Economy and industry
Gov’t says satellite images don’t prove sand dredging crisis
The government responded to criticism that sand pumping in the Mekong river is more than the amount being reported and that it has increased over recent years. The reaction is to respond to an article published in Eos, a science news magazine, titled “Satellites Spy on ...
Son Minea
New megadams threaten world’s biggest fish
There was a time when scores of some of the world’s largest freshwater fishes swam up the Mekong River, past the Laotian town of Luang Prabang, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Giant catfish the size of grizzly bears, seven-striped barb, giant pangasius, and other huge fish once made ...
STEFAN LOVGREN
A water diversion project that China is funding in Thailand is raising eyebrows
Plans for a new water diversion project in Thailand are alarming environmentalists. And a Chinese state-owned firm offered to finance it, raising flags with those who fear China’s growing influence. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: In Thailand, plans for an ambitious water diversion project are raising lots of questions ...
MICHAEL SULLIVAN
Tigers, jaguars under threat from tropical hydropower projects: Study
The flooding of land for hydroelectric dams has affected more than one-fifth of the world’s tigers (Panthera tigris) and one in two hundred jaguars (Panthera onca), according to the findings of a new study published Dec. 9 in the journal Communications Biology. Seen by some as a low-carbon solution ...
Carolyn Cowan
Construction of fifth Lao-Thai Mekong bridge 23% complete
Work on the fifth Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge across the Mekong River, linking Pakxan district in Borikhamxay province to Bueng Kan province in northeastern Thailand, is now 23 per cent complete. The bridge is expected to be fully complete in 2024 and will serve to boost trade ...
Mekong Commission failure: dam the river and damn the region
Evidence of the climate crisis is everywhere. The Mekong River has recorded historically low dry-season flows for the third year in a row, alongside an increase in the frequency of extreme flood events. Its delta is continuing to sink and shrink, while its riverbanks erode, ...
LAN MERCADO
Why has Da Nang taken the lead in digital transformation?
The central city of Da Nang topped the Digital Transformation Index (DTI) rankings in 2020 for localities nationwide in all three key pillars of digital government, digital economy and digital society, according to the DTI 2020 Report released several days ago by the Ministry of ...
Ho Giap - Nguyen Hien
Facebook removes accounts targeting critics of Vietnam’s government
Facebook’s parent company removed a network of accounts on the platform that coordinated attacks against Vietnamese activists who criticized the government, but Hanoi said the removed accounts belonged to “anti-state” elements. In its Adversarial Threat Report published Wednesday, Meta said users of the accounts abused Facebook ...
Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Mekong-Lancang nations collectively fight fake news
Mekong-Lancang nations are cooperating well to fight fake news in the region, according to the National secretariat of Cambodia for Mekong-Lancang Cooperation. “Mekong-Lancang nations have been sharing information with each other to prevent fake news in the region, especially in the context of the spread of ...
Sar Socheath
Laos Will Open $5.9 Billion Railway as Debt to China Mounts
Laos, a nation of 7 million people wedged between China, Vietnam and Thailand, is opening a $5.9 billion Chinese-built railway that links China’s poor southwest to foreign markets but piles on potentially risky debt. The line through lush tropical mountains from the Laotian capital, Vientiane, to ...
Kurtenbach contributed from Bangkok