People and government

ASEAN’s ambitious open-skies scheme has clearly missed the 2015 year-end deadline, and its full implementation appears elusive. Three members of the 10-nation bloc — Indonesia, the Philippines and Laos– seem reluctant to join the scheme for full liberalisation of Southeast Asia’s aviation sector. Keep reading ...

The Lao National Commission for Drug Control and Supervision is attempting to address drug problems nationwide by working in cooperation with neighbouring countries. The annual meeting of the Lao National Commission for Drug Control and Supervision (LCDC) began on 5 January, to summarise the commision’s work ...

The Thai government aims to sell over 2 million tonnes of rice this year on a government-to-government (G-to-G) basis. But it admits a renewed attempt to sell rice to Iran may hit a snag because of escalating political conflict in the Middle East. Chutima Bunyapraphasara, Commerce Ministry permanent ...

Ho Chi Minh City now has 7.43 million motorbikes, putting serious pressure on its transport infrastructure, local media reported, citing the Department of Transport.    Compared to 2011, the number of new bikes registered in the city has increased by around 2 million, according to a Tuoi Tre ...

Hacktivists took over four police websites, including the metropolitan police, on 4 January night, with messages demanding justice. Keep reading ...

Families living in huts on the bank of the Ayeyarwady River will soon be able to rent affordable housing from the city, officials say. Twenty-two six-storey housing blocks containing 1584 apartments have been built in nearby Nyaung Kwe ward in Aung Myay Thar San township. The ...

Thailand Post is launching a major expansion of its cross-border trading and e-commerce services for Indochina to become a leading regional player by year-end. The state postal enterprise hopes parcel delivery service crossing the Cambodian and Laotian borders to reach Chinese consumers has a bright future, ...

Vietnamese border guards have worked with Lao police to swoop on a major transnational drug ring, capturing five foreigners in the border area between the two nations. Ha Tinh border guards, in coordination with Lao police officers, have arrested five members of the drug ring, who ...

The government needs to invest more in education, skill development, health and other basic aspects of development to ensure that Laos graduates from Least Developed Country status. Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, Ms Helen Clark, made the recommendation at a briefing held recently during ...

It is essential to improve the level of professionalism in the business sector to enable local operators to survive the rising tide of competition, leading entrepreneurs have suggested. The establishment of the ASEAN Community on 31 December, in particular the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), introduces the free flow ...