2016 VTN Issue 025

Thai polls likely delayed until late next year

[Page 4]

Finance student has it all figured out

[Page 8]

TK Xao-Lao Entertainment

launches new songs[Page 17]

Improved productiivy essential to alleviate poverty

[Page 15]

CONTINUED PAGE 2

4500 kip saturday january 30, 2016 IssuE 25

Vientiane TimesThe First National English Language Newspaper

www.vientianetimes.la

Wedding cakesPastriesPiesBreadMuffinsand much more...

LUANG PRABANG

69/5 Sisavangvong RdTel: (856-71) 252223

Open at 6:30-22:00

VIENTIANE74/ 1 Pangkham Rd (Numphou)Tel: (856-21) 215199 Fax: (856-21) 215231E-mail: [email protected]. 6310 Vientiane Lao PDR.

Open Everyday at 7:00-21:00

ຮ້ານເຂົ້າຫນົມ ສະແກນດີນາວຽນ ເບກເກີຣີ

ຂ່າວເດ່ັນ ປະຈຳວັນຕິດຕາມຂ່າວສານເທິງມືຖື ຢ່າງວ່ອງໄວ ທັນໃຈ ກັບບີລາຍ

ວິທີລົງທະບຽນ:ຂ່າວເປັນພາສາລາວ: ພິມ “ON LA” ໄປທີ່ເບີ 7123.

ຂ່າວເປັນພາສາອັງກິດ:ພິມ “ON EN” ໄປທີ່ເບີ 7123.

ຄ່າບໍລິການພຽງ 500 ກີບຕໍ່ວັນ

ສອບຖາມຂໍ້ມູນເພີ່ມເຕີມໂທ: 123 ຫລື +85620 77800123 ແລະ 77919405

ww.beeline.la/facebook: Beelinelao

The 10th Congress of Lao People’s Revolutionary Party

Times Reports

The Lao Equity through Policy Analysis and Research Networks (LEARN) project has been officially launched with financial support from the European Union (EU).

The project aims to enhance the research capabilities of public health institutes in Laos and to ensure that the National Institute of Public Health under the Ministry of Health becomes a centre of excellence for the provision of evidence-based and contextually adapted policy advice.

This evidence is used to enhance decision making and improve the implementation of health policies both within Laos and the wider Greater Mekong Sub-region.

The National Institute of Public Health signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Medical Committee Netherlands Vietnam (MCNV) on Friday to officially launch the project.

The MoU was signed by the Director General of the National Institute of Public Health, Assoc. Prof. Dr Kongsap Akkhavong and LEARN

Times Reporters

The United States is considering increasing financial aid to Laos to help the country clear unexploded ordnance (UXO), visiting Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters this week.

Mr Kerry was in Laos from January 24-25 at the invitation of his Lao counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith.

From 1964-1973, when the Lao population numbered about three million people, US warplanes dropped more than two million tonnes of bombs on Lao territory, making Laos the world’s most heavily bombed country per capita.

About 30 percent of the bombs dropped failed to detonate and have since then have maimed and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of civilians.

Lao authorities welcomed the possible increase in aid by the US as a massive amount of funding is still needed to finance the clearance of UXO that contaminates large swathes of land across 14 provinces. Last year, Laos received about US$30 million in international aid for UXO clearance.

UXO Lao Director Thippasone Soukhathammavong said officials could not say when UXO would be

US considers increasing aid for UXO clearance

A clearance worker searches for UXO in Luang Prabang province.--Photo Phoonsab

completely cleared, especially given the funding shortage.

It is thought that up to 37 percent of the country’s total land area, about 87,000 km2, may have been contaminated with various types of UXO.

From 1996 until last year only about 55,000 hectares had been cleared of UXO, according to the National Regulatory Authority.

Mr Kerry told reporters at the end of his visit that discussions are under way about the possibility of more funding, although no final figure has been determined, according to the Washington Post.

The top US diplomat said he expected a final aid package to be completed by the time President Obama comes to Laos this summer to attend a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

The United States has been helping to locate and clear UXO for more than half a decade, starting with US$5 million a year and gradually raising the amount to US$15 million last year and US$19.5 million this year.

