Laos’ deputy prime minister has identified poor soil analysis for a fatal hydropower dam collapse, often described as the country’s worst flooding in decades.At a meeting last week on environmental policy, Deputy Prime Minister Bounthong Chitmany, who also heads the investigative committee tasked with finding ...

TOKYO (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Upholding and strengthening existing international rules is the best way to overcome today’s challenges, while seeking a new world order can be an option in addressing emerging issues, Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith told an international conference in Japan on Friday.The conference ...

OUDOMXAY, Laos (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Oudomxay authorities are accelerating their attempts to put the province on the tourism map and improve the attractiveness of various locations so that the area features more highly on visitors’ itineraries.Deputy Director of the province’s Information, Culture and Tourism Department, ...

(KPL) The Customs Department, Ministry of Finance together with the World Customs Organization (WCO) on Aug 26 organized a training session on Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) Validation to develop the Lao PDR’s Custom Administrations’ capacities to effectively examine, validate and authorize the application for AEO ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Laos is developing a strategic plan to become the network centre for a regional electricity transmission system by 2025.Director of the Energy Management Department under the Ministry of Energy and Mines, Mr Sichard Boudshakittilath, recently detailed the plan during a workshop ...

The National University of Laos in Vientiane will accept about 8,100 students to study across its 13 faculties in the coming academic year, after they pass the entrance exams.The exams took place at the university on Saturday, with the Deputy Minister of Education and Sports, ...

Health officials and local authorities need to provide more information about sexual and reproductive health services for young people in the hope of reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies.Unwanted pregnancies are one reason that women cannot get work outside the home and have limited prospects ...

(KPL) The Embassy of Malaysia in Vientiane, Lao PDR has encouraged Lao government officials to apply for fully sponsored short term training courses under the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme or MTCP.The fully sponsored training courses in Malaysia would enable Lao PDR Officials to experience and ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – More than 500 wood processing plants and family-based furniture workshops have been shut since the Prime Minister’s Order No. 15 was issued in 2016.Of the total 1,595 wood processing plants and furniture workshops functioning in Laos in 2016, only 1,086 plants ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The Ministry of Finance is expected to move on major reform at the financial management body, focusing on the use of modern systems through the enhancement of information and communications technology (ICT) and skills training projects.One of the most important cooperation ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Government authorities and representatives of privately-owned tourism operations in Borikhamxay province are attending a seminar to strengthen cooperation and participation in the prevention of human trafficking, taking place in the province from May 13-14.The seminar is intended to raise awareness of ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The Japanese government has approved a new Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project through the Laos-Japan Human Resource Development Institute (LJI) to support development of the private sector and Japanese investments in Laos.The new project for Capacity Development of Business Professionals ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The National Assembly has queried the government’s plan to return the country’s forest cover to 70 per cent by 2020 after observing a huge loss of forested areas over past decades.Large trees have been felled and protected areas intruded upon and ...

(KPL) Over 250 copies of research guidelines “Research Ethics in Laos and the Mekong Countries” have been presented to the University of Health Sciences (UHS) to be used as guidelines for conducting an ethical research that would allow hospital practitioners, teachers, students, researchers and organizational administrators ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The total number of domestic and foreign tourists declined slightly in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year, but the number of Chinese visitors increased significantly.More than one million people vacationed in Laos in ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Action will soon be taken against and fines slapped on foreigners who are illegally operating businesses in Laos.The Ministry of Industry and Commerce recently issued instructions with detailed guidelines on how to regulate such unlicensed businesses.Any business being operated without a ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The Bank of the Lao PDR has announced that it will issue a 2015 version of the 500 kip banknote. It is giving advance notice of the circulation of the new banknote in a bid to prevent doubts about the validity ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The Ministry of Industry and Commerce plans to introduce a new service charter to reduce the time it takes to authorise imports and exports, as part of efforts to improve the business climate.The ministry’s Import and Export Department said in a ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has issued a notice warning farmers about the outbreak of ‘porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome’ (PRRS) in several northern provinces.The ministry also asked provincial authorities to take steps to prevent and control the disease to ...

Laos and Thailand have signed an agreement to extend road and rail connections between the two countries worth more than THB 3 billion (USD 98.2 million).Under the agreement, the two countries plan to improve the R11 road linking the Phudu border checkpoint in Uttaradit province ...