News
Urgent need for law to control water pollution
Formulating a specific law to control water pollution in the country’s legislative work programme is a necessary task of Vietnam’s State agencies and scientists to ensure national sustainable development. A consensus on this was reached by participants at a workshop on roles of the Vietnam Union ...
Thai princess visits Laos to enhance ties, mutual understanding
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand arrived in Vientiane on 8 December for a two-day official visit to Laos, aimed at enhancing bilateral ties between the two neighbours and mutual understanding between the Lao and Thai peoples. Her visit is in response to an ...
Laos’s threat to the Mekong River
Sipandon – meaning 4,000 Islands – is an area of immense biodiversity, ecotourism and abundance of fish migration, but its survival is at serious risk from the hydropower Don Sahong dam, which is on the verge of construction. “If this special wetlands zone is protected, it ...
Vietnam aids Laos’ military training
Military gears and training programmes worth nearly 577 million VND (26,200 USD) were handed over to the Mapping Department of the Laos People’s Army by the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army in Vientiane on 8 December. Keep reading ...
ASEAN sets up EU-style free-flow market
The ASEAN Community was officially declared on 8 December by leaders of the 10 member states of ASEAN in a landmark moment promising greater regional integration for the 48-year-old group. The challenge of this association of nations, marked by diversity, can be seen in the words of ...
Making Southeast Asia's skies safer
Last week, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration downgraded the safety rating for the entire Thai aviation system, placing it among those of a handful of countries — including Southeast Asian neighbors Bangladesh and Indonesia — that don’t meet international “minimum safety oversight standards.” Boeing expects Southeast Asian airlines ...
Thailand leads declines in Asian stocks, Europe opens lower
Most Southeast Asian stock markets traded lower on 8 December, with the Stock Exchange of Thailand posting its biggest one-day decline in two weeks on falling oil prices. The SET index posted the steepest fall in the region with a 1.6% drop, led by oil firm ...
Gas accounts for smaller share
Thailand’s heavy dependence on natural gas for the power sector has been trimmed to 60% from 70% thanks to greater use of coal and renewable sources, says the Energy Policy and Planning Office (Eppo). The coal-fired Hongsa power plant in Laos has helped to increase the ...
Drought spurs call for home water savings
The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) has urged households in the capital and its vicinity to reserve at least 60 litres of drinking water for the duration of the drought season until May next year. The reduction of Chao Phraya River water usage is due to the ...
Women increasingly among those at risk for HIV/AIDS
A new group is increasingly at risk for contracting HIV in Myanmar: women. Even as the number of people contracting HIV has begun to decline, the virus’ prevalence is growing among women, according to health experts. Women of reproductive age – from 15 to 45 years old ...
