social development
Human rights
Saving Vietnam's floating markets
Amid mighty rivers and dense mangroves, the busy floating markets in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta have long shaped the delta’s well-known “water civilization.” As many as a dozen floating markets still remain along major waterways around the delta, where boats, houses, and markets float upon the ...
Dam blamed as dolphins vanish
The last remaining Irrawaddy dolphins have stopped coming to a stretch of the Mekong river in Preah Rumkel commune due to the Don Sahong hydropower dam in nearby Laos, locals have warned. The activists from Stung Treng province say the dam, which is less than ...
King calls for vote free from threats or intimidation
A leaked statement from King Norodom Sihamoni circulated on social media since Sunday, nearly a month after he signed it, calls on citizens to vote for their preferred party in the upcoming elections without “worry of suppression, threats or intimidation”. The statement, signed by the ...
Sandy soil veggies lift farmers out of poverty
Growing vegetables on sandy fields is helping farmers out of poverty in a coastal commune in Thừa Thiên- Huế Province. Farmers in Điền Lộc Commune are reaping success from the new effort, something older generations have not been able to do. Lê Huy, a local ...
Rakhine Advisory Commission presents 30 recommendations
The Advisory Commission on Rakhine State yesterday presented almost 30 recommendations of action that the Myanmar government can take to immediately improve the situation on the ground in Rakhine as the commission released its interim report. Kofi Annan, Chair of the Advisory Commission, said the ...
University staff warned of behaviour’ on social media
Lecturers of a northern university will have to think twice before posting a message on online media. Offending posts may affect staff performance reviews and salary adjustments, according to university rules that came into effect on February 20. The rules describe the use of online media ...
Australia praises Cambodia on refugees
An Australian government minister on March 16 praised Cambodia for taking in refugees from the island nation of Nauru, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Chum Sounry. Mr. Sounry spoke to the media after private talks between Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Australia’s International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells. He ...
NUSU holds protest over unlicensed nurses ban
Some 500 student nurses marched on the streets of Yangon on March 15 in protest over the Ministry of Health and Sports’ directive to bar nurses who do not complete the required three years’ service in government hospitals from working at private hospitals. The protest march ...
Home-stay tourism in Vietnam aims to tap huge foreign potential
Home-stay services are becoming popular across Vietnam, with many people turning their houses into tourist dwellings to welcome foreign visitors. Tran Thanh Hung, 45, of the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, has spent 800 million dong (Bt1.24 million) to upgrade and expand his house. Located ...
Critics skeptical of new privacy legislation
Myanmar’s newly enacted privacy and security protection law received skepticism from several civil society groups that said the legislation was “incomplete” and failed to fully ensure the protection of individuals’ privacy and freedom of expression as it was adopted hastily and without public consultation. The ...