Social development
Remote communities benefiting from poverty reduction efforts
World Bank and the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) recently agreed to provide funds to support Laos in implementing the third phase of a programme involving 350 infrastructure improvement projects. The third phase of the Poverty Reduction Fund (PRF) programme, which is running from 2017-2019, is ...
Women left out of talks after evictions: report
While women are at the frontline of land-use protests, they are underrepresented in post-eviction negotiation processes, a new research paper shows.The study, entitled Gendered eviction, protest and recovery: a feminist political ecology engagement with land grabbing in rural Cambodia and published last week in the ...
China injects 40 billion kip into poverty reduction
Sangthong and LuangPrabang district residents will have better lives after the Chinese government granted over 40 billion kip (33.3 million CNY) to implement the Laos-China Poverty Alleviation Pilot Project. The first time project aims to reduce poverty in rural areas and will be implemented in the ...
Severe form of dengue fever surfaces in Vientiane
Health authorities say Laos still faces challenges in preventing dengue fever this year, especially with the emergence of dengue hemorrhagic fever. Meanwhile, the number of dengue fever infections in Vientiane overall has increased at a higher rate than in other parts of the country.Head of ...
New plan to boost community involvement in mining concessions
The government intends to draw up a new master plan on the mining industry in which regulations on ore processing and community participation will be tightened, according to a national policy committee.However, it remains uncertain if Akara Resources, formerly the largest gold mine operator in ...
Family opens doors to tourists to help boys learn English
A family in Phitsanulok’s Muang district has opened its doors – with free accommodation for foreign backpackers to expose their two young sons to everyday use of English. The aim is to equip their children with English-language proficiency to benefit their futures. And the move ...
White Building locals get ministry send-off
The Land Management Ministry hosted a farewell party for residents of Phnom Penh’s iconic but crumbling White Building Saturday, serving up large quantities of noodles and bringing in Buddhist monks to bless the residents before they move. More than 95 percent of the building’s 493 ...
Rights agency the next to be replaced
The National Human Rights Commission appears likely to be the next target for mass dismissal of members, after the Election Commission. NHRC chairman What Tingsamitr disclosed on June 8 that the matter was clearly mentioned in Article 60 of a new law on the rights ...
Education, defence top budget
The government’s Bt2.9-trillion budget for 2018 has massive spending of Bt575 billion for upgrading workers’ skills and education, plus related activities, while the Defence Ministry’s budget rises Bt8.8 billion to Bt222 billion. Under the 2018 Budget Bill, passed in its first reading by the National ...
Pak Beng dam project riles locals
Environmental activists will petition the Administrative Court Thursday to help in their protest against the new Pak Beng dam project on the Mekong River in Laos, which could bring both ecological and economic impacts to the region. They want the court to encourage state agencies, ...
