Social development

Ethnic minorities and indigenous people

Vientiane gears up for an exciting Lao New Year

People nationwide are eagerly anticipating the Lao New Year (Pi Mai Lao) festival (Year of the Rooster) next week, with the official holiday taking place from April 14-16. Vientiane is preparing an exciting programme of activities for locals and visitors alike, including a Miss Vientiane ...

Montagnards flee to Thailand, fearing return to persecution in Vietnam

Fearing repatriation to Vietnam, almost 50 Montagnards fled Cambodia for Thailand after the Interior Ministry began rejecting some of their asylum claims last month, The Post has learned. Meanwhile, the head of the ministry’s refugee department Tan Sovichea on April 2 revealed only three of nearly ...

Cambodia improves human development index

Cambodia’s improvements on human development are the biggest in the region, but standards of living still lag behind neighboring nations, United Nations Development Program figures have shown. The UNDP’s Human Development Index in 2015, which was published on March 21, showed Cambodians’ health, education and ...

Phongsaly's charms attracting more visitors

The number of visitors to Phongsaly province is rising steadily, with a significant jump from the more than 82,000 people recorded in 2015 to 103,583 visitors in 2016. The province’s tourism section is confident this trend will continue and is predicting at least 110,000 visitors ...

Saving Vietnam's floating markets

Amid mighty rivers and dense mangroves, the busy floating markets in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta have long shaped the delta’s well-known “water civilization.” As many as a dozen floating markets still remain along major waterways around the delta, where boats, houses, and markets float upon the ...

Laos calls for UN programmes to match development goals

Laos would like United Nations cooperation programmes to comply with the priorities laid out in the development plans of the countries it is assisting, to help them achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith stressed this perspective in his remarks at ...

Lao language used inconsistently, incorrectly by media

The media is struggling to find the right terms for a number of words used in daily broadcasting and publication and is calling for the establishment of an official body to study and approve correct usage. Recognising the problem, Lao language experts, editors and reporters ...

Rakhine Advisory Commission presents 30 recommendations

The Advisory Commission on Rakhine State yesterday presented almost 30 recommendations of action that the Myanmar government can take to immediately improve the situation on the ground in Rakhine as the commission released its interim report. Kofi Annan, Chair of the Advisory Commission, said the ...

The Kampong Cham retreat blending bamboo and Buddhism

An eco-tourism project in a remote area near the provincial capital is incorporating unusual style, sustainable design and an opportunity for tourists to connect with the country’s Buddhist traditions. With the midday sun beating down, Vandong Thorn walks towards the edge of a plateau. To ...

Focal points meeting aims to improve SDGs coordination

Some 50 officials from 22 relevant sectors met in Vientiane to discuss coordinating mechanisms for improvement and to review the previous implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in each sector. The first meeting to examine SDGs focal points took place on March 14 and was co-chaired ...

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