Aid and development
Cambodian Deputy FM to pay official visit to South Korea
Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn will pay an official visit to the Republic of Korea today. Sokhonn and South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong are expected to jointly chair a virtual meeting with their counterparts from four other countries along the Mekong River—a major trade route between western ...
Nick Giurleo / Daily Brief
US, China dueling for power on the Mekong
When China announced in early August a new US$6 million for new development projects in Myanmar, the sum was trifling in Beijing’s wider $1 trillion global Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China’s Foreign Ministry said the funds will be used for animal vaccine projects, agricultural development, ...
BERTIL LINTNER
Justice in the balance as UN considers recognition question
With the United Nations expected to soon decide whether Myanmar is represented in the General Assembly by the military regime or the National Unity Government, another important question may hang in the balance: who will represent Myanmar at the International Court of Justice? The Gambia brought ...
ANDREW NACHEMSON
US Vice President Visit Underlines Growing US-Vietnam Ties
US Vice-President Kamala Harris touched down in Hanoi on August 24 after a three-hour delay from Singapore as part of her Southeast Asia tour. The aim of the trip was to build relations and upgrade their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership. Harris’ visit was ...
Dezan Shira & Associates
Thailand cited as one of the ten most flood-affected countries in the world
“Climate Risk Country Profile – Thailand” outlines rapid onset and long-term changes in key climate parameters, as well as the impact of these changes on communities, livelihoods, and economies—many of which are already underway. The publication is part of a series of climate risk country profiles ...
Asian Development Bank and Headline Editor
‘Low point’ in world heritage committee history as politics ‘tramples’ human rights of the Karen people
Along Thailand’s border with Myanmar, in rich forests filled with rare plants and animals, the indigenous Karen people are fighting for the right to live on their traditional land. Last month, the UN’s human rights agency said the Karen continued to be forcibly evicted from the Kaeng Krachan ...
Graham Readfearn
In Vietnam, Harris must not ignore human rights for geopolitics
On Monday, August 23, US Vice President Kamala Harris started her diplomatic trip to Southeast Asia on a colourful note thanks to a bouquet of hybrid orchids presented as a gift from Singaporean dignitaries. The new variety of purple flowers was even named after the vice president, ...
CAROLYN NASH
US CDC Southeast Asia Regional Office opens in Hanoi
The office, based in Ngo Quyen street in downtown Hanoi, is one of the CDC’s four in the world, together with the East Europe/Central Asia office in Gruzia, the Middle East/North Africa office in Oman, and the South America office in Brazil. It will strengthen the ...
VNA
Washington gets serious about the Mekong
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris launched a mission impossible this week to restore her country’s shaky credibility as a trusted ally. “The reason I am here is because the United States is a global leader, and we take that role seriously,” a straight-faced Harris said on her ...
Kavi Chongkittavorn
Lao PDR: Economy Recovers then Falters Again under COVID-19
The Lao economy is on course for moderately improved growth in 2021, despite the second wave of COVID-19 denting the promising economic recovery made early in the year. The World Bank’s latest Economic Monitor for Lao PDR — A Path to Recovery — predicts that GDP growth ...
World Bank
