Infrastructure
How governments shut the internet down to suppress dissent
Access Now, a non-profit digital rights advocacy group, has released its annual report on global internet shutdowns. The report reveals governments around world increasingly shutting down the internet, often to stifle dissent, and frequently doing so during times of protest or elections. The annual report, entitled ...
Rich Haridy
4,200 Line accounts hacked in Feb, including 2 in Thailand
A total of 4,225 registered accounts on messaging app Line, including two in Thailand, have been hacked in the last two weeks, with some used for phishing scams, according to the operator. Line Corp said 4,073 accounts in Japan, two in Thailand, 81 in Taiwan and ...
KYODO NEWS
Tunnel Construction Chemical Leak Causes Mass Fish Deaths in Kasy District
A chemical leak at a construction site on part of the Lao-China Railway has caused the deaths of fish and contaminated sections of the Nam Lik River in Kasy District, Vientiane Province. Authorities in Kasy District, Vientiane Province, have urged residents to refrain from eating fish ...
Latsamy Phonevilay
More ports along Mekong river planned
The construction of more ports along the Mekong River has been planned with an aim to improve the transport of agricultural products along the river. Sun Chanthol, Senior Minister and Minister of Public Works and Transport, said that two more ports would be constructed – one ...
Chea Vannak
Xayaboury set to become new transit hub
Xayaboury province is becoming a major transit hub for international tourists after the government upgraded a border crossing with Thailand to inter-national level, according to a senior provincial official. “We are becoming a new transit hub for international tourists coming to Laos,” the province’s Deputy Governor, ...
Vientiane Times
Friendship bridges that are not friendly
Four ‘Friendship Bridges’ span the wide majestic Mekong River as it creates a meandering borderline between Thailand and Laos but just how friendly are these border bridges? When the first bridge opened back in 1994, spanning the river between Nong Khai in Thailand and Vientiane province ...
Don Ross
Thailand's internet censorship rates 6/10
Thailand has received a score of 6 out of 10 in internet censorship, on a par with various regional peers, according to UK-based tech research firm Comparitech. A score of 6 was given to 17 countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam, out of 150 ...
Suchit Leesa-Nguansuk
Xekong on track to have first international border crossing with Vietnam
The Prime Minister’s Office plans to upgrade the Daktaok local border crossing in Dakcheung district, Xekong province, to an international level crossing on the Vietnamese border. Lao and Vietnamese officials are currently discussing the date when this change will take place. If the status is elevated ...
The Costs of China’s Belt and Road Expansion
When I returned to Xigang after five years, I couldn’t recognize it. What had been a small but generally well-maintained beach town had become a sprawling mess of a city; construction, mud, and piles of garbage were seemingly everywhere. The Han Chinese with whom I ...
Chris Horton
Vietnam focuses on cybersecurity to protect national interests
Rapid technological development has given people more ways to access and share information on the internet. It has also created conditions for more sophisticated cyber-attacks. Like other countries, Vietnam has a cybersecurity law to safeguard information and protect national security. According to a recent press release, the country ...
Samaya Dharmaraj