Environment and land
Recognition of Public Health Threats from Live Animal Markets Called for in the Wake of Human Coronavirus Outbreak
Closing live animal markets that trade in wildlife, strengthening efforts to combat trafficking of wild animals, and working to change dangerous wildlife consumption behaviours are all needed, said the leading wildlife conservation group, WCS. With the outbreak of the Wuhan Coronavirus, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) ...
FDI in Vietnam: Rise of the north
A glossy photobook sits on the coffee table of the Deep C Industrial Zone offices, surrounded by walls the colour of sunshine and an abundance of indoor foliage. “Compared with other big cities such as Hanoi and [Ho Chi Minh City], Hai Phong is still the ...
Samantha McCabe
Bungling govt is losing the PM2.5 war
Almost a month since hazardous ultra-fine PM2.5 dust particles began shrouding the capital, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha finally flexed his muscles this week by pledging to ban vehicles emitting black smoke from entering the city. “If dust levels exceed 100 microgrammes per cubic metre [µg/m³], the ...
Anchalee Kongrut
Courts charge Stung Treng men for transporting illegal timber
Stung Treng provincial police on Sunday sent one of seven men detained over the transportation of illegal timber to court. Provincial police chief Mao Dara said the Vietnamese man was sent to the provincial court after being accused of transporting nearly 200 pieces of beng timber ...
Soth Koemsoeun
What Xi wants in Myanmar may not be what he gets
If there were any doubts around China’s thinking about where to direct its money and influence in Southeast Asia, they were dispelled by the recent announcement that Xi Jinping would visit Myanmar on 17 and 18 January, the first state visit by a Chinese leader ...
Michael Sainsbury
Myanmar authorities stop 17 illegal gold mines along Ayeyarwady River
U Kyaw Myint Than, director of the Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River System said the illegal gold mines were discovered in Thabeikkyin township during an inspection on the area on Monday. The general administration department, police force and the officials from the Ministry ...
Kyaw Ko Ko
Water supply department riding wave of international cooperation
The Department of Water Supply under the Ministry of Public Works and Transport is targeting an expansion of projects across the country this year after racking up achievements in the sector during 2019. To achieve its goal to develop provincial water supply and sanitation systems, the ...
Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Beijing sets sights on mighty Mekong as passage to South China Sea
Ninety-seven kilometers of rocks in Thai waters stand between Beijing and dominance over the Mekong, a mighty river that feeds millions as it threads south from the Tibetan Plateau through five countries before emptying into the South China Sea. China has long wanted to dredge the ...
Aidan Jones
Hundreds in Cambodia Protest Lack of Progress in Resolving Land Disputes
Almost a thousand protesters gathered on Monday outside the Ministry of Land Management in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh to urge direct intervention by the Ministry in long-running land disputes, saying that handing the responsibility off to provincial authorities has stalled resolution. Coming from the provinces of ...
Thailand to Air Concerns with River Commission over Drought, Chinese Dams in Mekong
Thailand will raise concerns about its current drought during a Mekong River Commission meeting expected next month, the Thai water-resources chief said, as local farmers complained that dams in China were choking the waterway on which millions depend for their livelihoods. Somkiat Prajamwong, director of Thailand’s ...