In recent years, the number of victims maimed and killed by UXO in Laos has declined from the previous

Programme Manager, Mr Ian Bromage.The National Institute of Public

Health and MCNV - an International NGO for health and development - will lead the project implementation together with Laos’ University of Health Sciences, VU University of the Netherlands, and the Hanoi School of Public Health.

The five year project worth million 2.7 Euro (23 billion kip) funded by the EU and MCNV will firstly support the National Institute of Public Health and associate public health institutes to provide national health authorities and stakeholders with expertise, documentation, reports and relevant tools for increasingly evidence-based health policy-making.

It is envisaged that this will lead to progress towards universal coverage and increased health equity.

Secondly, the project aims to enhance the institutional development, capacities, resources and role of the National Institute of Public Health and associated training institutes in effectively providing evidence to policymakers with a focus on nutrition, reproductive health, cost-effectiveness

and the socio-cultural dimensions of health, that are particular priorities of the Lao government.

In Laos, although knowledge about research is increasing among policymakers, the use of research in policymaking is still limited and there is a limited amount of high-quality research that can strongly convince policy-makers. Throughout the project’s lifespan, international scholarships for Lao researchers to further their doctoral studies will be provided.

In addition, a joint Master’s Programme in Public Health between the University of Health Sciences and Hanoi School of Public Health will be established, IT facilities and a public health e-learning resource centre will be respectively upgraded and established; a research grant scheme to support the execution of high quality research with Laos will be introduced; a long-term strategic plan for the National Institute of Public Health will be developed, and a wide range of workshops and training in areas ranging from ethics, transdisciplinary research practice, and production of policy briefs will be implemented.

EU supports LEARN project in Laos

Assoc. Prof. Dr Kongsap Akkhavong (right) exchanges agreements with Mr Ian Bromage (left) at the signing ceremony in Vientiane on Friday.

Insi

de

Vientiane Times2 Home News Saturday January 30, 2016

If you have a problem accessing the website, please call directly to Tel: +856-21 336048; 020 55729209

Email: [email protected]

Supervisor: Savankhone Razmountry

Editor-in-Chief: Thonglor DuangsavanhTel: 021 [email protected]

Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Phonekeo Vorakhoun Tel: 021 [email protected]

Deputy Editor-in-Chief:Phon Thikeo Tel: 55624351, 021 336047

[email protected]

News Editor: Sisay Vilaysack Tel: 55615716, 021-336045, Fax: 336046 [email protected]

Business Editor: Panyasith ThammavongsaTel: 021-336047, 020 77707411

Graphic Designer/IT:Malaythong PhayanouvongTel: 021 336048,

Lao Press in Foreign Languages

Vientiane TimesEstablished 1994, Volume 22

Tel: (856-21) 336042, fax: (856-21) [email protected]

020 55729209

Copy Sub-editor:Elizabeth Winch

Finance Manager: Somphone Vongsa Tel: 336040, 020 55647291

Marketing Manager:Phoutthasack Inthakoummane Tel: 021 336042, Fax: 336041Mobile: 020 55599209 email: [email protected]

Khonesavanh Latsaphao

The number of children with stunted growth in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia is much lower than in Laos, where parents often struggle to find nutritious food for their children.

Some 44 percent of children in Laos are stunted and 27 percent of children are underweight.

Deputy Director of the Nutrition Centre under the Ministry of Health, Dr Khamseng Pholavong, said on Friday that the high rate of stunted children in Laos was due to inadequate nutrition, and the condition mostly occurred in rural and remote areas.

Children in remote areas often don’t have enough to eat because their parents have low incomes due to their low level of education.

“But it’s not only children in remote areas that lack proper nutrition. Some children in wealthier areas in towns are also stunted because their parents

Phetphoxay Sengpaseuth

The Faculty of Environmental Sciences of the National University of Laos launched a new project on Thursday aiming to support the management and protection of the natural environment.

The initiative, known as the Environmental and Developmental Studies project, is a two-year project that will begin this year with funding of over 400 million kip.

Project activities will take place in Meuangfeuang district, Vientiane province and in Vientiane and will be implemented with assistance from the Environment Protection Fund, officials said.

A signing ceremony for the project yesterday was attended by the President of the Environment Protection Fund, Mr Soukata Vichit, and Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Assoc. Prof. Dr Kenchanh Sinsamphanh.

