People and government

The current Covid-19 pandemic has had an alarming impact on press freedom. Over the past 18 months, governments across the Asia–Pacific have – knowingly or not – used the health crisis to restrict the flow of information, stifling the press freedom that underpins societies and ...

Earlier this week, authorities in Laos announced the seizure of a record haul of methamphetamine, the latest indication of the massive amounts of illegal narcotics now flowing through the lower Mekong region. As per the state-run Vientiane Times, an official at the Public Security Office reported that ...

Vientiane plans to release an additional two million fish back into the river to meet the government’s goal of releasing 58 million fish this year to ensure food security. This was informed by the Director of Vientiane Agriculture and Forestry Department, Dr Lasay Nouanthasing, on July ...

The United States and Asean leaders have agreed to strengthen their cooperation to counter the Covid-19 pandemic and recover their economies post-pandemic. Leaders from the 10-nation bloc and the US held a virtual special foreign ministerial meeting on Wednesday, co-chaired by Lao Minister of Foreign Affairs ...

The China Media Group (CMG) and ASEAN media on Wednesday initiated a partnership which has been established to promote mutual communications at the 2021 ASEAN Media Partners Forum. Members agreed to issue a joint statement, which aims at strengthening cooperation between the CMG and ASEAN media ...

An example of a resilient business model in hard times? Indeed, except that this describes how the synthetic drug industry has been expanding in East and Southeast Asia, home to the Mekong region which is the manufacturing and trafficking hub that supplies illicit drugs that ...

Antony Blinken, the United States top diplomat, has expressed “deep concerns” about the military coup in Myanmar, calling on Southeast Asian nations to take action to end violence and restore democracy in the country. Blinken made the appeal during a meeting with foreign ministers of the ...

Continuing attempts to curb the sale of wild animals and their meat have failed to engender change at wet markets in the Asia Pacific, even as the region struggles to contain the largest and deadliest wave of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. According to ...

The table we’re writing on is made of rosewood, the most trafficked wildlife product in the world. For months, we’ve been researching the uptick in logging and poaching, which are gradually emptying out the forests here in Cambodia as well as neighboring Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, ...

Customs agents in southwest China have seized 2.2 tonnes of pangolin scales and busted an endangered wildlife smuggling gang, state media reported. Two suspects were detained in the city of Yulin in Guangxi by customs officers, who also seized two kilograms of pangolin paws, the People’s Daily said ...