News

Thailand’s Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) has begun rationing water in three provinces as the severity of the drought, expected to be far worse than last year, has started to affect tap water production. Ratana Kitchawan, the PWA’s director, on 20 January said three branches of the PWA are ...

The Department of Fisheries does not expect Thailand to be hit with a red card by the European Union, citing positive signals from EU representatives over progress in dealing with illegal fishing during their visit to the country this week. Esak Pakdeekong, the department’s deputy chief, said ...

Thailand’s Customs Department has launched a mobile app for anti-IUU activity to help track fishing routes from the catch to the processing plant. With the application, government officials will know where the catch was made, how it got to the factory and its final production process, director-general Kulit ...

In a seeming about-face, the Cambodian government has backed away from its looming deadline to deport more than 100 Montagnards currently seeking asylum in Cambodia, instead pledging to “expedite” the process of assessing their refugee status. Following a meeting on 20 January in Phnom Penh between Interior ...

Following the 19 January demolition of six homes in Village 1, a community on the southern shore of Phnom Penh’s Boeung Trabek reservoir, Municipal Governor Pa Socheatvong on 20 January addressed residents, promising a solution to a largely sceptical audience. Speaking on the afternoon of 20 January, Socheatvong said ...

Cambodia is overly reliant on developing large-scale hydro and fossil fuel-fired power stations, and should look to diversify its energy generation portfolio through cost-effective non-hydro renewable energy technologies that also offer fewer social and environmental costs, a study released on 20 January advised. In a report titled ...

Human Rights Watch has called on US President Barack Obama to make sure that human rights are at the top of the agenda when the US leader hosts the heads of ASEAN at a summit in California next month. Keep reading ...

US Secretary of State John Kerry will pay an official visit to Laos on 24 January with a view to strengthening links between Vientiane and Washington, the local Foreign Ministry confirmed. Keep reading ...

The capital of Laos is a low-rise, low-key city, especially when compared with the hulking high-rises and bustling streets of better-known Southeast Asian cities such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. But this once-sleepy city is fast shedding its sedate reputation due to a building boom ...

The Thai government will step up efforts to reduce rubber plantations, particularly on encroached lands as part of measures to tackle the low rubber price.  Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said his administration will consider whether rubber plantations can be scaled down. Keep reading ...