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☆ Rice. Half of Humanity Eats It. And Climate Change Is Wrecking It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

Sometimes there’s not enough rain when seedlings need water, or too much when the plants need to keep their heads above water. Rice farmers are shifting their planting calendars. On top of that, there’s climate change: It has upended the rhythm of sunshine and rain that rice depends on. That’s a fraction of the emissions from coal, oil and gas, which together account for 35 percent of methane emissions. His experiment, carried out over seven years, concluded that by not flooding the fields continuously, farmers can reduce rice methane emissions by more than 60 percent.

☆ China, birthplace of COVID, lays tracks for a new global health crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

Bat viruses have been the source of multiple health crises besides those related to coronaviruses, including recent outbreaks of Ebola, Nipah, and Marburg. Partners in risk The total area at high risk for bat viruses to infect humans more than doubled in size in Laos between 2002 and 2020. The animals, known to be susceptible to bat viruses, included raccoon dogs, bamboo rats and porcupines. As China boomed in recent decades, global demand for rubber also skyrocketed, leading to further development and deforestation here. Already, scientists have found local bats bearing viruses closely related to those responsible for the 2003 SARS and COVID-19 pandemics.

☆ Asia's April heatwaves were '30 times more likely' because of climate change - scientists
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, May 17 (Reuters) - Record-breaking heatwaves that hit large parts of South and Southeast Asia in April were made "30 times more likely" as a result of human-induced climate change, an international team of scientists said on Wednesday. Humid heatwaves that used to happen once a century in Bangladesh and India are now expected to occur every five years, while the heat in Thailand and Laos would have been "virtually impossible" without climate change, the scientists said. "The heatwaves were not natural," said Chaya Vaddhanaphuti, a team member from Chiang Mai University in Thailand, during a media briefing on Wednesday. "Unless we take drastic measures to reduce carbon emissions, heatwave events like this will continue to become more common," he said. Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

These areas, which we've dubbed " jump zones ," span the globe, covering 6% of Earth's land mass. That's 57% more people living in jump zones than two decades earlier, increasing the odds that a deadly bat virus could spill over. The world's jump zones have lost 21% percent of their tree cover in almost two decades' time, double the worldwide rate. Almost one-third of that expansion would be in existing jump zones, where spillover risk is already high. Though those countries require mining companies to assess potential environmental harms that new concessions might cause, none require companies to evaluate spillover risk.

☆ Bat lands worldwide are besieged, seeding risk of a new pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

This collision – bats and humans competing for resources on territory long the domain of the bats – could trigger the next pandemic. As people destroy bat habitats worldwide, they are unwittingly helping bat-borne viruses mutate, multiply, and infect other species, including homo sapiens. For millennia, bat viruses lurked across the forests of West Africa and in other undisturbed parts of the world but posed little threat to humanity. They’re potent proliferators: Some roost tightly together and in close quarters with other bat species. Each of the bat viruses analyzed by Reuters has epidemic potential, according to the World Health Organization.

☆ We may never know where the COVID pandemic originated
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LONDONIt’s the enduring mystery of the COVID-19 pandemic: Where did the virus come from? They also mostly agree that many of the earliest known infections and deaths clustered around a wildlife market in Wuhan, China. Others suspect the pathogen somehow leaked from a Wuhan laboratory, 27 km from the market, where researchers study bat viruses. One concentration of jump zones includes a region of mountains and lakes about 175 km southeast of the Wuhan market. In late 2002, the SARS-CoV-1 virus emerged in Guangdong province, in southern China, and became the SARS pandemic of 2003.

☆ Southeast Asia hit with record-breaking heat and heavy air pollution
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Several cities in Southeast Asia experienced sweltering temperatures over the weekend, with some areas hitting new all-time highs as global climate change intensifies both heat waves and air pollution in the region. Luang Prabang, a city in Laos, saw a record-high temperature of 110.3 degrees Fahrenheit (43.5 degrees Celsius) Saturday, according to the Thai Meteorological Department. Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, also experienced a record-high temperature of 105.8 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius) over the weekend. Singapore hit 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) Saturday, matching its all-time record, which was recorded 40 years ago, the National Environment Agency said. Southeast Asia is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change, which has fueled more frequent and severe heat waves and worsened the region's air pollution.

