Social development
Rights agency the next to be replaced
The National Human Rights Commission appears likely to be the next target for mass dismissal of members, after the Election Commission. NHRC chairman What Tingsamitr disclosed on June 8 that the matter was clearly mentioned in Article 60 of a new law on the rights ...
Education, defence top budget
The government’s Bt2.9-trillion budget for 2018 has massive spending of Bt575 billion for upgrading workers’ skills and education, plus related activities, while the Defence Ministry’s budget rises Bt8.8 billion to Bt222 billion. Under the 2018 Budget Bill, passed in its first reading by the National ...
Pak Beng dam project riles locals
Environmental activists will petition the Administrative Court Thursday to help in their protest against the new Pak Beng dam project on the Mekong River in Laos, which could bring both ecological and economic impacts to the region. They want the court to encourage state agencies, ...
Germany providing over 423b kip for rural, sustainable economic development
The government of Federal Republic of Germany has agreed to provide grant aid of over 423 billion kip (EUR 45.8 million) for sustainable economic development, rural development and natural resources management in Laos.The financial and technical support by the German government extended to the Lao ...
Enterprises urged to pursue sustainable development goals
Government officials urged businesses to achieve sustainable development goals and come up with practical plans at a seminar about environmental protection held on June 5 in Vũng Tàu City. Hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and ...
New synthetics impede Southeast Asia’s fight against drugs: UN
The spread of a “new psychoactive substances” is devastating countries around the world, and a report released today by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) identifies East and Southeast Asia as the main origin of such substances.The substances include drugs such as ...
Hungary to initiate major credit aid for Laos
Laos is expected to receive the biggest ever fixed aid credit programme worth US$160 million from Hungary to develop a food safety system, water management and information technology. The information was revealed during Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Saleumxay Kommasith and his delegation’s official visit ...
Interior Ministry mulling investigations into NGOs' "neutrality"
Human rights NGOs Licadho and Adhoc were among a group of organisations who were warned by the Ministry of Interior today that they are being scrutinised for allegedly violating their neutrality by supporting the opposition CNRP. News of the inquiry was first disclosed by government-aligned ...
Governor halts work on coal railway being built without permits in Indonesian Borneo
After coming under public scrutiny, Central Kalimantan Governor Sugianto Sabran halted the construction of a railroad being built to transport coal through forested areas of the province. The governor’s decision followed a May 21 report by Mongabay’s Indonesian sister site, which documented that the developers ...
Energy-drink ad exposes uncomfortable truth in Thai society
A TV commercial for an energy drink has become a social phenomenon in Thailand as it depicts the privileged elite being humbled, to the delight of the majority here. In the commercial for Lipovitan D, a drink from drugmaker Osotspa Taisho, a wealthy young woman ...