People and government
Laos Jars are Slowly Revealing their Secrets
In the rugged province of Xieng Khoaung in upper northern Laos are scattered more than 2,000 large carved stone jars. They vary in size, with the biggest standing at just over 2.5 metres tall and weighing in at 30 tonnes. The jars are believed to ...
Dr Louise Shewan, University of Melbourne; Dr Dougald O’Reilly, ANU and Dr Thonglith Luangkhoth
Sweden supports Thai partnership for plastic reduction
With support from the Swedish government, the Solid Waste Management Association, Thailand (SWAT) is launching its Plastic Footprint Reduction Project to reduce ocean plastic pollution The project is under the framework of the United Nations Environment Programme’s SEA circular project and initiated by the Coordinating Body on the ...
Mette Larsen
INTERVIEW: Myanmar military increasing efforts to keep truth from getting out, UN expert says
Over 700 people are reported to have been killed in the brutal response by the security forces since the military overthrew the democratically elected Government on 1 February. Thousands more have been injured – many of them seriously, and over 3,000 people are in detention. That includes at least ...
UN's Peace and Security
Lao government, ethnic communities clash over development projects
New reports of Lao military operations against ethnic Hmong communities suggest the government is tightening its control over areas targeted for development and investment. According to a Radio Free Asia report on April 1, Lao military forces have repeatedly attacked Hmong living around Phou Bia mountain in Xaysomboun province, ...
Editorial
Sweden pledges $2.5 mil to UNESCO for media development in Cambodia
The Swedish government and UNESCO yesterday signed an agreement on “Strengthening Media Development and Freedom of Expression” in Cambodia, with Sweden contributing around $2.5 million to UNESCO for the project. According to a joint statement released yesterday, the project is to be implemented in partnership with ...
Sen David
Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam See Continued Rights Abuses, Restrictions on Free Expression: Report
Lao, Cambodia, and Vietnam imposed serious restrictions on freedom of expression and the press over the last year, with all three countries also holding political prisoners and interfering with the rights of citizens to peacefully protest, according to an annual State Department report released on ...
Richard Finney
Welcome to 'year of fact-checking'
More than 30,000 people have joined Collaborative Fact Checking (Cofact) Thailand to combat fake news during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), Cofact Thailand, the International Fact Checking Network and other anti-fake news organisations yesterday held a seminar to mark International Fact-Checking Day ...
‘What other country would do this to its people?’ Cambodian land grab victims seek int’l justice
“It started when some people from the government came around the community telling us that we were illegally occupying the land,” Chhae Kimsrour said in June 2020. “I’ve lived here since 1995, but six months later they came back and started filling in my lake. ...
GERALD FLYNN, PHOUNG VANTHA
Vietnam to borrow $2 bln to fortify Mekong Delta against climate change
Vietnam plans to borrow around $2 billion to develop the Mekong Delta, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said. The money, to come from the World Bank, Germany and France, would be used for the sustainable development of the Mekong Delta in the face of climate change, ...
Viet Tuan
Chaos in Myanmar poses threat of meth trafficking surge for Thailand
A village watchman trains his binoculars on a suspicious fishing boat – the first line of defence as Thailand braces for a fresh methamphetamine influx after a coup in neighbouring Myanmar. The kingdom’s narcotics bureau has already seized more than 80 million “yaba” pills just in ...
AFP