☆ These maps show how far China's freight railways are stretching across Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — In the last two years, China has announced the opening of new freight train lines, while cross-border railways have become a feature in President Xi Jinping's meetings with regional leaders. Here's a look at where the rail lines are being built across the Asian continent. In the last six months, China also opened freight train lines to Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, according to state media. Those freight lines are in addition to China's relatively older rail network through central Asia — connecting Yiwu in eastern China to London. While it's difficult to verify how operational all the rail lines are, official reports offer a glimpse at how China's Belt and Road ambitions are panning out.

☆ Southeast Asian leaders pledge crackdown on human traffickers online scams
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Kate Lamb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia, May 10 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian leaders pledged on Wednesday to crack down ononline scams operated by human traffickers to prey on vulnerable job seekers, particularly in the poorest countries of the region. Meeting in Indonesia for a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the leaders called for a regional approach to combat human trafficking. Issuing the first declaration by ASEAN on the danger of traffickers' cyber scams, the leaders noted "the increasing abuse of technology in facilitating trafficking in persons in Southeast Asia and globally, proliferated through the use and abuse of social media and other online platforms". There has been a spike in cases of people enslaved in cyber scams, and more than 1,000 victims have been rescued just in recent days. ASEAN's efforts to combat human trafficking will include enhancing the capacity of law enforcement agencies to investigate, collect data, exchange information and conduct joint exercises, the declaration said.

☆ Vietnam and Laos record hottest temperatures ever as heat wave grips Southeast Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Tara Subramaniam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —Temperature records tumbled across Southeast Asia over the weekend as the region swelters under a weekslong heat wave that has brought misery to millions. Scientists have long warned that heat waves are set to get worse as the impacts of the human-caused climate crisis accelerate. In neighboring Laos, the city of Luang Prabang hit 43.5 degrees Celsius (110.3 Fahrenheit) on Saturday, breaking the national record of 42.7 degrees Celsius (108.9 Fahrenheit) that was only set last month, Herrera said. The Laotian capital Vientiane also broke its all-time record this weekend with a temperature of 42.5 degrees Celsius (108.5 Fahrenheit). Meanwhile in Thailand, Saturday saw the hottest ever temperature recorded in Bangkok – 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 Fahrenheit).

☆ Chinese troops to hold rare joint military exercise in Laos
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, May 5 (Reuters) - China will hold a rare joint military exercise with its landlocked neighbour Laos this month as Beijing tries to bolster security ties with regional allies to counter an expanding U.S. presence in Southeast Asia. Southern Theater Command, one of the five theatre commands of the People's Liberation Army, will send troops to Laos for the "Friendship Shield 2023" joint exercise, the Chinese defence ministry said on Friday in a brief statement. The drill marks a step up from previous "Peace Train" joint humanitarian medical rescue exercises between Chinese and Laotian militaries in Laos. China's stronger military ties with its Southeast Asian allies coincide with Beijing's diplomatic push to deepen engagement with its southerly neighbours. In November, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith on a visit to Beijing that the two countries must ensure efforts to "build a shared future between China and Laos."

☆ That simple 'hi' text from a stranger could be the start of a scam that ends up costing you millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

The scammer networks operate fake trading platforms that look "exactly the way they should look," Friedman told CNBC. "When I was looking at who had messaged, I was like, 'I don't know if this person is real,'" Kaimi told CNBC. When pressed, Kaimi told Mike about his financial difficulties, stemming from past credit-card debt. "I thought I was someone who knew when they were being scammed, was able to discern things," Kaimi told CNBC. But when Kaimi told Mike he was planning to withdraw his funds, the penny dropped.

☆ IMF raises 2023 economic outlook for Asia, sees China and India making up half of global growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

This comes as the rest of the world braces for slower growth from tightened monetary policy and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The two largest emerging market economies of the region are expected to contribute around half of global growth this year. International Monetary FundThe IMF's upgraded outlook would mean the region would contribute around 70% of global growth, it said. "Asia and Pacific will be the most dynamic of the world's major regions in 2023, predominantly driven by the buoyant outlook for China and India," the IMF said in its report. On a country-basis, the organization raised its growth outlook for China, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Laos to 5.2%, 4.5%, 6%, and 4% respectively.