Speaking at the ceremony, Assoc. Prof. Dr Kenchanh said the project would involve the description and analysis of environmental systems. These would include interspecies

and species-environment relationships and the institutions, policies and laws that affect those relationships. Also studied would be aesthetic portrayals of the environment and how these affect human perceptions and behaviour towards it, with ethical issues raised by human presence in the environment.

He said the project funding would be used to set up a Centre for Environmental and Developmental Studies in Vientiane. This would provide information and learning on environmental protection, and draw up plans for environmental protection in towns and rural areas.

The centre will also gather information on the environment in relation to socio–economic issues and address the need to mainstream environmental and social safeguards in infrastructure development.

It will also aim to strengthen biodiversity conservation in target district Protected Area management and provide support for communities in sustainable environmental management activities.

The centre will also provide information on the administration and protection of the natural environment to environmental experts.

Overall, the Environmental and Developmental Studies project aims to strengthen environmental protection, sustainable natural resources management, biodiversity conservation, and associated community development.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Kenchanh said the project would support the government’s policy reform agenda towards improved environmental management. It would examine the relationships between ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ societies, the roles played by various institutions within them and their effects on the processes of social, political, economic and environmental transformation.

The Environment Protection Fund provides funding to manage trails and lands, protect natural resources, preserve wildlife habitats, make critical capital improvements at parks and campgrounds, educate students about conservation, and provide access to people with disabilities.

NUOL kickstarts project on environmental protection

Assoc. Prof. Dr Kenchanh Sinsamphanh (right) and Mr Soukata Vichit (left) shake hands after signing the agreement.

aren’t cooking nutritious meals for them,” Dr Khamseng said.

Many parents give their child money to buy a good meal at school, but that’s not always possible and there is no way to check that the child will spend the money wisely.

Now the government of the United States has announced the start of a U$6 million (over 48 billion kip) programme to improve the health of women and children in Laos, the US Embassy to Laos stated in a press release on Thursday.

Over the next three years, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Nurture initiative will help to reduce child nutritional stunting and improve household nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene practices.

Despite strong economic growth, Laos still experiences some of the highest rates of child and maternal mortality and malnutrition in Southeast Asia.

According to the Ministry

of Health, diarrhoea is one of the major causes of mortality in children under five in Laos.

Only 69.9 percent of the population uses improved drinking water sources, according to the Lao Social Indicator Survey. Poor hygiene and sanitation has many negative impacts, especially for children under five who easily contract water-related diseases.

Improved water supply and sanitation, and careful management of water resources can boost a country’s economic growth and contribute greatly to poverty reduction.

The Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Sports, and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and international agencies are now working hard to provide nutrition to people living in remote areas.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is also helping people living in rural areas with crop planting, animal husbandry and fish breeding in order to improve nutrition.

Lao children still suffering from stunted growth

Children walk along a river to catch fish in northern Laos.

figure of 300 casualties annually.“We’re now down to about 50 a year,” Mr Kerry was quoted as saying by the Washington Post,

adding, “And 50 a year is still too many.”Mr Kerry said the United States will continue or set up a number of programmes, including one

focusing on child nutrition and another to strengthen dams along the Mekong River, according to the Washington Post.

The US is launching a US$6 million programme to help provide meals in schools across Laos to combat the effects of hunger, which has stunted children’s growth, according to the Voice of America.

The US has provided financial aid to Laos amounting to more than US$45 million a year, according to the Lao Ministry of foreign Affairs.

Secretary Kerry came to Vientiane to lay the groundwork for the US-Asean Summit, which is scheduled to be held next month in California. Laos is the chair of the 10-member regional bloc this year.

President Obama’s attendance at the summer meeting in Vientiane will mark the first visit by a US president to the landlocked country.

The Lao ministry said Mr Kerry’s visit also prepared for President Obama’s visit to Laos, when he will attend the Asean-US Summit.

US considers increasing aid for... FROM PAGE 1

Les numéros du journal Le Rénovateur du mois de janvier 2011 à février 2015 sont

disponibles sur CD-ROM au bureau de la Presse lao en langues étrangères (service Vientiane

Times), Ban Phonpapao, unité 32, arrondissement de Sisattanak, Vientiane. BP : 5723.Contact

Tel : (856-21) 33 60 42 ; 33 60 43–8 Fax : (856-21) 33 60 41.

