Population and censuses
Officials look to formulate national policy on ageing
The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement hosted an event this week in Yangon aimed at drafting a national policy for a growing contingent of those over 60 years old. One in every 11 Myanmar citizens is elderly, the ministry’s deputy director general Daw ...
Migration blamed for low voter registration figures
National Election Committee spokesman Hang Puthea on November 20 said the body will likely miss its target of registering 9.6 million eligible voters because of the large number of Cambodian migrant workers who have failed to register. The NEC and political parties have been appealing ...
Laos, Australia further strengthen customs cooperation
Laos and Australia concluded a customs related agreement in Vientiane last week, aiming to promote customs-to-customs ties between the two countries. According to a press rel ease from the Australia Embassy in Vientiane, Australian Border Force Commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg is visiting the region to further ...
Trend of disruptive technologies to affect daily lives increasingly
Business needs to adapt to confront and catch up to the coming disruptive technologies and innovation, which will have a drastic effect on people’s daily lives, a seminar heard on November 16. Bala Chakravarthy, professor of strategy leadership and execution at IMD Southeast Asia, said ...
Tata Tea project fails to protect Indian workers
A World Bank investigation into a tea plantation project in India that it jointly finances with tea giant Tata Global Beverages has found that it has failed to tackle alleged abuses of impoverished workers, the group said on November 9. The International Finance Corporation—a member ...
'An epochal change': what a Trump presidency means for the Asia Pacific region
From China and Japan to India and the countries of south-east Asia, leaders are being confronted by the unknowns of a new American president. Donald Trump’s victory has the potential to radically redraw the geopolitical landscape in Asia, where Barack Obama has been trying to counterbalance ...
Foreigners flouting draft law could face immigration trouble
Foreign workers in breach of a law awaiting passage could face penalties, immigration officials say. The labour ministry is finalising a draft law for submission to the Office of the President that seeks to more tightly regulate foreign workers in the country. The draft incorporates ...
University needs to raise standards: PM
The National University of Laos should set its sights on national development, especially in terms of the quality of the graduates it is producing, as they are fundamental to the nation’s progress. The university is only in the initial stages of its success. There is still ...
New guidelines on impact assessments almost ready
Civil society groups are getting closer to unveiling a new set of guidelines that will change how the impact of big development projects is assessed across the Mekong region, NGOs said on November 1, following the end of a two-month public consultation period. Activists, however, ...
Thai forced labour case pushed to November 28
A forced labour case involving 14 Myanmar workers and a giant poultry exporter in Thailand’s Lopburi province went unresolved in court on October 31. Unsatisfied with the 1.7 million Thai baht in compensation awarded by the Lopburi Labour Protection and Welfare Office against the poultry farm ...