News
Vietnam puts the Mekong's fate on ASEAN's agenda
In a nod to green diplomacy, Vietnam is raising the geopolitical stakes over the Mekong River, Southeast Asia’s largest body of water, which has dropped to record lows due to a severe drought and construction of large dams. Hanoi has signaled its intent to raise the issue this ...
Marwaan MaCan-Markar
Houses On The River Will Fall': Cambodia's Sand Mining Threatens Vital Mekong
Some 60 million people rely on Southeast Asia’s Mekong River for their sustenance. But the Mekong is under threat. While China is building dams that sharply reduce the water flow and sediment downstream, other countries along the river share some of the blame. Cambodia, for instance, is experiencing a ...
Michael Sullivan
Xayaburi Dam Dispels Rumors of Role in Dry Mekong River
Amid an ongoing drought and low water levels, the state of the Mekong River is a topic that is animating discussion along the watercourse, with sights often aimed squarely at the Xayaburi Hydroelectric Power Plant. To help clear the waters, the project owners invited regional ...
Steven Cleary
Hundreds of corporations in VN transition to legal software, but warns of ongoing risks: BSA
Hundreds of corporations in Vietnam improved their cyber security and legal compliance by replacing illegal software with fully licensed programmes since the launch of BSA’s ASEAN software legalisation campaign last September. The Software Alliance reports that over the last six months, more than 300 corporations in Viet ...
Myanmar to Upgrade Urban Infrastructure in State Capitals, Border Town
The Myanmar government is planning to upgrade basic infrastructure and enhance urban management of three major cities in Mon and Karen states that lie along Japan’s planned East-West Economic Corridor for the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). Minister of Construction U Han Zaw said Monday that his ...
Nan Lwin
‘Environment hero’ Nguy Thi Khanh receives US$2 million award
With her initiatives and great efforts to help protect the environment, Nguy Thi Khanh has become the first Vietnamese Climate Breakthrough Project awardee. Born in Bac Giang, near a thermal power plant which emits smoke all year round, Khanh witnessed many people suffering from cancer and ...
Survey Finds Decade-High Numbers of Irrawaddy Dolphins
The number of the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins found in Myanmar this year has increased to 79, the highest in a decade, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society of Myanmar (WCS). The numbers include seven calves aged three months or younger. The Irrawaddy dolphins can also be found ...
Zarni Mann
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
In Laos, price of free speech a heavy one
The imprisonment of Houayheuang “Muay” Xayabouly, a young, female Lao environmentalist turned internet activist who simply asked for help for flood victims, should be a matter of deep concern to the international community. On Sept 5, 2018, Muay used her 17-minute-long Facebook Live broadcast to counter ...
Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal & Adam Bemma
Laos Plans to Build Sixth Large-Scale Mekong River Mainstream Dam
A Thai hydropower company has plans to build what would be Laos’ sixth large-scale Mekong river dam, the latest cog in Laos’ ambitious plan to become the “battery of Southeast Asia.” The Thailand-based Charoen Energy and Water Asia Co. Ltd. (CEWA) presented to Lao authorities the ...
RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong
