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 ...

Pressure is mounting on the Lao PDR government to conduct a fresh impact assessment study of a proposed fourth dam on the lower Mekong River according to Save the Mekong, a coalition of non-government organisations. The call for a review and a fresh impact assessment coincided ...

Save the Mekong, a coalition of non-governmental organizations, community-based groups and concerned citizens within the Mekong region, issued a statement on Friday announcing their intention to boycott the Mekong River Commission’s (MRC’s) Prior Consultation for the proposed Pak Lay dam. Pak Lay is the fourth ...

In a major drive to promote travel from neighbouring countries during the last quarter, the Tourism Authority Thailand has teamed up with AirAsia, Bangkok Airways and VietJet Air to offer cheap fares. The so called ‘Mega Deal to ThailandTravel Is a Big Deal” encourages tourists ...

Residents living along the Mekong River in Chiang Rai’s Chiang Khong district have expressed strong opposition to a public hearing on China’s plans to blast away a stretch of rapids, saying there was no need for more talk about the proposal, which they would not ...

Germany committed to investing around 4.6 million US dollars in strengthening cross-border water cooperation among countries along the Mekong River. The fund would be utilized to bolster dialogue related to trans-boundary water resource planning and management among the lower Mekong countries: Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.  Keep ...

Japan will work with Southeast Asian nations like Laos and Myanmar to provide immediate financing after natural disasters so that recovery funds can be quickly distributed. Keep reading   ...

In what scientists call a “sinister development,” a malaria parasite resistant to a widely used drug combination is on the march in Southeast Asia. It has rapidly made its way in an arc from western Cambodia, through northeastern Thailand, to southern Laos; now it has ...

The Mekong River Commission (MRC) announced on Friday it had named Cambodian development expert An Pich Hatda as chief executive officer. It said the MRC Ministerial Council had recently chosen Hatda, a development professional by training, to be the top official at the secretariat for ...

Six countries of the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC), namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and India, have agreed to enhance cooperation in managing and sustainably using water resources. Foreign ministers of the MGC countries reached the consensus at their ninth meeting on August 2 within the framework ...

Concerted efforts are needed to enhance cooperation between the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Việt Nam and the US in a number of areas, including education, energy security, food security, agriculture and health, Trần Quang Hoài, director of the Directorate of Disaster Management under ...

An annual assessment of press freedom in 180 countries released by campaign group Reporters Without Borders reveals a mixed bag of progress and decline in the region. According to the Reporters Without Borders report, bloggers and citizen journalists in Vietnam are “the permanent targets of extremely ...

The Institute of Asian Culture and Development (IACD) in Laos, based in the Republic of Korea, will continue to provide free medical care and supplies for Borikhamxay province to improve the health status of local residents. The Director of IACD, Dr Hosik Im, said yesterday that ...

Lecturers and students from the National University of Laos (NUOL) and colleges in Vientiane and Luang Prabang province are attending a workshop on the use of microprocessors in robot design.Lecturers and students will use their newly acquired knowledge and skills to develop and perfect their ...

About 1,137 Myanmar migrant workers returned home from Thailand on Tuesday, a day after Christmas, according to the Home Affairs Ministry Wednesday.[]The law, which was originally aimed at tackling human trafficking concerns and regulating foreign workers in Thailand, sparked panic and prompted more than 60,000 ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Delegations from Laos and other Asean member countries met in Vientiane yesterday to share ideas about the use of geospatial information in driving sustainable development.Participants discussed how geospatial information could make contributions to the agreed indicator framework for monitoring progress towards ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Two people have died and two others are missing, while more than 54,000 households in six provinces have been affected by storms that have caused widespread flooding.Tropical depression Podul and other weather systems that have passed over southern and central Laos ...

Domestic and international tourists alike are expected to enjoy a variety of colourful activities at the famed Boun That Inghang festival in Kaysone Phomvihane city, Savannakhet province next week.The Boun That Inghang festival will be held from December 17-22 with local authorities putting in a ...

A total of 248 private clinics operated or owned by foreign and Lao nationals around the country have been ordered to shut down temporarily after the Ministry of Health found them to be in breach of the healthcare regulations.More than 120 of the clinics are ...

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) plans to provide a loan of US$40 million to boost the Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) 2018-24 in Laos. The new funding is being proposed to develop market-led agricultural production, rural financial services and a sustainable management system ...