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BANGKOK – An isolated murder, a brutal attempted killing and a murky disappearance: Laotian activists have been caught up in a series of alarming incidents recently that have spooked the reclusive communist state’s embattled dissident community. Landlocked, poor and deeply tied to China, Laos is one of ...

In an exclusive interview with the Laotian Times, John Pearson, outgoing British Ambassador to Laos, reflects on his four-year diplomatic mission in Laos, sharing insights into his overall experience and shedding light on the environmental challenges faced by the country. As a diplomat, British Ambassador John ...

A recent warning from Thailand’s government deputy spokesperson, Trisuree Trisaranakul, has alerted the public to the rapidly growing dengue fever outbreak. With nearly 20,000 reported cases and 15 deaths in the past five months, the epidemic reached its highest level in three years. Citizens are urged to take precautions to protect ...

Concerns have been raised by migrant workers that the Thai government will expel Cambodian and Laotian migrant workers. Although there is no explicit policy as such, the concerns are not groundless, because Thailand did in face expel some 200,000 Cambodian workers in June 2014 after the May ...

KOH KONG, Cambodia — “I think there’s a 30% chance we’ll have trouble with the police,” said Ly Chandaravuth, an environmental activist with the outlawed group Mother Nature Cambodia. This was in August 2022, when Mother Nature Cambodia was planning a trip to Koh Kong Krao, ...

The United States and United Nations has criticised Vietnam’s detention of a prominent climate activist, saying such actions were part of a broader trend towards curbing free speech. Hoang Thi Minh Hong, the founder of now-defunct NGO CHANGE, which aimed to tackle some of the country’s most ...

With the Phuket tourism industry well on the way to recovery and aiming to welcome 12 million tourist arrivals this year, the problem of food waste is seen as an increasingly critical issue. In an effort to reduce that waste, the Thai Organic Consumer Association ...

China has been a key supporter of water governance and green and sustainable development in the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) countries, a Cambodian official and an expert said on Monday. The LMC consists of six countries, namely China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. So Sophort, secretary general ...

Vietnam-focused private equity firm Mekong Capital is looking to build a climate fund worth up to $200 million as early as next year, focusing on investments that will help with the regeneration of forests in the Mekong region. The Ho Chi Minh City-based firm is setting ...

Mae Sengchan and Mae Kham meandered down the banks of the Mekong River in Laos, munching on bunches of bananas and piles of sugarcane. In their mid-to-late-fifties, the rescued pair of endangered Asian elephants are far past their logging days. The two are now in the ...