Channel News Asia
Cambodia's casino boom town, created by Chinese money
Chinese money has transformed the once-sleepy backpacker destination of Sihanoukville, Cambodia into a gambling resort hub with 30 casinos, and 70 more being built. It’s touted as the “New Macau”. But all that new wealth is eluding many local Cambodian businesses – which are being ...
Commentary: The Laos dam collapse, and the hidden costs of the Mekong's hydroelectric plans
Beyond concern for the undoubted human costs of the collapse of a dam in Laos, this event once again focuses attention on the long-term effect of the massive expansion of hydropower in the Mekong Basin. Keep reading ...
Increase of Mekong River dolphin population a positive sign: WWF
Results from a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Cambodia Fisheries Administration census released on Monday (Apr 23) showed that the population of critically endangered river dolphins in the Mekong has slightly risen from 2015. Keep reading ...
Ouch Sony
Floodwater released by Chinese dam in Cambodia submerges village
Floodwater released by a recently opened Chinese hydroelectric dam in Cambodia has completely submerged a village, the campaign group International Rivers said on Friday (Feb 2). Hundreds of families from five villages in the northern province of Stung Treng had moved several months ago to designated ...
Amy Sawitta Lefevre/Simon Cameron-Moore
Thai navy says 11 million pill haul a record from Laos
Thailand’s navy has seized 11 million meth pills from traffickers crossing from Laos via the Mekong River, a record bust from a communist state that is emerging as a key Asian drug route. Keep reading ...
Channel News Asia Reporter
Power stacked against Southeast Asia's poor as China dams Mekong
Cambodian fisherman Sles Hiet lives at the mercy of the Mekong: A massive river that feeds tens of millions but is under threat from the Chinese dams cementing Beijing’s physical – and diplomatic – control over its Southeast Asian neighbours.Keep reading ...
Channel News Asia Reporter
Asian dolphins a step closer to extinction: group
The International Union for Conservation of Nature said on Tuesday it had changed the status of the Irrawaddy dolphin and finless porpoise, both living in Asian waters, to “endangered” from “vulnerable”, meaning they are closer to extinction.[]”In the Mekong River, for example, the majority of ...
Channel News Asia Reporter
Deadly diet: Thai doctors battle cancer-causing fish dish
It was not until he got to medical school that Narong Khuntikeo finally discovered what caused the liver cancer that took both of his parents’ lives – their lunch.Like millions of Thais across the rural northeast, his family regularly ate koi pla – a local ...
At 97, this Vietnamese grandma has mastered the Internet
At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss Le Thi as just another raddled old woman. At 97, she has lost almost all her teeth and a severe hunchback impedes her movement. She spends most of her time lying in bed on her side, slowly chewing ...
Sri Lanka deploys more troops as flood toll climbs to 180
Thousands of Sri Lankan troops battled on Monday (May 29) to get relief supplies to over half a million people displaced by the island’s worst flooding for 14 years, which has killed at least 180 people. The military said a lull in torrential monsoon rains allowed ...