Al Jazeera
EU to suspend some of Cambodia trade benefits over human rights
Cambodia’s government is preparing for the European Union to partially and temporarily remove the country’s Everything But Arms (EBA) trade privileges on Wednesday, in the wake of a 2018 political crackdown. The EU warned Cambodia last February it would withdraw the scheme unless it made more effort to improve the ...
Leonie Kijewski
Mekong communities struggle as China tests dam equipment
Water levels on the Mekong River, which flows through China and five other countries before emptying into the South China Sea, have dropped once again after Beijing revealed it was testing equipment at one of its 11 dams in the upper reaches of the vital ...
Leonie Kijewski
Minorities in Myanmar receive training
The group says they have trained more than 300 teams and about 70 are in operation, helping injured civilians and delivering aid to those in need. The recruits say they are being persecuted by the country’s army. They have been conducting rescue and medical drills, but Myanmar‘s military ...
Laura Burdon-Manley
Experts doubt effectiveness of new plan to address Mekong drought
After a year of severe drought that hit the region, the inter-state agency Mekong River Commission (MRC) has laid out new measures to mitigate the effects of the crisis but experts have questioned the effectiveness of the plan. In its 2020-2025 strategy, adopted late last month ...
Leonie Kijewski
'Beautifying Phnom Penh': Muslim Cham face eviction in Cambodia
On a good day, fish vendor Sen Ror can make about $7.50 but that is on a good day. Usually, she only makes about a third of that, taking home roughly $2.50, which is all she has to buy food for her four children and elderly ...
Leonie Kijewski
Officials to meet on Mekong crisis as fishing communities suffer
On Cambodia’s Tonle Sap, record low water levels have plunged fishing communities into crisis but with warnings of “severe drought”, there are concerns the situation will get even worse. “Every day we can only find about one or two kilogrammes (two or four pounds) of fish, ...
Leonie Kijewski
Southeast Asia struggles to tackle haze despite long-term dangers
A toxic smog settled over Malaysia and Singapore for most of September fuelled by fires that had been raging in neighbouring Indonesia for weeks. Schools were forced to close, N95 masks to filter the polluted air’s most dangerous particulates were rationed, and doctors reported a surge in patients ...
Kate Mayberry
Plundering Cambodia's Forests
Under a rickety wooden stilt house near Cambodia’s Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, one of the country’s leading environmental campaigners is preparing dinner. Ouch Leng stuffs raw meat into an empty beer can and throws it into the fire. It’s a poor man’s feast for his team ...
Laos to go ahead with Luang Prabang dam project despite warnings
The government of Laos has officially informed the intergovernmental Mekong River Commission (MRC) of its plan to build a new dam in Luang Prabang, despite warnings about the project’s environmental effects. “We confirm that the MRC Secretariat has received the notification from the Lao government on the Luang ...
Andrew Nachemson
Cambodia's lifeline threatened as Mekong recedes to historic low
As world leaders meet in New York from Monday to discuss the global challenge of climate change, thousands of kilometres away people in Cambodia are grappling with dramatic changes to the country’s ecosystem, including the lowest water levels in the crucially-important Mekong River ever recorded. The United Nations Development Programme, ...
Andrew Nachemson
