News

92nd joint patrol on Mekong River a big success

The 92nd Mekong River joint patrol by China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand concluded on Saturday morning (April 25) as three Chinese law enforcement boats returned to Guanlei Port in the southwest Province of Yunnan. A total of 109 law enforcement officers from the four countries participated ...

China's dams exacerbated extreme drought in lower Mekong: Study

Southeast Asian countries would have likely experienced a much less severe drought last year if it were not for China’s dams, a new study says, prompting a pushback from the intergovernmental Mekong River Commission (MRC). The 4,000-km (2,485-mile) Mekong is one of the world’s longest rivers – ...

Leonie Kijewski

Ministry setting up cash for 2m disabled

The Finance Ministry is seeking a lifeline for the 2 million disabled and underprivileged people who are adversely affected by the coronavirus outbreak, says finance permanent secretary Prasong Poontaneat. The ministry is working out the details with the Social Development and Human Security Ministry, which has ...

WICHIT CHANTANUSORNSIRI

Key to controlling wildfires lies with communities

While attention is focused on the coronavirus pandemic, we must also be alert to another fast-spreading hazard claiming lives — wildfires. Several people died this year fighting fires in northern Thailand. Now, hundreds of fires are burning there, in Laos and Myanmar. We expect more fires ...

DAVID GANZ

China’s post-COVID-19 woes to flow through the Mekong

As China shows signs of recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak, speculations abound about what a post-COVID-19 future will look like. Amid the cacophony of voices, consensus is gathering that global power balances will shift. What this shift might entail is fiercely debated. Some see China ...

Heidi Dahles, Griffith University

At-cost power bills get ministry nod

The Energy Ministry approved a plan on Thursday to charge mid-sized and large businesses for electricity at cost instead of mandatory minimum pricing from April to June, another relief measure to help shuttered companies with their power bills. The decision came after calls from the Federation ...

YUTHANA PRAIWAN

A vital mangrove forest hidden in Vietnam’s largest city could be at risk

As the largest urban area in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City is known for its kinetic pace of life, rivers of motorbike traffic, and relentless construction. With an official population of 9 million and a booming economy based on manufacturing, real estate and tourism, there ...

MICHAEL TATARSKI

‘Us’ vs ‘them’: The politics dictating the rise and fall of the Mekong

Cracked riverbeds, empty fishing nets and, snaking its way through the parched landscape, a beautifully clear, blue-tinted river. This was the view of the mighty Mekong River earlier this year, when record-low water levels revealed a striking vulnerability to the main artery of Southeast Asia, a ...

ANDREW HAFFNER

PM’s letter to Thailand’s 20 richest people (English translation)

The following is a translation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s letter sent to Thailand’s 20 richest people following a special 10-minute speech broadcast on national TV at 6pm last Friday. The letter was dated April 20. “Thailand is facing a Covid-19 outbreak which is one of ...

Timber-processing plants raided in Kampong Chhnang, Oddar Meanchey

A 39-year-old man was sent to the Oddar Meanchey Provincial Court on Wednesday for operating a timber-processing facility in Trapaing Prasat district’s Trapaing Prasat commune without a permit. Provincial environment department director Phuong Lina said 14 cubic metres of timber was seized from the makeshift workshop. “We ...

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