Economy and industry
Major brands found failing to help Thai seafood sector tackle slavery
Efforts to protect Thai seafood workers from labor exploitation and modern slavery risk stalling as most international brands and retailers refuse to pay their suppliers more to comply with new anti-slavery policies, researchers said on Wednesday. Thai seafood suppliers are struggling with rising production costs as ...
Nanchanok Wongsamuth
The Great Walls On Mekong: Dams Of Fate
Indeed, the Mekong River—the tenth largest river hosting the second largest biodiversity in the world—is a gorgeous natural treasure that six countries on the Asian continent are blessed with. Her 4,909-kilometer journey commences on the vast hills of the Tibetan Plateau, spanning the territories of China, ...
Duong Nguyen
Analysis: Floating solar power along the dammed-up Mekong River
For two decades or more, alarms have been sounding for the Mekong Delta. It’s being hammered by climate change, by a proliferation of upstream dams, by unsustainable and inappropriate farming practices, by greed and political expediency. The punishment the delta’s taking has been well reported, ...
David Brown
Southeast Asia's trans-regional corridor takes shape
The opening of a new bridge between Thailand and Myanmar has pushed Southeast Asia one step closer to the realization of an East-West Economic Corridor, connecting the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean. The corridor, which passes through Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, is set to ...
Yuichi Nitta
In Cambodia, solar power surges
One hour west of Cambodia’s capital an array of iridescent panels stretches between palm trees, glistening through dust clouds from a neighbouring highway. A year ago it was a barren expanse of chalky soil. Now it’s Cambodia’s largest solar farm. The joint Cambodian-Chinese project, which came ...
Lao Dam Resettlement Village Out of Water Due to Drought
More than 100 Lao families who were moved to a resettlement village four years ago to make way for construction of the Nam Tha 1 Dam hydropower project in Luang Namtha province have run out of water amid a worsening drought, local sources say. Water sources ...
Vietnam introduces new information security system to facilitate e-governance
The National Cyber Security Center of Vietnam (NCSC) launched a new governmental information sharing and security monitoring system Friday. With this system, the observation and analyses of internet activities would be shared by all levels of the government, and provide early alerts for potential attacks and ...
Phan Nghia
How Solar Could Save The Mekong
A simple feasibility analysis shows the Mekong River in Cambodia would benefit from floating solar plants coupled with storage, rather than more hydro. Cambodia’s Great Lake, the Tonle Sap and Vietnam’s Mekong Delta are suffering harmful impacts from the suppression of the Mekong River’s annual flood ...
Mekong 'cash machine' needs an overhaul
Just over a week ago, many people in Thailand, particularly those in highrises, were thrown into panic when their buildings were swaying. They didn’t know at the time that a strong earthquake had just hit inside Lao borders near Nan’s district of Chaloem Phrakiat. The shallow ...
Lao Villagers, Facing Eviction for Dam, Are Leery of Government Promises
On a remote bend of the Mekong River in northern Laos, where its muddy waters make a hard right turn through steep verdant hills, the 330-odd residents of Houaygno village are bracing for an imminent exodus. Vietnam’s state-owned PetroVietnam Power has chosen the site for the ...
Zsombor Peter