Disasters and emergency response
Disasters
COVID-19 opens a can of worms for fisherwomen in Cambodia
“I’m used to hearing the sound of laughter every morning as my customers come to buy fish,” says 37-year-old Huon Tim. “But it’s very quiet these days in the village.” For Huon, who runs a small fish and produce stall at the local market in Kampong Por, ...
Praying for Rain by the Mekong as Monsoon Season Begins
As the monsoon gets underway across Indochina, farmers and fishermen are praying for rain after a lengthy drought — aggravated by climate change and dam construction. This year the Mekong River has seen its lowest levels since record keeping began 60 years ago. According to the Mekong River Commission, ...
Lao Migrants Returning from Thailand Stuck in Overflowing Quarantine Camps
Thousands of Lao migrant workers who recently returned from Thailand after losing their jobs to COVID-19 have been facing fresh hardships in crowded, undersupplied quarantine camps,, Lao officials and migrants told RFA. During the coronavirus pandemic hundreds of thousands of the 2.8 million foreign workers in ...
RFA’s Lao service. Translated by Sidney Khotpanya. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Ministry provide emergency aid to flood victims in Luang Namtha
The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare has provided cash and emergency relief materials to communities impacted by flash floods that hit Nam Eng village in Viengphoukha district of Luang Namtha province on Sunday. The people, however, still need other supplies, especially clothes, bedding and equipment ...
A Deadly Gamble: Myanmar’s Jade Industry
The tragedy was all too familiar in Myanmar’s infamous northern jade mining town of Hpakant: In the early hours of the morning, hundreds of jade pickers teetered on the edge of unstable mountains to scavenge the loose debris dumped by trucks. They are convinced finding ...
Nicholas Muller
Pregnancy doesn't stop during a pandemic. Neither do human rights.
Covid-19 has taken an enormous toll on women and girls around the world as a direct consequence of national lockdowns and the sidelining of sexual and reproductive health services. Health systems are struggling to respond to the pandemic. As the crisis rages on, the number of women ...
Natalia Kanem, Naomi Kitahara
Thailand Makes Its Own Covid-19 Tests to Avoid Import Reliance
Thailand is ramping up domestic production of Covid-19 test kits to avoid a potential shortage, as it prepares for a possible second wave of infections after most businesses and services reopened. “Thailand has always received criticism for testing too few, and that was the case at ...
Finland supports project to assist urgent water resolution for Mekong delta
The Ambassador of Finland to Vietnam H.E. Mr. Kari Kahiluoto participated in a signing ceremony of a project named “Strengthening Communication Capacity for Better Climate Resilience in the Mekong River Delta project (CCBCR)” in Tien Giang province on 2 July 2020. The CCBCR project was granted by ...
Zazithorn Ruengchinda
The Asia Development Bank Extends a $250 million loan to Cambodia
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on July 8 approved a $250 million loan to help the Cambodian government rebuild the country’s economy that has been severely affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. According to the ADB’s press release, this loan will go toward strengthening ...
SK E&C Reaches Compensation Deal with Laos over Deadly Dam Collapse
SK Engineering & Construction Co. said Thursday that it has reached a deal with authorities in Laos to compensate victims of a deadly hydroelectric dam collapse in the Southeast Asian country. The Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Power Co., a joint venture involving the South Korean builder, inked the ...
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