News
Vietnam tightens land management
Vietnam’s ministries of Construction, and Natural Resources and Environment have requested provinces and cities review state management on land prices amid ‘land fever’ in some localities. The environment ministry said land prices in some localities and areas have increased dramatically, which could affect socio-economic development and ...
Asia News Network
Chinese Dams Unleash Mekong Waters on Laos During ‘Dry’ Season
Chinese dams on the Mekong River have begun releasing water during the river’s normal dry season, causing trouble for wildlife, farmers and fishermen in Laos, sources in the Southeast Asian country told RFA. “The Mekong River water level is up 12 centimeters [4.7 inches] from yesterday,” ...
RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
UN condemns violence against Myanmar protesters and deaths
The U.N. Security Council late Thursday strongly condemned the use of violence against peaceful protesters in Myanmar and the deaths of hundreds of civilians, but dropped the threat of possible future action against the military following the Feb. 1 coup. The British-drafted press statement approved by ...
EDITH M. LEDERER
Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam See Continued Rights Abuses, Restrictions on Free Expression: Report
Lao, Cambodia, and Vietnam imposed serious restrictions on freedom of expression and the press over the last year, with all three countries also holding political prisoners and interfering with the rights of citizens to peacefully protest, according to an annual State Department report released on ...
Richard Finney
Thailand reduces quarantine, paperwork for vaccinated
Thailand on Thursday began halving the quarantine time for vaccinated visitors as a first step to allowing inoculated people into the country without the need to isolate. The pandemic has devastated Thailand’s tourism industry, a key income earner, but strict border measures have left the country ...
Green Group Records 100 Cases of Illegal Logging in Protected Cambodian Forest in Three Days
An environmental watchdog group in Cambodia has recorded at least 100 cases of illegal logging in the country’s protected Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary over the course of just three days, prompting it to call on the government to strengthen enforcement and allow activists to carry ...
RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Sok Ry Sum and Samean Yun.
Myanmar Internet Shutdown Chokes News Flow, Raises Citizens Fears
Myanmar’s embattled citizens struggled with a drastic cut-off of internet and wireless data services Friday following a military junta order aimed at staunching the flow of videos and photos of atrocities to a global audience, activists and web users said. The Ministry of Transport and Communications ...
RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane, Ye Kaung Myint Maung and Kyaw Min Htun. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
Welcome to 'year of fact-checking'
More than 30,000 people have joined Collaborative Fact Checking (Cofact) Thailand to combat fake news during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), Cofact Thailand, the International Fact Checking Network and other anti-fake news organisations yesterday held a seminar to mark International Fact-Checking Day ...
‘What other country would do this to its people?’ Cambodian land grab victims seek int’l justice
“It started when some people from the government came around the community telling us that we were illegally occupying the land,” Chhae Kimsrour said in June 2020. “I’ve lived here since 1995, but six months later they came back and started filling in my lake. ...
GERALD FLYNN, PHOUNG VANTHA
Vietnam to borrow $2 bln to fortify Mekong Delta against climate change
Vietnam plans to borrow around $2 billion to develop the Mekong Delta, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said. The money, to come from the World Bank, Germany and France, would be used for the sustainable development of the Mekong Delta in the face of climate change, ...
Viet Tuan