News

“The most disastrous situation in history,” was one expert’s stark verdict when shown images of the dry Mekong River bed and dead aquatic animals. Dr Chainarong Setthachua, a lecturer and ecology expert at Maha Sarakham University, was at a loss when asked to describe the ...

A recent decision by a Thai appellate court against 14 residents of Ban Sapwai, a village in the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum, proves again that peasant women are bearing the brunt of false climate-change solutions. Instead of committing to the goal of mitigating climate change by phasing ...

Mondulkiri Provincial Court yesterday charged three Chinese nationals and is questioning a provincial environment department and two forestry administration officials over illegal logging activities linked to tycoon Soeng Sam Ol. Meas Pros, court spokesman, yesterday confirmed that the provincial court prosecutor charged the three Chinese nationals ...

Southeast Asian foreign ministers opened their annual meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday to discuss and further strengthen Asean community building and enhance regional cooperation. Lao Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Saleumxay Kommasith attended the 52nd Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings hosted by Thailand. Those present ...

Local residents and civil society organizations in Shan State will submit an open letter this week to the Union and state governments with recommendations for Shan State’s energy policy following a seminar on energy strategy held in Taunggyi from July 27-28. The open letter calls on ...

In the early hours of a Sunday morning this past March, officers manning a roadside checkpoint in Thailand’s Prachuap Khiri Khan province were hardly fooled when an approaching pick-up attempted to bypass their blockade by hastily detouring down a side road 300m away. The officers gave ...

A severe drought that has caused water levels in Southeast Asia’s Mekong River to drop to their lowest in more than 100 years could have devastating consequences for fish, as well as the tens of millions of people living and working along the river, experts warn. The ...

The Ayeyarwady River, dubbed the lifeblood of Myanmar and home to a threatened species of dolphin, is being suffocated by tonnes of plastic being dumped into it every day. It has been ranked the ninth most polluted river in the world, behind the Philippines’ Pasig ...

The EU will provide €10 million ($11.14 million) for a project to strengthen government actions to disrupt wildlife supply chains in the Greater Mekong Region, Malaysia and China. The ‘Partners against Wildlife Crime’ initiative seeks to “disrupt the illicit supply chains of wildlife from source to ...

Construction of a bridge across the Mekong River in Luang Prabang which will carry the Laos-China railway is running ahead of schedule, according to Chinese construction companies. The companies in charge of the bridge and railway construction project on Sunday invited local and foreign media to ...