☆ Myanmar's neighbours, some ASEAN members hold secretive talks on crisis - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Devjyot Ghoshal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BANGKOK, April 26 (Reuters) - Government and think-tank representatives from Myanmar and its neighbours, including India and China, held talks in New Delhi on Tuesday as part of a secretive effort to de-escalate a bloody crisis in the army-run Southeast Asian nation, two sources said. One of the sources said participants were interested in bringing into the process Myanmar's shadow National Unity Government (NUG), an organisation affiliated with the resistance and declared "terrorists" by the junta. "The neighbouring countries' perspective needs to be taken into account," said the source, "For them, the foremost priority is the de-escalation of the violence." ASEAN has barred the junta from attending until they implement the plan, which has infuriated the generals. "This effort will not supplant ASEAN," the second source said of the ongoing talks, "This will only complement."

☆ China, Singapore plan military drills as Beijing forges defence ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, April 24 (Reuters) - China and Singapore will hold a joint military exercise as soon as this week, their first combined drills since 2021, as Beijing deepens its defence and security ties with Southeast Asia, a region with strong existing U.S. alliances. Two years ago, China and Singapore held a combined military drill in international waters at the southern tip of the South China Sea, following the upgrade of a bilateral defence pact in 2019 to include bigger-scale exercises among their army, navy and air force. Such passages annoy China, which lays claims to nearly all of the South China Sea despite an international ruling to the contrary. Around the same time, China sent fighter-bombers to Thailand in joint air force drills code named Falcon Strike 2022. China's increased military engagement in Southeast Asia is widely expected to challenge the influence that the United States has shaped with countries including Singapore and Indonesia in coming years.

☆ Bruce Haigh, Diplomat Who Helped Battle Apartheid, Dies at 77
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Alan Cowell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bruce Haigh, an Australian diplomat who brushed aside the protocols of his profession to offer covert support to anti-apartheid figures in South Africa, including the banned newspaper editor depicted in the movie “Cry Freedom,” died on April 7 in Australia. His sister, Christina Henderson, told Australian news outlets that her brother had been medevacked from Laos when a cancerous condition worsened. He died in a hospital in Wollongong, south of Sydney, she said. Over the years Mr. Haigh worked variously as a ranch hand (known on Australian sheep and cattle stations as a jackeroo), an oil rig worker; an Australian Army conscript in Vietnam, a diplomat, a champion of refugees, and a columnist and broadcaster decrying what he considered excessive American influence on Australia’s security and defense policies. But a defining example of his commitment to underdogs and those he saw as oppressed came during his assignment in the late 1970s as a junior diplomat with the rank of second secretary at the Australian mission in Pretoria.

In Southeast Asia, some countries posted their highest ever recorded temperatures this week, while searing heat in the Indian subcontinent has killed more than a dozen people. Neighboring Myanmar set an April temperature record on Monday as Kalewa, in central Sagaing region, reached 44°C (111°F), Herrera tweeted. April and May are typically the hottest months of the year for South and Southeast Asia as temperatures rise before monsoon rains begin and bring some relief. On Monday, more than 100 weather stations in 12 provinces broke their April temperature record, according to climatologist Jim Yang. Extremely hot temperatures across South and Southeast Asia are expected to continue.

But it serves to highlight the importance of one of the most inaccessible parts of southeast Asia to the global tin supply chain. Imports from Myanmar grew from 30,000 tonnes in 2012 to 89,000 tonnes in 2013 and mushroomed to almost 500,000 tonnes in 2016. CHINESE DEPENDENCEThe Myanmar tin boom occurred at the right time for China's tin smelters, many of which were struggling to bring on new mining capacity as Beijing steadily tightened environmental controls on the mining sector. However, the threat alone underscores the fragility of tin supply at a time when Indonesia, the largest exporter of the metal in refined form, is mulling an export ban to stimulate the build-out of downstream processing capacity. This is probably not going to be the last time tin gets spooked by unexpected news from Myanmar.

