VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Asean nations met with development partners on Monday to discuss the humanitarian impact of anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions, and explosive remnants of war.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Laos joined with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, international experts, ...

LUANG NAMTHA, Laos (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Chinese trucks carrying fruit and crops from Laos into China through the Boten-Mohan border crossing in Luang Namtha province are forced to move slowly, which means there is a long line of vehicles parked by the roadside.While the trucks ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Wildfires in Laos and neighbouring countries are causing dangerous levels of air pollution in many regions of Laos, especially in the capital.Director General of the Pollution Control Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Mrs Sisouphanh Luanglath, told Vientiane ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The government has given approval for two local companies to conduct a feasibility study on the establishment of a processing plant to produce biodiesel from Vernicia montana seeds and vegetable oil, and a diesel and fuel refinery in Xaythany district, Vientiane.A ...

 Several factors are disrupting the terrain for investment in large hydropower dams, and governments should take note. The government of Laos officially submitted the Pak Beng Dam to the Mekong River Commission in mid-November and has begun preparatory work around the future dam site. While ...

Viettel Group’s is likely to achieve its ex-Việt Nam revenue target of US$1.5 billion this year, thanks to a sudden spurt in sales in some of its new markets. Laos and Cambodia are considered the two best and steadiest international markets for Viettel. Unitel, Viettel’s Lao ...

Scientists have once again raised their concerns about water security in the Mekong Delta, saying that hydropower dams on the Mekong River’s upper course as well as Thailand, Laos and Cambodia’s plans to divert the river are the biggest threats. Le Anh Tuan, deputy head ...

The early 2000s saw a boom in the banana farming sector in southern China. By 2008, the fruit had become an increasingly popular target of investment, with low supply and soaring prices, and banana plantations were set up across China, as well as in Myanmar ...

The inter-governmental Mekong River Commission on Friday urged China and Southeast Asian countries to share more data on hydropower dam operations, as water flow in the Mekong hit record low levels for a second consecutive year. A report by the commission attributes the low water level ...

This year’s Mekong Tourism Forum was held on the banks of the Mekong River in Nakhon Phanom in NE Thailand which borders with Laos and just 200 kms from Vietnam. The six-nation grouping is coordinated by the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) which is administered out ...

Tokyo-based Casio Computer Co, a maker of consumer electronics, is committed to investing in Thailand so that it can use the country as a springboard for expansion in Myanmar and Laos. “We [Casio in Japan] are considering expanding our business into other ASEAN members including Myanmar and ...

Officials in citizen management from Laos, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia met in Pakxe City, Champassak province this week to discuss civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS). Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Siphouk Vongphakdy; Champassak province Deputy Governor, Somsanith Bouttivong; and Counsellor at the ...

An investigator has called on the international body that polices trade in wildlife to crack down on the illegal trafficking of young elephants across borders in south-east Asia. Secretive agents in Laos are sending dozens of animals each year across the country’s land border with China and fly others to the Middle East, earning up ...

Long accused of complacency over the economic toll of cyber breaches, Southeast Asian governments are starting to make all the right noises on enhanced safeguards – but there are still few signs that the vulnerable business sector is getting the message. Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, ...

The collapse of a dam this summer in southeastern Laos, which triggered massive flooding that killed dozens and displaced thousands of people, has brought a renewed focus on hydroelectric dams in mainland Southeast Asia. Proponents of hydroelectric dams argue they will bring benefits in the ...

(KPL) Continuing the United States’ leading support to the Lao PDR in its mission to eliminate malaria by 2030, U.S. Ambassador to Laos Rena Bitter presented 100,000 rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits to Dr. Phouthone Muoangpak, Vice Minister of Health, at a handover ceremony in ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Laos is now seeking ways to increase the number of businesswomen as part of the government’s effort to promote female entrepreneurship and offer opportunities for them to showcase and share achievements of women-owned businesses.To this end, the SME Service Centre (SSC) ...

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc said Việt Nam is ready to contribute to co-operation as part of the Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Việt Nam (CLMV) mechanism. Attending the 9th CLMV Summit (CLMV 9) in Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday, Phúc said Việt Nam would help the countries attend trade fairs in ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Kaolao cave in Nam-Eng village, Viengphoukha district, Luang Namtha province, will reopen at the end of this year after being closed for five months so that visitor amenities can be built.Head of the Luang Namtha provincial Information, Culture and Tourism Department, ...

The Mekong River Commission Council yesterday approved a five-year strategy until 2025 which allows Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam to prepare for and manage drought collectively. The approval comes as the MRC’s preliminary data analysis shows that severe to extreme drought is expected to hit countries ...