Courriel : [email protected]

Le magazine Le Rénovateur disponible en CD-ROM

Vientiane Times 3Saturday January 30, 2016 Home News

Photo essays

Weather forecast News in Brief

A doctor at the Children’s Hospital in Vientiane has many babies to attend to after mothers brought them along to the hospital during the cold weather this week.

Farmers in southern Laos are trying to boost their income by growing and selling coffee, but the falling price of coffee on the world market makes it difficult for them to prosper.

Rural women are still burdened with

workloads such as caring for their children, bringing

home firewood, and other chores. An

EU-funded project is trying to improve

the role of women by ensuring that men

and women share equal responsibility

for their families.

Stalls set up by the embassies of the Philippines, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia are among the 160 stalls at the 11th Lao Food Festival taking place from January 28-31 at Chao Anouvong Park in Vientiane.

48 crimes solved in AttapeuIn the last year, over 50 crimes were committed in Samakhixay district, Attapeu province, the Khuamsangob Newspaper reported.According to the police, 48 crimes were solved with 198 wrongdoers detained. There were also 241 cases of traffic violations, with over 25 cars and motorbikes seized. More than 11,900 amphetamine pills were confiscated over the past year.Elsewhere, more than 200 crimes were recorded in Huaphan province last fiscal year, the Socio-economic Newspaper reported.This figure was up by 64 cases on the previous year. Police detained 227 wrongdoers, an increase of 44 people, and focused on crimes such as drug trade, theft and road accidents.

Clothing, blankets donated to KhammuanThe Electricite du Laos branch in Khammuan province and authorities recently donated clothes, blankets, educational equipment and other items to people in seven villages of Bualapha district, Khammuan province.The villages were Laboi, Paxiew, Khuaymeb, Pakern, Balang, Chanon and Ka-E. The items were worth more than 55 million kip, the Pathetlao Newspaper reported.Meanwhile Huawei in Laos donated clothes and blankets worth 27 million kip to communities in Huaphan province, according to the Vientiane Mai Newspaper.

Vientiane court sentences drug usersThe Vientiane People’s Court recently sentenced a man from Phonhong district, Vientiane province, to a term of imprisonment for injuring police.The court sentenced Mr Souvandee, 30, of Phonsoung village to four years and six months in prison and fined him more than 19 million kip, according to the Khuamsangob Newspaper.The defendant confessed that he bought illegal drugs from people in his local village, before using a sabre to assault police while under the influence.The Vientiane People’s Court also sentenced another drug dealer to five years in prison and fined him 10 million kip. The man was named as Mr Kalouna, 18, of Chomphet-tay village, Sisattanak district.He told police he had been an addict since 2011 and had been selling drugs he bought from Mr Ya, 30, of Xaysathan village, since May 2014.

Vientiane Times4 Saturday January 30, 2016

Region

In brief from Asia News Network

NAY PYI TAW (Xinhua) -- Myanmar’s president said on Thursday that the outgoing government has made many achievements during its past five years’ term in office, covering development in political, economic, communication and educational spheres.

As presented by President U Thein Sein at the last session of the current term of the parliament, despite having some difficulties and challenges, the democratic transition was able to be implemented phase by phase in a calm and peaceful manner.

The government has successfully undertook political, economic and administrative reforms, while boosting private sector development, the president said.

U Thein Sein reiterated the promise he made before the general election last November to carry out systematic power transfer in accordance with existing laws and bylaws.

No matter which party takes office, the government is to continue to strive for national development, he said, adding that the outgoing government will cooperate with the incoming government towards this end.

Accordingly, the outgoing parliament representatives of the

THAILAND (The Nation) -- The next general election will probably be postponed until late next year as the constitution drafters need more time to complete the organic laws regarding elections and political parties, the chief charter drafter said yesterday.

Meechai Ruchupan, chairman |of the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), said the new draft constitution’s transitional clauses state that elections of MPs and senators must be held within five months after the organic electoral laws take effect.

That meant the original plan that scheduled the next elections for July of next year, as was stated by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, could be delayed.

Meanwhile, Pheu Thai Party politicians reacted angrily to the likelihood of a delay. They also accused CDC members of colluding to extend the time in power of the military’s ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

Meechai said yesterday

that the need to complete 10 organic laws in line with the draft charter’s transitional clauses would inevitably result in a further delay of the election, from July 2017 to later in the year.

