The single-visa concept would cover Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, ensuring seamless mobility for travellers among the six neighbouring countries.

US Treasury Department accused entities of channelling funds to North Korea’s weapons programmes. It said action was coordinated with South Korea.

Asiatic black bears, as moon bears are also known, are classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of endangered species. Across Asia, thousands are kept as pets or farmed to extract their bile.

Highly endangered fish species are on the brink, as dam-building along the Mekong decimates the ecosystem which millions of people rely on.

Economic growth and ‘de-risking’ from China are driving investors to Southeast Asia, but just four companies accounted for nearly half of exit values since 2015.

Some 19 per cent of the roughly 1,100 fish species in Southeast Asia’s longest river are heading towards extinction, according to a report compiled by the WWF and 25 global marine and wildlife conservation groups.

Myanmar’s ruling generals remain barred from key Asean meetings over their failure to implement a peace plan agreed with the bloc two months after a 2021 coup that unleashed chaos in the country.

There are concerns Laos, which has hooked its economic fortunes to Beijing, will ‘do China’s bidding’ as the new Asean chair.

To criminal networks, Southeast Asia’s casinos are the new banks, allowing them to launder money on a vast scale away from scrutiny and law enforcement.

The 41-year-old had worked with drug networks across Thailand, Malaysia, China, Singapore and Laos since 2006. Among his seized assets were three yachts, two cars and firearms, police said.

In summit with prime ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, China’s Li Qiang urges operations that ‘strike hard’ against cyber scams and other crimes.

Hong Kong sees yuan trading, talent development and green finance as three potential areas of cooperation to boost its ties with Vietnam and Laos, top treasury official Christopher Hui says in a blog post.

Tether is banned in Cambodia but is frequently used to move money in and out of China, for gambling, and laundering money from Southeast Asia’s cyber scams.

The 33-year-old thought he was being hired to work a chef in Thailand. Little did he know what would happen when he arrived in Bangkok.

Aman Youyi-2023 exercises held in Guangdong province aim to further deepen ‘mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation’, according to Chinese state media.

As new Asean chair, Vientiane may be ‘susceptible to Chinese pressure’ when dealing with the South China Sea issue, analysts say

From arriving by zip line through the Cambodian jungle to your hotel to swimming with horses in Indonesia, here are 10 truly unique hotels in Asia to check out

Chinese nationals, some known fugitives, dominate the gangs that use online gambling, romance, cryptocurrency and foreign-exchange scams to target their victims, many of whom are in China or are part of the diaspora.

Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative has not proved to be the ‘transformation game changer’ many in the region were hoping for, analysts say – as concerns grow about some projects’ viability and added value.

Canadian MP tells US Congressional-Executive Commission on China about Beijing’s ‘systemic efforts’ involving threats, disinformation campaigns and surveillance.