Al Jazeera
China's dams exacerbated extreme drought in lower Mekong: Study
Southeast Asian countries would have likely experienced a much less severe drought last year if it were not for China’s dams, a new study says, prompting a pushback from the intergovernmental Mekong River Commission (MRC). The 4,000-km (2,485-mile) Mekong is one of the world’s longest rivers – ...
Leonie Kijewski
The great salt drought desiccating Vietnam's Mekong Delta
“Well I can tell you, all my fish are dead now.” Nguyen Thi Bach Vien sounds more resigned than anything else. She is calling from her home in Ben Tre province, a few hours drive south of Ho Chi Minh City in the belly of Vietnam’s ...
Zoe Osborne
Children killed as clashes between Myanmar army, fighters rage
The Myanmar army is carrying out “almost daily air strikes and shelling” in the restive Rakhine and Chin states amid a surge in clashes with fighters, with reports of at least 32 civilians killed in recent weeks, according to the United Nations human rights office. The ...
AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
Amnesty video shows 'extreme overcrowding' in Cambodia prison
Amnesty International has shared a new video it received that claims to show extreme overcrowding and “inhumane conditions” in a Cambodian prison amid the coronavirus pandemic. The video, released on Friday, shows at least 25 prisoners crammed into a small cell and lying on the floor. There is ...
Leonie Kijewski
EU to suspend some of Cambodia trade benefits over human rights
Cambodia’s government is preparing for the European Union to partially and temporarily remove the country’s Everything But Arms (EBA) trade privileges on Wednesday, in the wake of a 2018 political crackdown. The EU warned Cambodia last February it would withdraw the scheme unless it made more effort to improve the ...
Leonie Kijewski
Mekong communities struggle as China tests dam equipment
Water levels on the Mekong River, which flows through China and five other countries before emptying into the South China Sea, have dropped once again after Beijing revealed it was testing equipment at one of its 11 dams in the upper reaches of the vital ...
Leonie Kijewski
Minorities in Myanmar receive training
The group says they have trained more than 300 teams and about 70 are in operation, helping injured civilians and delivering aid to those in need. The recruits say they are being persecuted by the country’s army. They have been conducting rescue and medical drills, but Myanmar‘s military ...
Laura Burdon-Manley
Experts doubt effectiveness of new plan to address Mekong drought
After a year of severe drought that hit the region, the inter-state agency Mekong River Commission (MRC) has laid out new measures to mitigate the effects of the crisis but experts have questioned the effectiveness of the plan. In its 2020-2025 strategy, adopted late last month ...
Leonie Kijewski
'Beautifying Phnom Penh': Muslim Cham face eviction in Cambodia
On a good day, fish vendor Sen Ror can make about $7.50 but that is on a good day. Usually, she only makes about a third of that, taking home roughly $2.50, which is all she has to buy food for her four children and elderly ...
Leonie Kijewski
Officials to meet on Mekong crisis as fishing communities suffer
On Cambodia’s Tonle Sap, record low water levels have plunged fishing communities into crisis but with warnings of “severe drought”, there are concerns the situation will get even worse. “Every day we can only find about one or two kilogrammes (two or four pounds) of fish, ...
Leonie Kijewski