People and government

Laos says women are now more respected and protected on International Women’s Day Monday, but the words might ring hollow to Houayheuang Xayabouly, who languishes in jail more than a year after her arrest for a Facebook post complaining about the communist government’s failure to ...

The UN has suspended climate projects that require working with Myanmar’s military government following the 1 February coup and other international donors may follow suit, four experts have told Climate Home News. “They haven’t officially announced the suspension but there are no more activities,” said a ...

The government of Laos has dissolved the Ministry of Science and Technology, transferring its departments to various different ministries. According to a notice issued by the Politburo of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, the Ministry of Science and Technology has been dissolved, leaving Laos with just ...

Nearly 1,800 health professionals working in six districts that have high risk of infection have been inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine since March 1, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) reported on Friday. The BMA has provided inoculation to 1,790 healthcare personnel through 13 private hospitals, three ...

The United Nations (UN) has confirmed that it will continue to support the Lao government under the Cooperation Framework, to enable the government to design a clear strategy for the development of Laos. The Cooperation Framework builds on inputs from all key stakeholders, including the UN ...

Southeast Asian foreign ministers will hold a special meeting on Tuesday on the political crisis in Myanmar, the Indonesian foreign ministry said, as the regional and international community condemned a deadly weekend crackdown against pro-democracy protesters. The online meeting was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ...

The World Bank has announced the 13-month debarment of Germany’s Ferrostall Oil & Gas (FSOG), an engineering, procurement and construction contractor for oil, gas and other industrial plants. It is in connection with an alleged fraudulent practice under the Bank-financed Ayeyarwady Integrated River Basin Management Project in Myanmar. The ...

The U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has launched a new private sector competition for agricultural partnerships that addresses key challenges in Cambodia’s agriculture sector including cold chain, storage capacity, and logistics.   “The United States is a long-standing partner to Cambodia and ...

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a US$57 million project to help Lao PDR promote sustainable forest management, improve protected area management, and enhance livelihoods opportunities in eight provinces across the country. Project funding comes from the World Bank’s International Development Association, ...

Authoritarianism in Laos is at the root of illegal land grabs, land grievances, and ongoing human rights violations. The upcoming elections in Laos are unlikely to change this. International business stakeholders, however, can do more to support local communities and uphold fundamental human rights. The Lao ...