News
In the Shadow of Riches, Fishers Face Eviction, Desperately Low Waters
Yan Khouvry was out fishing till 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning. He had set out late morning on Monday and plied the waters near Koh Dach all day and night. He returned with just two fish. Later on Tuesday morning, around 10 a.m., he was preparing ...
Mech Dara and Michael Dickison
IN FOCUS: Livelihoods, environment on the line as Thailand pushes for new industrial park
The Thai government has thrown its weight behind a large industrial city project in a coastal area in southern Songkhla. But it is opposed by locals who fear a devastating impact on their hometown. CHANA, Thailand: For Khairiyah Rahmanyah, the sea is life. She was born and ...
Pichayada Promchertchoo
Vietnamese Police Detain Man for Facebook Criticism of Government in Land Rights Case
Authorities in Vietnam have arrested a Facebook user for sharing his grievances about how the local government has handled a dispute over his family’s land, RFA has learned. Le Van Hai, from Binh Dinh province in the country’s South Central Coast region was charged with “abusing ...
RFA’s Vietnamese Service. Translated by Huy Le. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Unwarranted sanctions: US move against Chinese firm in Cambodia strongly condemned
The government as well as the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia have strongly rejected and condemned the United States move to impose sanctions on Union Development Group (UDG), with Defence Minister General Tea Banh considering it part of US “geopolitical ambitions.” Academics also said yesterday the move ...
Ben Sokhean and Sen David
Autumn yellow takes possession of central Vietnam's Ru Cha mangrove forest
Two HCMC-based lensmen visited Thua Thien-Hue Province in early September to capture the beauty of Ru Cha mangrove forest turning yellow during the seasonal transition. Lying around 15 km from downtown Hue, Ru Cha is a tiny islet on Tam Giang Lagoon. The islet was formed ...
Huynh Phuong
Salinity intrusion threatens quarter of Mekong Delta orchards
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has warned that nearly a quarter of Mekong Delta orchard area could suffer from saltwater intrusion. The ministry stated Thursday at a conference around 80,550 ha or 23.2 percent of Mekong Delta orchards for the 2020-2021 harvest season would ...
Dang Khoa
Tonle Sap Bottleneck comparison - September 2019 vs 2020
Prior to 2020, the 2019 wet season was one of the driest on record. The annual reversal of the Tonle Sap in Cambodia was severely delayed in 2019 but low rainfall plus upstream dam regulation (mostly from China’s 11 mainstream Mekong dams) have totally erased ...
Brian Eyler
Dams in the upper Mekong river transform nutrient release downstream
Hydropower is the world’s largest source of energy generation. It is commonly assumed that hydropower reservoirs retain nutrients, and this nutrient reduction significantly reduces primary productivity, fishery catches and food security downstream. An international research team, including Prof. Jef Huisman from the University of Amsterdam, ...
Jef Huisman
Two Get Death as Dong Tam Violent Land Dispute Trial Ends in Vietnam
A court in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi on Monday sentenced two defendants to death, also handing down a life sentence and other sentences ranging from six years to 15-months’ probation, in the trial of 29 villagers over a deadly land-rights clash in January at the Dong ...
RFA’s Vietnamese Service. Translated by Huy Le. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Myanmar’s Second Wave of Coronavirus Takes Toll on Under-60 Population
A resurgence of coronavirus infections in Myanmar has been lethal for younger people in the Southeast Asian country, with 40 percent of those under the age of 60 who have tested positive dying from the highly contagious respiratory illness, a government health official said Thursday. On ...
Nay Myo Htun and Kan Thar for RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
