News
Tourist park venture in Vientiane
Vientiane Planning and Investment Department signed an agreement, last week, with two private companies to develop the Nong-Or zone in Sikhottabong district, Vientiane, into a tourist site. Vientiane Times reported that the Vientiane Planning and Investment Department concluded a Memorandum of Understanding for the project on ...
Thai Government approves B52.82bn budget to join AIIB
The Thai cabinet approved a budget of 52.82 billion baht on 26 January to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank seen as a rival to the US-led World Bank, government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said. Keep reading ...
Vietnam rakes in over $30 billion with phone exports
Vietnam’s exports of mobile phones and parts exceeded US$30 billion last year, surpassing all other products, customs data showed. That was a 27.9 percent increase compared to 2014, and accounted for 18.7 percent of the country’s total export revenue, it said. The EU was the biggest buyer of ...
El Niño parches Asia Pacific, destroying crops and drying up water sources
Severe El Niño-linked drought has destroyed crops, killed farm animals and dried up water sources across East Asia and the Pacific, aid workers said, and UNICEF appealed for $62 million to assist children impacted by various crises in the region. Humanitarian agencies are monitoring and responding ...
Vietnamese investment minister calls for political reforms
A Vietnamese government minister has warned that the country must immediately reform its political system if it does not want to be left behind. Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh told the National Party Congress on 22 January that Doi Moi (Renovation), the economic reforms ...
Lao army marks 67th anniversary
Maintaining loyalty to the nation, Party and people while pursuing national development and defence remains the goal of the Lao People’s Army. Minister of Defence Lieutenant General Sengnouan Xayalath gave this message at a meeting held in Vientiane yesterday to commemorate the army’s 67th anniversary this ...
SOS Children's Villages Laos achieve great success
SOS Children’s Villages Laos have attained remarkable outcomes throughout the past years, thanks to the support and assistance provided by SOS International, SOS Asia, friendly countries and donor organisations. National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Laos Mr Soumata Dengchampa made the observation in his introductory remarks ...
Emergency ambulances to make ‘death highway’ less lethal
Myanmar’s notorious “death highway” might become a little less deadly as plans go forward to set up an emergency ambulance service along the route. Hospitals along the Yangon-Nay Pyi Taw-Mandalay Highway are taking part in the scheme. Keep reading ...
Mrauk-U conservation seen as reconstructing not preserving
Heritage zones in Myanmar’s Mrauk-U, Rakhine State, are under threat due to renovations that have altered the designs of ancient pagodas, the Mrauk-U Heritage Trust claims. The Department of Archaeology and the National Museum in Sittwe are both operating construction sites. Keep reading ...
Mekong diversion under way in Thailand
The Thai government’s planned diversion of billions of cubic metres of water from the Mekong River, described last week by a Thai Ministry of Water Resources representative as being as far as two years away, has already begun. The pumping, which is pulling water from the ...
