Disasters and emergency response

The Beijing-backed and financed China-Lao high-speed railway’s official inauguration was planned for December 2021, symbolically opening coincident with the 46th anniversary of the founding of communist rule in Laos. But the Covid-19 crisis has caused delays in the 414-kilometer railway’s construction, with progress on the link ...

With strong wind and fast-approaching forest fires, a group of forest dwellers on Doi Mon Dok mountain in Chiang Mai’s Samoeng District are racing against time to stop the flames from engulfing their village. “This is the ninth time the fires have erupted near our home,” ...

The Public Health Ministry has expanded the definition of “Patient Under Investigation” (PUI) to four cases where free tests will be administered, Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman of the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said on Wednesday (April 8). 1. Passengers screened by international communicable disease ...

The coronavirus outbreak has upended our lives in unimaginable ways and prison inmates are no exceptions to the struggles. In light of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic, people globally are facing a multitude of challenges and problems. While the lethal virus is claiming lives in ...

Job loss, crowded quarters and reduced access to healthcare are among the issues foreign workers face. Advocacy groups say the pandemic can only be controlled with an inclusive approach that protects every individual’s rights to life and health. The spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus among Singapore’s migrant ...

Thousands of hectares of forests in the north of Laos have been destroyed by bushfires, the blazes are yet to be brought under control. According to local authorities, bushfires have been reported in northern Lao province of Oudomxay, Luang Namtha, Luang Prabang and Phongsaly provinces, which ...

Late last week, Vietnam handed over some assistance to Laos and Cambodia as the two fellow Southeast Asian states continue to manage the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic. While the development was in line with what Hanoi had previously signaled, it nonetheless put the ...

Saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta will likely remain at a high level until the end of April or early May, before gradually declining, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. In the worst case scenario, drought and saltwater intrusion may last even longer if ...

The Cambodian government should take urgent measures to reduce the risk that the country’s severely overcrowded prisons will suffer COVID-19 outbreaks, Human Rights Watch said today. Reducing overcrowding in prisons is important to prevent outbreaks, which would have serious health consequences for prisoners, prison staff, and the ...

The World Bank has approved a $20 million line of credit from the International Development Association (IDA) to assist Cambodia’s COVID-19 emergency response. This is part of the banks first emergency support package dedicated to fast-track COVID-19 aid. The World Bank said, the funds will help ...