News
China’s Control of the Mekong
A recently published report by Eyes on Earth, Inc. has pointed the finger at Chinese dams holding back water as having significantly contributed to the major drought impacting the Mekong River in Southeast Asia. The drought’s effects have been felt by millions and hamper efforts to ...
Philip Citowicki
Massive illegal forest clearing found in Koh Kong province
The Wildlife Alliance yesterday discovered over 200 hectares of mangrove forests within Koh Kong province’s Peam Krasaop Wildlife Sanctuary were illegally cleared. In a press release obtained yesterday, the wildlife and forest conservation NGO said the discovery of the forestry crime was made following a routine ...
Khuon Narim
Royal water project to reinvigorate farming
Pid Thong Lang Phra, a foundation dedicated to promoting the sufficiency economy vision of King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great, has launched water-development schemes to address the scourge of mass unemployment caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Karan Supakitvilekakarn, director-general of the Royal Initiative Discovery Institute under Pid ...
CHATRUDEE THEPARAT & PENCHAN CHAROENSUTHIPAN
On the lookout for the silver lining: supporting e-commerce in Laos
13 to 16 April was Pi Mai, the Lao national holiday that welcomes in the Buddhist new year. Usually characterised by festive gatherings, water fights and the consumption of large quantities of Beer Lao, this year it was quiet and subdued, as the country of seven million entered ...
Tamara Failor, Nicola Nixon
Myanmar’s 2020 Elections: What Does the Future Hold?
Later this year, Myanmar is scheduled to hold its third general election in six decades in a landmark development for the country’s democratic transition. While details remain unclear amid the global coronavirus pandemic, as of now the Southeast Asian state is set to hold its ...
Prashanth Parameswaran
Vietnam, Despite Low Coronavirus Caseload, Will Take Months to Recover Economically
Vietnam has reported few new coronavirus cases every day since mid-April. Now schools are reopening, smaller restaurants are back in business and traffic jams are forming again in the financial center, Ho Chi Minh City, as commuters head to work. The Southeast Asian country has controlled its coronavirus caseload at ...
Ralph Jennings
What’s happening at the Khmer Times?
Writing in Asia Times last year about the state of Cambodia’s media (“A bad day all around for Cambodian media,” published July 2019), I opined: “If the relationship of a journalist to politicians is supposed to be that of a dog to lampposts, as one ...
DAVID HUTT
Food security concerns mount as COVID-19 disruption leaves Myanmar farmers unable to plant
Food security concerns in Myanmar are looming as farmers are unable to start the new growing season due to COVID-19 disruptions. “Since COVID-19, there is no longer usual trading as crops simply don’t sell anymore,” said Ba Myint, a farmer in Taungup township in southern Rakhine ...
JOHN LIU
WWF researchers spot herd of wild elephants in Mondulkiri sanctuary
WWF-Cambodia says researchers had a close encounter with a herd of wild Asian elephants in Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary in Mondulkiri province which is a positive sign conservation efforts are working. A WWF-Cambodia statement on Friday said its researchers encountered the herd in mid-April, while they were ...
Sen David
Ministry to give mining rights for four coal sites
The Ministry of Mines and Energy is set to review applications soon for rights to four coal mining concession areas – totalling 794sq km – it opened late in March in the Kingdom’s north. “Interested national and international companies can apply for a mining licence at ...
Thou Vireak