Economy and industry

The Mekong River stretches through 6 countries and sustains the lives of millions of people – but the river is under threat, experiencing record drought in recent years. Environmentalists believe huge hydropower dams, many built by China, are to blame. We speak with Thai activist ...

Kong Kim, a fisherman in Cambodia’s northeast, is worried about the next few years. “I am concerned that there will be no fish in the future,” the 62-year-old told VOA Khmer earlier this week. “Fish are now less and less.” Once he could fish the Mekong River ...

October 17 is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, or End Poverty Day as it is often known, one of the most important days on the calendar for people working in governments and development agencies all over the world. Let me be clear: poverty ...

Thailand’s Office of the National Water Resources has requested that irrigation officials be ready to manage the discharge of excess water from 20 major dams and reservoirs. The heavy monsoon rains this year have led to potentially dangerous overflow conditions. Officials from the ONWR have instructed people living ...

The claim: Cambodia did not have a COVID-19 outbreak until vaccines arrived Vaccine opponents are looking to Cambodia to falsely assert that vaccines may actually make COVID-19 more dangerous. “Cambodia is one of the most vaccinated countries in the world: 81.3% of its population has received at least ...

A senior Lao leader has highlighted the need to accelerate digital transformation in line with sustainable development, while attending the ITU Digital World 2021 conference from Oct 12-14. A ceremony marked the 50th anniversary of the first ITU Telecom meeting, the forerunner of this year’s largely ...

Seven delta localities will cooperate to prevent Covid-19, protect people’s health and develop production and business. Authorities in Can Tho City and six provinces of An Giang, Kien Giang, Hau Giang, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau are expected to join an online meeting on ...

About a year ago, the Boon Rueang Wetland Forest Conservation Group began a survey of wildlife in the 483-hectare community forest in northern Thailand. “We have recorded some leopards, otters and other animals,” says Songpol Chanruang, chair of the group. Though only around 130 kilometres long, ...

Despite being linked to several disasters, the Asian Development Bank has reaffirmed its commitment to large hydro developments. Rishika Pardikar speaks to people holding it to account. Large hydropower projects, which use moving water to create electricity, can have destructive consequences for the environment – despite their seemingly ...

Most of the stations on the Laos-China Railway are now complete ahead of the planned opening of the railway in December. Kasy Station in Vientiane province was the most recent to be completed and was officially unveiled on Sept 27. The station was built by the China ...