Southeast Asia Globe
Cambodian agriculture holds the seeds for success
Sok Solida’s stall in Phnom Penh’s Daeum Kor wholesale market overflows with fruits and vegetables, but almost none come from Cambodia. “You can hardly find anything locally produced in this market,” Solida said. Solida sells longan from Thailand, Chilean red grapes, Chinese pears, Vietnamese oranges and dragon ...
JACK BROOK
Sustainability and security concerns feed Southeast Asia’s rice conundrum
The balance of food sustainability and national security of Southeast Asia hangs on a tiny white grain. Rice is the daily staple of 3.5 billion people globally, providing about one-fifth of their calorie needs. It is the main food crop in Asia, which includes the world’s ...
PAUL TENG
Baby elephant, a big bundle of joy and conservation challenges
ee Pael, one of Cambodia’s few captive female elephants, lived a peaceful life in a forest sanctuary until the day a wild bull appeared, chased away her handler and ran off with Gee Pael. “I had to run up a tree,” recalled Yel Yan, the elephant’s ...
JACK BROOK
Cambodia remains a regional money laundering centre
Cambodia Minister of Interior Sar Kheng understands the impact that money laundering can have on his nation. “Our country’s reputation is at stake,” Sar Kheng said in July 2020. “If [the Financial Action Task Force] consider Cambodia a money-laundering destination, it will badly impact our banking ...
ASHLEY YEONG
Mechanical eyes are ready to watch Southeast Asia’s weather systems
A fleet of unmanned surface vessels numbering in the hundreds could be a key tool in helping Southeast Asia countries adapt and prepare for an increase in the frequency of severe weather. Oceanographer Ruth Patterson of Charles Darwin University in Darwin, Australia, believes unmanned surface vessels ...
TROY KIPPEN
As road accidents rise, garment workers face a dangerous commute
Early on the morning of 12 February while heading to her shift at the garment factory in Kampong Speu province, Soth Vy was the last of about 40 workers to climb onto the standing platform of the truck that came to her village. She enjoyed ...
ASHLEY HUI YIN TAN
Small Monkeys are Big Business in Cambodia's Animal Trade
Gangs of humans follow troops of monkeys in Angkor Archaeological Park. In the shadow of Bayon Temple, bloggers spend their days documenting every move the long-tailed macaques make. “I got into filming monkeys because I see them as a natural resource in Cambodia and I wanted ...
ANTON L. DELGADO
Dam reservoir releases could raise Mekong River water levels
Mekong River levels are expected to rise as hydropower dams in the Upper Basin begin releasing water from upstream reservoirs. These dry season releases will affect the river’s natural flow, experts said, altering livelihoods across the basin. Regional specialists tracking the ebb and flow of the ...
ANTON L. DELGADO
Cambodia’s internet gateway debut leaves analysts in the dark
Just days before Cambodia’s national internet gateway is scheduled to take effect, analysts and civil society organisations say they know scarcely more about its rollout than when the decree was first signed into law last year. The gateway is slated to route all internet traffic through ...
FIONA KELLIHER
Phones require face scans in Thailand’s Muslim Deep South
At first, Haslina Awae was willing to stop using a phone to avoid providing a scan of her face to the Thai government. Awae and other residents of Thailand’s Deep South, which comprise the three southernmost Malay-Muslim majority provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, were required ...
JACK BROOK