News
Cà Mau environmental pollution rises to alarming levels
Despites efforts by authorities, pollution at industrial parks and clusters in the Mekong province of Cà Mau has risen to alarming levels, affecting the lives of local residents. Đốc River Town, for instance, a town in Trần Văn Thời District with a population of 40,000, is ...
Thailand reports progress in tackling human-trafficking and illegal fishing
Thailand has reported progress in its efforts to tackle human-trafficking and illegal fishing activities. On Wednesday, a government-appointed committee, tasked with steering the reform of public administration and chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwon, was presented with a report on progress ...
Myanmar one of several countries in danger of losing its ‘intact forest’ by 2030
Earth’s intact forests shrank by an area larger than Austria every year from 2014 to 2016 at a 20 percent faster rate than during the previous decade, scientists said 20 June as the UN unveiled an initiative to harness the “untapped potential” of the land ...
MTF: Digress from the digital era for a moment
Today, Mekong Region tourism officials, tour operators and travel writers are heading for the northeast town of Nakhon Phanom for the annual Mekong Tourism Forum. If all goes well when the event opens, Tuesday, delegates will be engrossed with digital matters. They are cool, trendy. Keynotes ...
World Bank shrugs off responsibility for hydro project in Laos
In January, the World Bank announced in a statement that the Nam Theun 2 Environmental and Social and Project had closed on December 31. The ESP, a component of the US$1.3 billion Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project in central Laos, was established in 2005 to ...
China, Asean usher in new era of cooperation
As China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) celebrate the 15th anniversary of strategic partnership this year, a new era of cooperation has begun to enhance connectivity in various areas. Keep reading ...
LGBT Tourism and Inclusion in Southeast Asia: A Divided Future?
Some countries in Southeast Asia do better than others in welcoming LGBT tourists. Southeast Asia has enjoyed an exponential surge of foreign tourists in the past decade. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the total contribution of tourism to the economy of southeast Asia ...
Pak Lay Dam to Displace Residents in More Than 20 Villages in Northwestern Laos
At least 1,000 families from 20-some villages in northwestern Laos’ Xayaburi province will be forced to relocate if infrastructure officials move ahead with plans to build a fourth hydropower dam on the Lower Mekong River, a provincial official said Monday. The Pak Lay hydropower project is ...
May presses PM on free and open elections
British Prime Minister Theresa May told Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to continue progress towards free and open elections in Thailand in line with international standards, including lifting restrictions on political parties at an early stage, a Downing Street spokesperson said. []With such a platform, he said, ...
Asia Pacific forum highlights smart tourism
The arrival of the internet of things (IoT) and inter-connectivity of devices has already substantially changed tourism and led to the development of smart tourism, experts have said. 8th Tourism Promotion Organisation for Asia Pacific Cities (TPO) Forum opened on June 21 in HCM City. Keep reading ...