Social development

Cambodia may soon join other countries in banning the import and use of asbestos, which is known to have serious health consequences, officials have said at a symposium organised by the Ministry of Labour and Union Aid Abroad, an Australian aid NGO. Speaking at the event, ...

More than 8,100 students will be accepted to study at four state universities in Laos this academic year under the quota set by the Ministry of Education and Sports. Some 52,491 students around the country passed their final school exams out of the 52,756 pupils who ...

In their efforts to save the Mekong River, a team of young Vietnamese students from Can Tho University have won the first prize in the 2015 ASEAN Youth Video Contest. Seven youths represented Vietnam at the ASEAN Youth camp in last May in Singapore, in the ...

Myanmar’s parliament voted on 18 August to again extend martial law for three months in a restive area along the country’s border with China, where there have been clashes between the military and an armed ethnic group since February. Cross-border incidents in the fighting have strained ties ...

Reporters in Laos must cover the news in greater depth, an official said as the country marked the 65th anniversary of Media and Publication Day, but sources claim journalists are hamstrung by a lack of press freedom in the communist nation, with the public increasingly ...

The privately-owned Mekong Hospital in Saphangmuek village, Xaythany district, Vientiane, opened its doors to the public on 15 August. Hospital Director Mr Huangsubin said the Mekong Hospital will not only treat illnesses but will investigate the prevention of disease and carry out research, while also providing ...

Outdoor air pollution contributes to the deaths of an estimated 1.6 million people in China every year, or about 4,400 people a day, according to a newly released scientific paper. The paper maps the geographic sources of China’s toxic air and concludes that much of the smog that ...

Myanmar halted rice shipments after floods over the past month inundated farmland, raising the specter of supply disruptions in the sixth-biggest exporter. The Myanmar Rice Federation voluntarily suspended exports to prevent an increase in prices after more than 200,000 acres (about 81,000 hectares) of paddy fields ...

Authorities in Laos have released a young woman who had been detained for more than two months after a photo she took was posted on Facebook, allegedly showing police officers extorting money from her brother during a stop for a traffic violation, according to a ...

The United Nations on 11 August denounced “shockingly” long prison terms imposed by Thailand for insulting the monarchy and urged authorities to amend the law and release those convicted. Thai military courts on 7 August jailed two people for insulting the monarchy, one for 30 years and the ...