Aid and development
India to Include Laos in Planned Global Electricity Grid
India is poised to include Laos in plans for a global electricity grid, in response to an evolving energy security architecture. The country will present proposals for the grid at the second general assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to be held in New Delhi from October ...
ASEAN members agree to promote circular economy
International representatives from the government and private sectors across Southeast Asia vowed to co-operate to address the resource constraints through the circular economy with a focus on “resource maximisation, waste separation and proper disposal” in the manufacturing and consumption cycle at a symposium in Bangkok ...
Cambodia’s rice farmers in serious danger
Half a million Cambodian farmers could possibly be looking at empty rice bowls if the European Union (EU) pushes through with the withdrawal of its Everything But Arms (EBA) trade preference. While the garment and footwear sectors stand to lose the most if the EBA trade scheme – ...
Jason Thomas
UN Warns Mekong River Is A Disaster Hotspot
The Mekong River basin was identified as a major disaster risk hotspot by the United Nations today. Poor people living close to the river suffer high exposure to flood and drought, according to a report released today. A UN official also called for the nations in ...
No justice in Rakhine
Abdullah keeps track of each time he has nearly died. When asked to introduce himself, he begins to list each brush with death with the same practised air of one listing the experiences on their resume. A Rohingya refugee living in Cox’s Bazar for the ...
Robin Spiess
Economic growth rebounding but further reform needed: World Bank
The World Bank is optimistic about economic growth in Laos, which is projected to rebound to 6.5 per cent in 2019, rising from 6.3 per cent recorded last year. Despite continued fiscal tightening, the pickup is expected to be driven by robust investment in mega infrastructure ...
Somsack Pongkhao
China and the Mekong states: Divergent responses to Chinese initiatives
In June 2018, the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) held its eighth summit in Bangkok. ACMECS countries include Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand. Initially an initiative of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2003, there were few indications that the Thai government ...
Selina Ho
Silk Road sweeteners: China woos Myanmar's NLD with junkets
The National League for Democracy was forged in an uprising against one-party rule. Its activists spent years in jail under Myanmar’s military junta. But since taking power three years ago, the party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has found an unlikely ally ...
Shoon Naing and Simon Lewis
EU stumps up $11mln for Greater Mekong wildlife conservation
The European Union (EU) has teamed up with wildlife and conservation groups in the Greater Mekong region, Malaysia, and China to try and disrupt the flow of illegally trafficked wildlife through the region. The €10 million (about $11.14 million) project which will run through until December ...
Sreypov Men
China’s Push to Control the Mekong River a “Troubling Trend”
The United States has expressed concern over Chinese dam building, dredging and other activities on the Mekong River in Southeast Asia, calling them “troubling trends.” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with ministers from lower Mekong River countries, including Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The foreign ministers of ...
