An umbrella organisation of ethnic armed groups has formed a five-member team to help negotiate an end to fighting in northern Shan State that has forced up to 5000 people to flee their homes. The United Nationalities Federal Council formed the team at a four-day emergency ...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and the Embassy of Japan in Bangkok will co-host the 6th Green Mekong Forum on 8 July 2019 at Pullman Bangkok King Power Hotel, Bangkok. The Forum will be co-chaired by  Mr. Nikorndej Balankura, Deputy Director-General, Department of ...

A sustainable coastal fisheries project aimed at conserving coastal fish resources is being implemented by the Myanmar and Denmark governments, according to Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation U Tun Lwin. An agreement was signed in December 2016 between both countries, ...

Nguyen Ngoc Toan – Deputy Chief of the Management Board of Nhon Hoi Economic Zone – said local officials had met with Thailand’s PTT Group on the progress of the Nhon Hoi (Victory) petrochemical project. Binh Dinh officials and the investors discussed with representatives of the ...

The Thai government plans to divert water from rivers which form natural boundaries with Thailand’s neighbours into major dams in a long-term measure to battle drought. Suphot Tovichakchaikul, chief of the Department of Water Resources, said on 11 January that aside from the country’s local sources, water ...

Laos is not exactly a heavy hitter in Southeast Asian energy production. Each year, the country produces approximately 8.2 billion kWh of electricity, less than one-tenth the generation capacity enjoyed by Vietnam and other neighbors. But this country of 6.77 million is nonetheless taking on strategic importance as ...

Thai Security forces seized 11.1 million methamphetamine tablets and arrested a Lao national at a Mekong River pier in Tha Uthen district of Nakhon Phanom province Monday night. Acting on a tip-off that a huge drug haul was to be smuggled across the Mekong River ...

Thai Airways International plans to resume flights to the US west coast next year and add more destinations in China after taking a year off to achieve international safety compliance. The national carrier is also now energetically firing off marketing and sales gimmicks and clearing up ...

Two major foreign-invested gold mining companies in the central province of Quang Nam will not be allowed to resume exports until they pay VND387 billion (US$16.93 million) in back taxes, a government spokesman confirmed at a press conference on 27 November.   Nguyen Van Nen was responding ...

Most of the waterways surrounding the islands of the Mergui archipelago in the Andaman Sea are lined with mangroves, and the one leading into the island of Kala from the east was no different. But as our speedboat rounded a corner, we came up against ...

The British Embassy in Yangon launched a regional short-film competition on Thursday as part of a UK government initiative to combat the global illegal wildlife trade (IWT). The UK government, in association with the Luang Prabang Film Festival, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Wildlife ...

The head of the Asian Development Bank on Thursday warned countries against unsustainable borrowing to fund infrastructure projects, which could leave them stuck in a debt trap. Keep reading ...

Thailand has announced that the head of Myanmar’s military government, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, will attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Indonesia next week – his first known foreign trip since he seized power in a coup on February 1. Myanmar ...

Ratanakkiri provincial authorities on April 19 seized a large cache of luxury wood and arrested four people about to sell the timber to Vietnam. Ratanakkiri provincial police chief Kim Reaksmey said the wood was discovered at two separate locations in Banlung town’s La Bansiek commune and ...

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection was developed in large part from the observations and collections of plants, animals and fossils that he made in the Galapagos islands and other stops during his voyage aboard the HMS Beagle. However, Darwin was an amateur ...

Expanded Constituency Workshops will be held in Mongolia from 23 to 26 April 2019. ECW 2019 keeps the GEF National Focal Points, Convention Focal Points and other key stakeholders, including civil society, up to date on GEF strategies, policies and procedures and to encourage coordination. The events enable focal ...

Most exporters are worried about the baht appreciating against the US dollar, fearing it will hit exports and farm incomes amid the slowing of both local and global economies.“A stronger baht will hurt our rice price competitiveness amid weaker currencies in the region, such as ...

Thailand is actively promoting its pioneering role in the regional energy transition in the context of a strong energy transition wave emerging globally.Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Future Energy Asia and Future Mobility Asia Summit on May 17, Veerapat Kiatfuengfoo, Deputy Permanent Secretary ...

If Myanmar is to break an addiction to methamphetamine production that has seen it become one of the world’s largest suppliers there is one country above all others that must act: China. That’s according to a report released on Tuesday that highlighted how complexities in ...

Open regionalism remains on track in the Mekong region although there is an anti-globalisation wave and rising protectionism in other parts of the world. Regional integration has been and will be one of the main foreign policy objectives of the Mekong countries. The 8th ACMECS (Ayeyawady-Chao ...