VIENTIANE -- Representatives from the governments and businesses of Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam gathered in southern Laos' Sekong province on Friday to strengthen economic cooperation, improve trade and international cargo transport, and enhance the region's competitiveness both regionally and globally.
They gathered for a forum on Trade, Investment, and Tourism Promotion Strengthening Cooperation in the East-West Corridor, Lao Economic Daily reported on Friday. (Laos-Vientiane-Thailand-Vietnam-Economic-Cooperation-Forum)
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JAKARTA -- The Indonesian government has blocked 225 illegal commodity futures trading (PBK) websites between January and May 2025, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Agency (Bappebti) on Friday.
"This step aims to protect the public from potential losses caused by illegal activities in the commodity futures trading sector," said the head of Bappebti, Tirta Karma Senjaya, in a statement. (Indonesia-Illegal Websites)
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WELLINGTON -- New Zealand's government is stepping up efforts to control the spread of invasive wilding pines, with a 20 percent increase in funding that brings total investment to 12 million NZ dollars for the coming year.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay said on Friday that wilding pines are a major threat to the country's rural economy and landscapes. (New Zealand-Wilding-Pines)
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SYDNEY -- A four-year trial using camels to control the spread of prickly acacia, one of Australia's most damaging invasive weeds, has delivered promising results in outback Queensland.
More than 30 camels were deployed on a 40,000-hectare property near Muttaburra, over 1,200 kilometers northwest of Brisbane, as part of the trial in western Queensland. The camels grazed on the thorny shrub, helping to curb its spread, according to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). (Australia-Camels-Invasive Weed) ■
