News
Mekong water level in Nakhon Phanom drops amid drought fears
The level of water in the Mekong river in this northeastern border province is dropping rapidly, exhibiting the most unnatural phenomenon in 50 years, according to local media reports. The reports said water in the Mekong river is dropping by 10-20 centimetres per day. The water ...
Laos Urged to Cancel Latest Dam for Mainstream Mekong
Environmental rights groups are calling on Laos to cancel the latest hydro-electric dam it has approved for construction across the Mekong River, warning of dire consequences for the millions of people who rely on the waterway for a living. A six-month “prior consultation process” for the ...
Zsombor Peter
New scheme targets social security for all
All Lao people, including general workers and farmers, who are not government officials or private sector members of the National Social Security Fund will be eligible for benefits under a new scheme. The Fund has announced the establishment of the Voluntary Social Security Project For All ...
Phetphoxay Sengpaseuth
Better awareness of women’s political participation needed: minister
It is necessary to further promote public awareness of women’s empowerment, especially their political participation, although the percentage of women in Vietnam’s parliament is currently higher than the global average, said a minister. At a conference reviewing the 10-year implementation of the Law on Gender Equality held in Hanoi ...
Lao gov’t gives green light to PetroTrade for Laos-Vietnam railway development
The Lao government has entrusted and given the right to the Petroleum Trading Lao Public Company (PetroTrade) to conduct a feasibility study on the Laos-Vietnam Railway Project, from Thakhaek district in Khammuan province, Laos, to the Vietnamese border. The Ministry of Planning and Investment, on behalf ...
Illegal wildlife meat seized at Stung Treng market
The Stung Treng provincial Forestry Administration seized 40kg of wildlife meat on Monday from the Stung Treng Samaki market in Stung Treng town where it was being illegally sold. Orn Chan Socheat, the acting director of the Stung Treng Forestry Administration, confirmed the seizure but said ...
Soth Koemsoeun
Two Large Mekong River Dams in Laos to Start Operations by End of Year
The first two of five planned large-scale Lao dams on the Mekong river are set to go online before the end of this year, amid controversy over their impact on the environment and people’s livelihoods. The Xayaburi dam in northern Laos will start operations on October ...
Asia’s new gold: Sand mining threatens life on the Mekong
It’s an essential component of glass, asphalt and concrete. Sand is the stuff of which Asia’s growing megacities are made. In Cambodia, sand is being dredged from the Mekong River at an alarming rate, with disastrous results for local residents. Keep watching ...
Chinese-owned banana plantations expand in Laos despite lingering environmental and health concerns
In 2017, the Lao government ordered the closure of the country’s Chinese-owned banana farms following reports of pollution and workers falling ill after being exposed to dangerous chemicals. Firms already operating in the country were allowed to stay open until their contracts expired. The ban prohibited ...
Oliver Ward
ASEAN’s Role on Rakhine: Big Outside, Little Known in Myanmar
From the outside, ASEAN has been testing the limits of its non-interference policy in ways never done before, being a diplomatic bridge to Myanmar while pressing it to address international criticism for its treatment of its Rohingya minority. But from inside Myanmar, ASEAN’s role in ...
Aung Zaw Min
