Social development

News that Laos will move ahead with the proposed 912-megawatt Pak Beng dam, which would be the third mainstream dam in Laos’ Lower Mekong River, has sparked criticism from environmental groups who say downstream countries should decide the fate of potentially harmful development projects. Laos ...

The Asian Development Bank, Microsoft and the Ministry of Education and Sports have signed a Letter of Intent to collaborate and develop a technology platform to provide Lao youth with access to online technical and vocational training resources and employment services. The document was signed ...

Laos and other countries around the world have pledged to take immediate action to combat the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Globally and in the region, the pledge to combat AMR was made with the support and collaboration of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the ...

Compensation is on the agenda for Myanma Railways, as planned up- grades to the Yangon circular railway gather steam. Myanma Railways general manager U Htun Aung Thin told The Myanmar Times there would be negotiation and compensation for those affected by the project. “We held ...

A Commission member on the taskforce reviewing hydropower projects said the team has yet to hear back from the president about the first submitted report, which is believed to have advised cancelling the controversial, Chinese-backed Myitsone dam. The first report on hydropower projects along the ...

Sixty-nine million people were exposed to toxic haze as a result of last year’s devastating wildfires in Indonesia, a new study has found. Little is known about the health impacts of Indonesia’s annual fires, which spread uncontrollably because the country’s vast peat swamp zones have ...

The power of the internet has been in the spotlight in the last few weeks thanks to the U.S. election – but while American netizens have to contend with fake news and annoying status updates, in many parts of the world just sharing an opinion can ...

Despite muted sentiment in the fourth quarter, the government is highly confident the economy could end this year with an estimated growth of 3.2-3.3%. Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said accelerated state spending on infrastructure projects and growing tourism will shore up economic growth in ...

After social media users criticised the Ministry of Health for a Zika false alarm over the weekend, the ministry’s Department of Communicable Diseases pointed the finger at the Pasteur Institute for the misinformation. The ministry and the World Health Organization on November 18 issued a ...

Irrigation systems will be able to supply water to about 180,000 hectares of crops this dry season, even though some systems are in need of repair. About 120,000 hectares of the irrigated land will be given over to rice, while other crops will be cultivated ...