Social development
Lao PM calls for urgent job skill training
Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong has asked the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare to take urgent action to set up a labour database to facilitate skills development in line with market needs. The prime minister made the comment at the ministry’s 2015 national meeting, which ended ...
Lao social security system coverage misses target
The social security system so far covers only 30.22 percent of the population, which is far behind the target of 50 percent set for the 2014-2015 fiscal year, which ended last month. Director General of the Department of Social Security under the Ministry of Labour and ...
Laos lacking young scientists
Laos needs more young people to study science so they can contribute to the nation’s development, according to a leading official. The number of students enrolling in science courses is continuing to decrease with most high school leavers studying in other fields, Minister of Science and ...
Lao students encouraged to apply for European scholarships
The National University of Laos, in cooperation with the French, German and UK embassies in Vientiane, has laid out higher education opportunities in the EU to university faculty members and students. A talk titled “Study in Europe” was delivered at the university, and was attended by ...
New slaughterhouse regulations aim to curb disease

Following the opening of Cambodia’s first modern abattoir last month, a new draft law to regulate animal produce and slaughterhouses was announced on 6 November, along with the establishment of a “National Butchers’ Day” to be recognised annually on 8 January. The 22-chapter law, revealed by ...
Thailand's English skills lagging, says training company

According English First’s latest English proficiency index, Thailand is far behind many of its neighbours and most of the world. The index, however, is not without critics. By far the most highly read story on the Bangkok Post website yesterday was about the release of the Education ...
Activist raps Thailand's deadly road safety record

The high road fatality rates that make Thai roads the world’s second deadliest may in fact be understated, said Prommin Kantiya, director of the Accident Prevention Network (APN). Mr Prommin, who was responding on 5 November to the Public Health Ministry’s campaign to reduce road fatality rates, said ...
Poor ‘lack voice’ amid urban growth

Phnom Penh’s lack of a clear master plan for development has hurt its communities and allowed private developers to collude with authorities to push out poorer residents, speakers at a land rights conference said on 4 November. Ee Sarom, executive director of STT said that as ...
Indonesia fire haze hit Cambodia last month

Despite the Cambodian government’s uncertainty last month, US satellite imagery has confirmed that haze from Indonesian peat fires that has bedevilled the region did in fact reach Cambodia in October, with haze from local forest fires likely to succeed it as the dry season progresses, ...
Karen leader: ‘If they keep attacking us, there will be no peace’

This week, representatives of a number of Myanmar’s ethnic armed groups convened in Wa Special Region for a political strategy summit among those that abstained from a recent ceasefire accord with the government. Attendees met for three days with the aim of establishing a path forward between ...