News
Talk but no action? Cambodian workers in Thailand see a lot of room for improvement
Thai-Cambodian discussions at the recent ASEAN summit put labour issues on the table. Despite the pleasant chat, migrant workers in Thailand have yet to see what, if any, measures the authorities will adopt to help address their problems. In a bilateral meeting on the sideline of ...
Seoung Nimol
US re-engagement with Mekong region poses opportunities and ambiguity, say CSOs
The US plan to invest over 20 million USD to support Mekong countries in clean energy transition, environmental protection, and regional interconnection was made at the end of the Bangkok APEC meeting. In the eyes of civil societies along the riverbank, the final picture still ...
Yiamyut Sutthichaya
Laos Ranks Lowest in Global English Proficiency Test
The Education First English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) conducts the world’s most expansive ranking of adults by their fluency in English. This year’s index featured 111 countries, Laos ranked the lowest on the list and Netherlands ranked the highest. The countries were divided into five bands: ...
Amrita Paul
Myanmar: Freed filmmaker Toru Kubota returns to Japan
Toru Kubota landed in Japan Friday morning after he was freed from prison and deported by Myanmar’s junta on Thursday. The 26-year-old filmmaker and video journalist arrived in Tokyo on a scheduled flight from Yangon via Bangkok. Kubota said upon landing that he wanted to express his gratitude ...
Martin Fritz Tokyo
Going nuclear in South-east Asia: Promises, perils and scepticism
Some countries in Asean have made moves or expressed an intention to acquire nuclear power in a bid to meet their burgeoning energy needs and fulfil their commitment to net-zero carbon emissions. Asian Insider looks at why countries in the region have been hesitant over ...
Mara Cepeda, Ang Qing and David Fogarty
Cambodia wildlife official faces 145 years in jail for smuggling long-tailed macaques to US
Federal prosecutors have charged eight people with smuggling endangered monkeys, including a Cambodian wildlife official who was arrested in the US while travelling to a conference on protecting endangered species. The official plus a colleague in that country’s wildlife agency and six people connected to a ...
Associated Press
Laos, Thailand, Myanmar seek ways to crack down on drug trafficking in Golden Triangle area
According to the report issued on the website of the Office of the Supreme People’s Prosecutor of Laos, the second meeting of the Golden Triangle Prosecutors Network on “Cooperation to Counter Narcotics Trafficking in the Region” was held in northern Laos’ Luang Prabang province. The meeting ...
XInhua
U.S. Vice President Harris announces $20 million new clean energy funding for Mekong region
U.S Vice President Kamala Harris announced $20 million in new funding for clean energy projects in the Mekong region, during the last day of her tour of Thailand on Sunday following a regional summit. She spoke to civil society and business leaders in Bangkok after the ...
Poppy Mcpherson
APEC begins summit with focus on food and energy inflation, North Korea
An annual meeting of Pacific Rim leaders started Friday in Bangkok with the focus on taming surging food and energy prices driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as realizing inclusive and sustainable growth of the region. The launch by North Korea of an intercontinental ...
KYODO NEWS
Myanmar Releases Nearly 6,000, Including 4 Foreigners in Prisoner Amnesty
Myanmar’s military-controlled government announced Thursday it was releasing nearly 6,000 prisoners under a broad amnesty. Major General Zaw Min Tun, Myanmar junta’s spokesperson, confirmed to VOA Burmese the release of artists, activists, one minister, a top election commission official and one minister chief from the ousted ...
VOA News
