News
Thai-Chinese high-speed rail opened up to foreign finance
The government has allowed the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway planned from Bangkok to Nong Khai to secure funding from overseas financial institutions, instead of from only domestic ones as earlier stipulated. Keep reading ...
Mediation helping manage Laos’ legal case backlog problem
Law courts in many Asian countries are overburdened. A perfect storm of factors including rapid economic growth, urbanisation, industrialisation and the withering away of traditional governance systems has caused the number of criminal and civil cases to soar. Courts are often ill-equipped to cope with ...
Law Enforcement from Mekong Nations Unite as Drug Trafficking Worsens in the Golden Triangle
Law enforcement agencies from Thailand, China, Myanmar and Laos will once again join together to boost measures against drug trafficking, following the worsening situation in northern Thailand. The drugs being carried through the Golden Triangle bore the same characteristics with pills imprinted with a symbol ...
How preserving folktales and legends help raise environment awareness in the Mekong
In 2014, several indigenous communities in the Mekong started recording their stories and legends with the help of a group of researchers who are exploring how these narratives can help exposing the destructive impact of large-scale projects in the region. In partnership with Mekong Watch, a Japan-based group ...
How China’s Big Overseas Initiative Threatens Global Climate Progress
China’s Belt and Road Initiative is a colossal infrastructure plan that could transform the economies of nations around the world. But with its focus on coal-fired power plants, the effort could obliterate any chance of reducing emissions and tip the world into catastrophic climate change. Read ...
Pending US-China talks give investors hope
Global stock markets rallied ahead of the upcoming US-China trade negotiations amid reports of easing tensions. But investor confidence remains fragile as market participants are monitoring the US government shutdown and a sharp fall in Apple share prices after it warned of slowing sales. Keep reading ...
Việt Nam to test 5G mobile network this year
Việt Nam will enhance its telecommunications infrastructure, expand its broadband network and develop 5G mobile connectivity this year. Keep reading ...
Sudden Public Hearing on Mekong “Rapids-Blasting” Project Catches Community Group by Surprise
As a new year dawns, the waters of the Mekong River remain turbulent with uncertainty. While many take holidays and prepare for the new year, the people of the Mekong face an unknown future. Earlier this month, residents along the Mekong in Chiang Rai were preparing ...
Disaster after disaster on the Mekong
From sea to source, the Mekong River stretches nearly 5,000 km through six countries. More than 60 million people depend on its waters for survival, and it is second only to the Amazon in its biodiversity. Photographers Gareth Bright and Luke Forsyth spent eighteen months travelling ...
New Year Opens With Fighting, Attack on Top Official in Myanmar’s Rakhine State
Myanmar government troops opened 2019 with exchanges of gunfire with an ethnic armed organization in Rakhine state’s Buthidaung township, while police accused the same rebel group of attacking a convoy transporting the regional chief. The Myanmar Army engaged in clashes with the Arakan Army (AA) all ...
