Imaging Our Mekong - Publications

From Market Back to Battlefield?

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 03:30:37 -0500

By Rosalia Sciortino*

BANGKOK, Oct 7 – A short article by Agence France Presse on the front page of Thailand’s English-language daily ‘The Nation’ (Oct 4) reported that Cambodian and Thai troops stationed to guard the contested border around the Preah Vihear temple exchanged gunfire, wounding at least three soldiers.

THAILAND: No Let-up on Avian Flu, Officials Told

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:18:54 -0500

BANGKOK (Newsmekong) - Livestock officials have been instructed to carry out extensive checks on poultry farms across Thailand and rehearse precautions to safeguard against avian influenza amid fears the disease could make a comeback during the monsoon season.

Q & A: ‘People Still Not Aware of Dangers of Avian Flu’

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:04:15 -0500

By Ounkeo Souksavanh

VIENTIANE (Newsmekong/IPS) -Avian flu poses a mix of challenges for a Least Developing Country like Laos, which also to watch transboundary movement of fowl with the four countries it shares borders with, according to Dr Bounkhouang Khambounheuang, Director General of the Livestock and Fisheries Department of Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Vientiane, Laos. He is also with the National Committee for Communicable Disease Control, the body responsible for overseeing efforts at controlling avian flu.

THAILAND: Water Diversion Plans Lead to Trouble - Activists

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:48:54 -0500

By Kornpan Winwong

BANGKOK, Aug 3 (Newsmekong) - Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej’s plans to divert water from rivers across the Thailand and from neighbouring Laos to help feed agricultural production faces stiff opposition from activists, who argue the ambitious projects could threaten the environment and local people’s lives.

Temple Row May Sour ASEAN Spirit

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:32:44 -0500

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Jul 18 (IPS) - Amornchai Sirisai has been a regular visitor to the Thai-Cambodian border, close to where a 10th century Hindu temple sits atop a steep cliff. But it is not tourism that brings the Thai national to the ancient site.

2 Mekong Fellows Win Journalism Prizes in Cambodia

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:01:12 -0500

Two Cambodian journalists who were part of the Imaging Our Mekong programme, Leang Delux and Ung Chansophea, won prizes in the Investigative Journalism Awards Competition organised by the Club of Cambodian Journalists with the support of the U.S. Embassy. Our congratulations to both of them!

CAMBODIA: Locals, Lawyers Prepare for Battle over Land

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:11:35 -0500

By Andrew Nette

RATANAKIRI, Cambodia, Jul 10 (IPS) - In thick forest in the north-east Cambodian province of Ratanakiri, a team of lawyers uses a global positioning satellite handset to mark the location of traditional spirit forests and gravesites belonging to local Jarai villagers.

Mekong Delta Farmers on Bird Flu Alert

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:49:03 -0500

By Tran Dinh Thanh Lam

CAN THO, Vietnam, Jun 30 (Newsmekong) - The bustling city of Can Tho is the capital of southern Vietnam’s fertile Mekong Delta and one of the country’s two main rice baskets.

Landgrabbing Hounds Cambodia’s Ethnic Groups

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 06:00:17 -0500

By Andrew Nette

RATANAKIRI, Cambodia, Jun 27 (Newsmekong) - The wording of the two-page document in Dam Chanthy’s hands may be vague and legalistic, but the meaning is crystal clear. It details yet another land concession covering nearly 7,000 hectares that a company wants to plant with rubber and acacia trees.

China Quake Shakes Dam Ambitions

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:37:49 -0500

By Antoaneta Bezlova

DUJIANGYAN, China, Jun 25 (IPS) - China's deadly earthquake appears to have shifted more than just tectonic plates here in picturesque Sichuan province in the country’s south-west.

ASIA: Jatropha May Ease Mekong Countries’ Fuel, Food Needs

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:29:52 -0500

By Prime Sarmiento

MANILA, Jun 25 (Newsmekong) - The jatropha plant is not yet a household word, but experts say it can help economies in the Mekong region cope with both energy and food self-sufficiency needs at a time of surging fuel prices.

CAMBODIA: Wave of Dam Projects Calls for New Approaches

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:16:49 -0500

By Andrew Nette

PHNOM PENH, Jun 9 (IPS) - An explosion of dam building projects along the Sekong River in Laos, the Mekong river’s largest tributary, is prompting Cambodian and foreign experts to warn of significant downstream impacts and call for new approaches to governing the cross-border issues that arise from the use of the Mekong’s water resources.

BURMA: ASEAN Steps in Where Others May Not Tread

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 05:00:11 -0500

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, May 31 (IPS) - Four weeks after Cyclone Nargis swept through the populous Irrawaddy Delta in Burma, a regional effort to help the victims is slowly grinding into motion.

CAMBODIA: Resource Curse or Blessing?

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:52:05 -0500

By Andrew Nette

PHNOM PENH, May 28 (IPS) - Cambodia is facing a natural resource boom, but donors and non-government organisations (NGOs) warn that this potential windfall could be squandered without measures to improve financial transparency, promote better governance and curb corruption.

HEALTH: Vietnam Reports Headway in Human Vaccine on Bird Flu

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:04:02 -0500

Tran Dinh Thanh Lam

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Jun 3 (Newsmekong) - Vietnamese researchers have announced significant progress in their effort to develop a prototype vaccine for the H5N1 avian influenza, despite criticism from some scientists that their methods are “unorthodox”.