News
Elections now promised for 2018
National elections will take place in February of next year, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Wednesday, confirming fears a vote the military had promised for 2017 will be once again postponed. “One year from today, there’ll be elections”, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam ...
Schools to subsidise textbooks in budget drive
The Education Ministry plans to change its policy, from giving away textbooks to students to lending them next academic year, to save money. At present, the ministry spends around five billion baht a year buying textbooks for eight million students at primary and secondary levels ...
Sex worker's death haunts women of Wat Phnom
In the weeks since the suspicious death of Pen Kunthea, a pall has settled over the small community of sex workers who ply their trade around the capital’s Wat Phnom each night. For many, Kunthea’s death was not an aberration, but a grim testament to ...
Unions want meet with Minister to discuss Labor Law problems
Three union leaders have requested a meeting with Labor Minister Ith Samheng next week to discuss the contentious Trade Union Law. The three leaders – Collective Union of Movement of Workers president Pav Sina, Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union president Ath Thorn and Cambodian ...
Land row families demand titles
Nearly 100 citizens representing 429 families at the center of the Techo Aphivat land dispute gathered at Kampot provincial hall on February 8 demanding resolution of the row and for land titles to be speeded up. However, the authorities said these citizens are not resident there and ...
Northern provinces assess efforts to control locust outbreak
Five northern provinces recently reported on their efforts to prevent and control locust outbreaks in the 2015-16 fiscal year, and announced plans to prevent a further invasion this year. The five provinces are Huaphan, Luang Prabang, Xieng Khuang, Oudomxay and Phongsaly. More than 4,000 hectares ...
Steel bridges in Champassak to be replaced
Steel bridges located along National Road No. 20 in Champassak province, which is an important transport link to other southern provinces, will soon be replaced by concrete bridges. An official from the Public Works and Transport Department, Mr Somsavanh Phommachanh, told Vientiane Times on Wednesday ...
WHO extends support for health sector reform
The World Health Organisation is providing US$2.1 million in initial assistance for the strengthening of healthcare services in Laos. With US$11.3 million committed for 2016-17, the amount of funding has increased by 22 percent over 2014-15. An agreement for the funding was signed in Vientiane ...
13 new midwives ready to serve Bokeo health centres
Plan International’s second cohort of scholarship recipients for classes that teach them to be skilled birth attendants are ready to return to their hometowns and work in rural health centres in Bokeo province. The young midwives have spent two years at the Health Training Centre ...
Somkid promises responsible Thai investments in Myanmar
The business communities of Myanmar and Thailand have been encouraged to foster economic cooperation by Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak’s high-level business delegation. last Friday delivered a speech at the Thai-Myanmar Business Cooperation Forum, which gathered hundreds of business people from both countries. There, he assured ...