News
Thailand becomes ‘King of Cement’ in Vietnam
Thailand based Siam City Cement Public Company has agreed to purchase a 65% stake in cement manufacturer Holcim Vietnam HVL from French headquartered LafargeHolcim, according to an SCCC statement. HVL currently operates one integrated plant and four grinding plants with an annual cement capacity of 6.3 ...
Japan contributes to mechanised UXO clearance in XiengKhuang
According to the Japanese Embassy in Vientiane on August 18 the Japan government has provided grant assistance worth over US$570,662 for Mechanical Cluster Submunition Clearance in Xieng Khuang province. This project will accelerate UXO clearance with a Cluster Submunition Clearance Machine which cuts bush around a site ...
Access to healthcare improving in Xekong
Xekong province is among the poorest in Laos, with an infant mortality rate of 70 per 1,000 live births and a maternal mortality ratio of 357 per 100,000 live births, according to 2015 statistics from the provincial health office. Xekong province was one of five provinces-targeted ...
Flash flooding in LuangPrabang kills woman, damages crops
Flash flooding in northern parts of the country including Luang Prabang province has taken one life, destroyed many hectares of rice and other crops and washed away houses and irrigation channels and livestock. Officials also reported that more than 1,000 families in nine districts of Luang ...
Clock ticking as NEC trains 6,000 voter registrars
After many delays, the National Election Committee officially launched its computerised voter registrations system on August 18, though less than two weeks remain to train more than 6,000 staffers in the process. At the event – which was attended by the ambassadors of Japan and the ...
Emergency meeting on rice
Cambodia’s beleaguered rice sector convened an emergency meeting on August 16 to tackle falling rice exports and help rice millers currently in financial doldrums due to severe shortage of funds to buy harvested rice from farmers to be milled for export. The Kingdom’s rice exports fell by ...
US supports HIV/AIDS response in Vietnam
The US Agency for International Development has awarded a five-year grant to the Center for Promotion of Quality of Life in Vietnam to strengthen community-led approaches to HIV prevention, care and treatment.The USAID Enhanced Community HIV Link – Southern project, implemented in Ho Chi Minh City, ...
Vietnamese farmers indignant as Mekong Delta prays for flood waters to arrive
Fishermen in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta have been complaining about lower water levels and falling catches with experts blaming China’s construction of hydropower projects on the upper Mekong River. According to the experts, the dams have blocked fish from moving downstream and trapped sediment needed to enrich ...
China, ASEAN aim to complete framework of South China Sea rules next year
China and a grouping of Southeast Asian nations aim to finish by the middle of next year a framework for a code of conduct to ease tension in the disputed South China Sea, state media said on August 17. Meeting in northeastern China, the two sides ...
Southeast Asian economy grew 4.6% in April-June
The Southeast Asian economy is recovering, posting the sharpest growth in a year and a half in the April-June quarter. The real gross domestic product of five major countries in the region – Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines – expanded 4.6% from a year earlier, surpassing the 4.4% ...
