Laos' massive hydropower supply seemed far more than enough for the rural & mountainous country. Until Bitcoin miners found Laos, and now civilians are even struggling to keep the lights on. Excellent, insightful story from Mekong Eye www.mekongeye.com/2025/11/17/l...

The lights dim on Laos' brief Bitcoin dream

Four years after it first approved Bitcoin mining projects powered by surplus hydropower, Laos is beginning to rethink whether the energy-hungry industry — now linked to massive transnational cryptocu...

mekongeye.com

"At the broadest level, the First Amendment remains an extraordinary gift to the US press, one that many journalists around the world would die to have—and all too often die without." www.cjr.org/the_media_to...

The line.

Some final reflections on seven years of writing CJR’s newsletter.

cjr.org

Plainclothes officers arrested a Cambodian journalist who was reporting in Khmer on deforestation in Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. He's previously been cited in Mongabay, and had recently been harassed & assaulted. www.camboja.net/advocacy/art...

Environmental Journalist Ouk Mao Arrested - CamboJA

Environmental Journalist Ouk Mao Arrested -

camboja.net

While Musk, who is apparently steering the US government, is calling for the complete dissolution of USAID, Cambodian demining experts and NGOs in particular are feeling the effect of the funding freeze. There will probably be more impacts in the future asia.nikkei.com/Economy/U.S....

U.S. funding freeze dents Cambodian social, rights projects

NGOs particularly feel the brunt as government has shifted to debt financing

asia.nikkei.com

Cambodian dissidents who fled to Thailand are living "like crabs or frogs..in a cave", hiding out of concern after a former opposition party official was shot in Bangkok. asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Int...

Cambodian activists in Thailand on edge after Bangkok killing

Rights campaigners say governments cooperating to pursue dissidents

asia.nikkei.com

Maybe USAID funds getting frozen seems like nothing to many of you, but over here in Cambodia, it means jobs are frozen and people are just stuck - some in critical conditions. Let me give you an example from just ONE country (it's way beyond just 🇰🇭) cambodianess.com/article/trum...

Trump Freezes USAID Funding, Cambodian Programs in Limbo

PHNOM PENH – USAID-funded programs in Cambodia are facing a cloud of uncertainty following an executive order signed by newly inaugurated U.S. Presiden...

cambodianess.com

Nearly 60 South Asian workers pushed through the gates of O'Smach Resort, a casino owned by the recently-sanctioned Cambodian tycoon Ly Yong Phat. Interestingly, they reportedly said they left bc they wanted to work in Poipet, a more populous border town ~200km away. www.rfa.org/english/camb...

Lim Kimya, a former Cambodian opposition MP was shot & killed in Bangkok on Oct. 7, shortly after arriving from Siem Reap. This comes after several dissidents have been deported from Thailand, raising new alarms about the safety of fleeing to the country www.rfa.org/english/camb...

Laos' Attapeu province is experiencing breakneck deforestation to make way for major Chinese banana and durian farms www.mekongeye.com/2024/12/16/f...

Fruits of spoil: Laos' forests disappearing as fruit farms flourish

The country’s improved railway connectivity facilitates fruit exports to China but has also sparked a boom in foreign-owned banana and durian farms, leading to forest clearance

mekongeye.com

An online journalist was fatally shot last week in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Even though you may never have read his reports, pay attention to these cases. It's always local language journos who suffer first. opc-cambodia.org/blog/2024/12...

Joint Statement: Ensure Swift Justice for Journalist Murdered in Siem Reap

Phnom Penh, 10 December 2024—We, the undersigned civil society groups, are outraged by the murder of Chhoeung Chheng, a journalist working with Kampuchea Aphiwat news website and has previously report...

opc-cambodia.org

CAMBODIA: Cambodia blocks access to 16 crypto exchange websites, incl. Binance & Coinbase, but not their apps. Regulation ordering blocking of 102 websites included online gaming sites, writes @daniellek-o.bsky.social. asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Cr...

Cambodia blocks access to 16 crypto exchange websites

Apps still active, highlighting challenges in managing booming market

asia.nikkei.com