"China was initially in discussions to be part of the project," the official said, declining to be named as the information was deemed sensitive. China has since banned the sale and consumption for food of wildlife animals. China's public security organs have handled more than 70,000 criminal cases involving wild animals from 2020-2022, confiscating 1.37 million wild animals in the process, state news agency Xinhua has reported. SLOW STARTThe SAFE project surveys only began in October last year, when the project's assessors visited Khao Kheow zoo and a cafe in Thailand. The wet markets targeted are markets where wild animals are sold alongside fresh meat and vegetables.

☆ Pollution choking Thailand's north hits tourism, worries public
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CHIANG MAI, Thailand, April 10 (Reuters) - High pollution levels in Thailand's northern city of Chiang Mai and surrounding provinces are keeping tourists away and alarming locals, with the government on Monday urging residents to avoid outdoor activities. For several weeks last month the city was at the top of air quality information platform IQAir's global chart on poor air quality, ahead of Lahore and New Delhi. That is far short of the 80% to 90% expected ahead of this week's Thai New Year holidays, known as Songkran. Addressing the deteriorating air quality in the north, Thailand's health ministry urged the public on Monday to avoid outdoor activities and wear masks that can filter particles. Chiang Mai resident Pathsharasakon Po, 36, said she was concerned about allergies, or even cancer.

TOKYO, April 10 (Reuters) - Japan's Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) on Monday said that it and other shareholders of the Monsoon wind power project in Laos have raised $692 million in financing for the wind farm. Mitsubishi, Thai renewable energy firm BCPG Pcl, and other stakeholders secured the financing package from the Asian Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and other lenders, the Japanese firm said. The project, which is set to sell power to Vietnam under a 25-year deal, will have 600 megawatts of installed capacity and should be launched in 2025. Its total costs stand at $950 million, according to Monsoon's website. Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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☆ Fact Check-Video purporting to show Soviet-era tanks shipped from Russia to Ukraine dates to at least 2019
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A video purporting to show Soviet-era tanks being shipped from Russia to battle in Ukraine is being circulated online, but the clip predates Russia’s invasion of its neighbour and is unrelated. Designed before World War II, these antiques will quickly become food for Leopards,” said one Twitter user sharing the footage on March 22 (here ). However, an online search of still images taken from the clip reveals that it dates to at least Jan. 18, 2019, three years before Russia invaded Ukraine. The Russian Embassy in Laos posted about the transfer of 30 T-34 tanks on Jan. 10, 2019 (here ). Video purporting to show Soviet World War Two tanks being shipped from Russia to Ukraine in March 2023 can be traced back to 2019.

☆ Traveling to Asia for work? This city is its most expensive business destination
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Goh Chiew Tong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong has been named the most expensive location in Asia for business travelers — for the second year in a row, according to a new report. watch nowTokyo, which dropped from second- to third-most expensive city in Asia, also experienced a 5% rise in daily costs for business travelers in local currency terms. "With average daily costs of $424 per day [in Tokyo], business travel to the city is now almost 20% cheaper than first-placed Hong Kong." "Even a tourist hub like Bangkok, which typically receives many business travelers, only saw a moderate 4% increase in business travel costs," Quane added. World's most expensive placeFor yet another year, New York received the dubious honor of being the most expensive place in the world for business travelers.

☆ Exodus of healthcare workers from poor countries worsening, WHO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Baz RatnerGENEVA, March 14 (Reuters) - Poorer countries are increasingly losing healthcare workers to wealthier ones as the latter seek to shore up their own staff losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, sometimes through active recruitment, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. "Health workers are the backbone of every health system, and yet 55 countries with some of the world's most fragile health systems do not have enough and many are losing their health workers to international migration," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general. He was referring to a new WHO list of vulnerable countries which has added eight extra states since it was last published in 2020. Some 115,000 healthcare workers died from COVID around the world during the pandemic but many more left their professions due to burnout and depression, he said. Asked which countries were attracting more workers, he said wealthy OECD countries and Gulf states but added that competition between African countries had also intensified.

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