Government
National government
Laos moves towards industrialisation
Laos is now moving towards industrialisation and modernisation after experiencing a slight increase in the share that the industrial and service sectors represent in the overall economic structure. In contrast, the agriculture and forestry sector has declined significantly in the past decade as a result of ...
Vietnam asks China to remove drilling rig
Vietnam has asked China to cease drilling for oil and promptly pull its Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig out of the mouth of the Gulf of Tonkin, Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said on 19 January. Keep reading ...
Thai princess to visit Cambodia
Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will visit Cambodia next month to boost bilateral education ties between the kingdoms, a topic she has worked on since her first visit in 1992. Keep reading ...
Lao tax collectors pay to play
In Laos, where corruption seems like a part of daily life, the locals say tax collectors often stand out as they can be seen driving some of the flashiest cars and living in some of the biggest houses. In this landlocked Asian country with an authoritarian ...
Ministries to be trimmed for ‘efficiency’ under next government
Hoping to reduce bureaucratic red tape, the National League for Democracy revealed that it will slash ministries when it takes control of the government in two months. The ministries have been rushing to compile progress reports with an eye toward easing the transition. But the flurry ...
Party leader proud of accomplishments
Despite rapid and complex changes in the world, Laos has been able to accomplish its socio-economic development plans over the past five years (2011-15) under the leadership of the Party. Secretary General of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of the Laos, Mr Choummaly Sayasone, ...
Ex-manager of ThaiHealth named Thai PBS chief
The Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) has appointed a former manager of Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) as its new chief. Two-thirds of the nine-member ThaiPBS policy committee voted Krissada Raungarreerat in as the new director-general of Thailand’s first public broadcasting service. The panel had ...
Cases to be opened over election campaign expenses
Legal cases will be opened against 175 candidates in the November 2015 general election for failing to submit their campaign expenses on time, according to the Union Election Commission. “The election tribunal will start hearing those cases on 21 January in Nay Pyi Taw,” said U ...
Lack of ethnic party MPs ‘serious weakness’ in parliament
During the 8 November election, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won by a landslide, crushing the army-linked Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and surprising many by also winning big in ethnic minority-dominated areas where ethnic political parties had expected ...
Brunei backs Laos' ASEAN chair preparations
The government of Brunei Darussalam has provided financial support to the Lao government as a contribution to the country’s work as the Chair of ASEAN this year. Keep reading ...