News
Thailand’s Chiang Mai Province Ranked 3rd in Worlds Worst Air Quality
Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Mai was ranked as the third most city in the world with the worst air quality index on Wednesday, with an average PM2.5 dust level higher than 200. Chiang Mai province is once again battling with a critical air quality levels due ...
CTN News
Chinese dams not to blame for low Mekong water levels: report
While its own people in Texas are in dire straits amid an electricity-related crisis, the US has turned its attention to the Mekong water resource issue, while turning a blind eye to China’s efforts to resolve the problems. Ned Price, US State Department spokesperson, raised “concerns ...
Hu Yuwei and Lu Hexing
ASEAN Foreign Ministers to Hold Meeting to Discuss Myanmar Crisis
Southeast Asian foreign ministers will hold a special meeting on Tuesday on the political crisis in Myanmar, the Indonesian foreign ministry said, as the regional and international community condemned a deadly weekend crackdown against pro-democracy protesters. The online meeting was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ...
Ronna Nirmala
UNESCO Requests New Impact Assessment for Luang Prabang Dam
UNESCO has requested a new assessment for a large-scale Lao Mekong River dam located near a World Heritage Site, fearing that the dam’s potential impact could put the site at risk. According to UNESCO, the town of Luang Prabang is “an outstanding example of the fusion ...
RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
World Bank debars German oil and gas contractor for 13 months
The World Bank has announced the 13-month debarment of Germany’s Ferrostall Oil & Gas (FSOG), an engineering, procurement and construction contractor for oil, gas and other industrial plants. It is in connection with an alleged fraudulent practice under the Bank-financed Ayeyarwady Integrated River Basin Management Project in Myanmar. The ...
Priyanka Shrestha
Laos Issues New Decree on Dams Aimed at Minimizing Harm
The government of Laos issued new guidelines for managing hydropower dams aimed at minimizing water shortages and flooding, state media reported on Thursday, amid debate on how its hydropower boom has altered the vital Mekong River. The new decree, effective March 4, requires all hydropower operators ...
Reuters
The US Government Launches Cambodian Agricultural Partnership Competition
The U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has launched a new private sector competition for agricultural partnerships that addresses key challenges in Cambodia’s agriculture sector including cold chain, storage capacity, and logistics. “The United States is a long-standing partner to Cambodia and ...
US pledges to enhance cooperation with Mekong subregion’s countries
The US will bolster support for countries in the Mekong subregion through the Mekong-US partnership, US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Atul Keshap said at a recent online seminar to reveal results of a report ...
VNA
Mekong needs tough govt stance
On Feb 8, Charge d’Affaires of Chinese Embassy Yang Xin paid a courtesy call to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, in which they exchanged Chinese New Year’s wishes, looking ahead for warmer relations and closer cooperation. One topic was missing from their friendly talks: the fluctuating water ...
BANGKOK POST EDITORIAL COLUMN
New dam management guidelines to minimise water issues
New guidelines issued recently by the government aim to minimise water shortages and flooding both downstream and upstream of hydropower plants. Once water levels in reservoirs rise to a critical point, dam operators are required to notify the relevant authorities, under a new decree issued by ...
Times Reporters