People and government

According to 2nd Quarter 2021 data from the World Health Organization (WHO) Mekong Malaria Elimination Program published October 1, the Greater Mekong subregion (GMS) reported 12,454 malaria cases from April to June 2021. The data shows Plasmodium falciparum and mixed cases were down 69 percent from the same ...

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 ...

A new study found under-reported debts of at least $385 billion owed by different countries to China in the past two decades, and that one-third of projects under the Belt and Road Initiative have run into major implementation problems. The hidden debts, which slipped through the ...

With the Mekong Delta laboring under large quarantining burdens as migrants return from the southeast region in the thousands, officials fear outbreaks if the localities’ capabilities are stretched. An Giang Province, for instance, had more than 15,000 migrant workers return on motorbikes over the past three ...

The UN’s top humanitarian official in Myanmar said on Thursday the country’s people are living in “a severe crisis,” with a level of poverty not seen for at least 20 years. In a virtual briefing for UN correspondents, Andrew Kirkwood said the number of people in ...

Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith said access to knowledge is indispensable in a democratic society and expressed hope that people will soon be able to have more confidence when choosing their leaders once the new draft law on information access is passed. “Universal access to information ...

Belarus and Myanmar registered a significant decline in global internet freedom ratings following political turmoil in which authorities in the two countries arrested journalists and blocked access to the internet. In its annual Freedom on the Net report, the global nonprofit Freedom House found digital rights had declined globally for ...

China and the countries of the lower Mekong River are teaming up for their largest joint study yet of the impacts climate change and hydropower dams are having on one of Asia’s great waterways, and how to cope with the growing threats from floods and ...

An MRC governance meeting has agreed to a new indicative date to conclude the prior consultation process of the 684-megawatt Sanakham dam. The decision by the MRC Joint Committee means the official six-month prior consultation process that began on 9 September 2019 for the proposed Sanakham ...

Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi concluded a three-day visit to Vietnam, making him the second high-ranking Chinese official to have visited the country since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019 and early 2020. Wang’s trip to Hanoi came on the heels ...