News
VN, Laos, Cambodia boost defence ties
The defence ministries of Việt Nam, Laos and Cambodia will step up military co-operation via programmes to be implemented this year. The agreements, boosting long-standing ties of friendship between the three countries, mark ongoing visits (January 8-11) by Lao and Cambodian defence ministers to the ...
Third Lao furniture fair opens
The 3rd Lao Wood Furniture Fair 2017 officially launched for display and sale at Lao-ITECC in Vientiane on January 8 after the exhibition was pre-opened on January 7. The fair will run from January 7-15, in cooperation with the Trade and Product Promotion Department and ...
Vientiane gears up to make capital more livable
Vientiane authorities will continue to improve basic infrastructure in a bid to keep the capital clean and orderly. Efforts will focus on improving roads, easing traffic congestion, building embankments, managing garbage disposal and other issues. This was the information outlined on January 9 by Vientiane ...
Apparel factory closures debated
Questions have been raised about the health of Cambodia’s $6 billion garment sector after local media reported that over 140 garment factories shut down operations last year. Ministry of Labour spokesman Heng Sour, the source of the figure cited in local media, stood by the ...
Prahok makers complain of high prices in capital
Every year, traders and farmers travel from the provinces to Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district to buy fish to produce prahok paste, but with this year’s prahok season ramping up, high prices have pushed many of them to camp in tents along the riverbank, waiting ...
Thailand expects tourism revenue of nearly $50 billion in 2017
Thailand expects revenue from foreign tourists to rise 8.5 percent to 1.78 trillion baht ($49.8 billion) this year, a deputy prime minister said on January 9. The expected rise results from an improved outlook for global tourism as well as Thailand’s investment in infrastructure, Deputy ...
Flash flood hits main road to South
Drivers to the southern region have been advised to take extreme caution as part of Phetkasem Road in Prachuap Khiri Khan was flooded on January 8. The central province was hit by torrential rain and a runoff, while many southern provinces were still battered by ...
Yangon bus system overhaul set to start
Yangon’s infamous public bus system – where commuters are dragged by callous conductors onto ageing vehicles operated by drivers with scant regard for road safety – is about to change. A long-awaited transformation of the bus network, which some 80 percent of the commercial capital’s ...
Rakhine commerce minister sees bright future for black bean exports
The Rakhine State commerce minister is hoping around 10,000 tonnes of black gram beans will be exported to India from Sittwe this year, pending completion of the Kaladan Multi-Model Transit Transport Project. The Kaladan project will connect Mizoram in India to Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine ...
Hà Nội launches online air quality index
Hà Nội People’s Committee on January 9 launched an online service with information about weather conditions and environment indexes, including air quality index, rainfall and flooding. The page, hanoi.gov.vn/quantracmoitruong, is part of the People’s Committee efforts to turn the capital into a greener, smarter and friendlier ...