He said he did not think drafters would be able to complete the task of writing the organic laws within eight months after the potential passage of the constitutional draft, as was stated in the junta’s “road map to democracy”.

“It’s a very tough job and the time given is so little. On average we need [time] to finish drafting important laws of at least one month,” Meechai said. The chief drafter said he thought the Election Commission (EC) would take the maximum five months, or 150 days, allowed to prepare for the election. He said the drafters had specified the five-month period to allow the EC ample time to hold a free and fair election.

The NCPO will remain in place until the new administration takes over from them, Meechai said, adding that the powers of

NCPO chief Prayut would remain intact.

The CDC chief rejected opposition against the NCPO retaining its powers, saying that this was the “normal mechanism”.

Pheu Thai deputy spokesman Anusorn Iamsa-ard yesterday called the delay in elections a “bad joke” for the Thai people. He said Prayut, as head of the NCPO, had already announced that the next election would be held in July next year.

Anusorn warned that the likelihood of a delay might cause more voters to reject the draft constitution in the national referendum. “They will see that this is a clear attempt to extend [the NCPO’s] time in power,” he said.

Pheu Thai politician Worachai Hema said it appeared Meechai and his team wrote the draft constitution with provisions that would lead to it being rejected in a referendum so as to give the NCPO more time in power.

He warned that this could lead to further conflict in society.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam suggested yesterday that the CDC focus on writing the five organic laws that are directly related to the election so that the original schedule under the road map could be met.

However, he added that if the constitutional draft passed a national referendum, its provisions - including the new schedule for an election - must be abided by.

In a related development, the CDC will hold a press conference at Parliament this afternoon to reveal the details of the 270-article constitution draft.

TOKYO (Kyodo News) -- Japan’s job availability was at its best level in 24 years in December, the government data showed Friday, as companies sought more workers in an increasingly tight labour market.

The unemployment rate stayed at 3.3 percent in December, after gaining 0.2 percentage point in the previous month.

The labour ministry said job availability rose to 1.27, the highest level since December 1991, meaning that 127 positions were available for every 100 job seekers.

“The employment situation remains on an improving trend,” an internal affairs ministry official said.

Japanese companies appear willing to increase their workforces on the back of improving earnings, although recent market turmoil has raised uncertainty about the global economic outlook.

Economists have pointed out that Japan faces severe shortages of labour, an obstacle for the world’s third largest-economy which is struggling to crawl out of deflation.

“The data were not so bad overall,” said Koya Miyamae, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. “There is no change to the fact that labour is in short supply, which is a serious issue.”

On a year-on-year basis, the healthcare and welfare sector continued to add jobs in December, up 4.9 percent to 7.98 million, and the manufacturing sector saw a 2.1 percent increase to 10.49 million.

SYDNEY (Xinhua) -- Schools in Australia’s New South Wales state and Victoria state were placed lockdown on Friday after phone threats sparked police search operations, just days after students returned from their summer holidays.

Approximately seven schools in New South Wales state were on temporary lockdown and searched by police on Friday morning after multiple phone threats that had been received at local, interstate and overseas schools over the past 24 hours.

A New South Wales police spokesman told Xinhua students returned to class in the early afternoon. However, the investigation is ongoing and the authorities are continuing to liaise with the local education department.

“Making such threats is a serious criminal offence and

Indonesian community finalist for ecotourism awardINDONESIA (Jakarta Post) -- An Indonesian ecotourism community has been named a finalist in the 2016 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards.The Jakarta-based Indonesian Ecotourism Network (Indecon), a foundation that develops ecotourism in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, among other places, will compete with Sapa O’Chau from Vietnam and Expediciones Sierra Norte from Mexico in the Community category.Programmes of sustainable tourism practice and management that maximize social and economic benefits for local people, reduce negative impacts to the environment and support the protection of cultural and natural heritage are among the selection criteria for the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards.

MPs to decide on former presidents billMYANMAR (Eleven) -- The Joint Bill Committee yesterday submitted a report to the Union Parliament about its findings on the controversial Former Presidents Security Bill that caused disagreements between the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament. The report stressed the need to follow the decision of the Lower House on 11 points of disagreement between the two houses.The Lower House charged the Ministry of Home Affairs with the responsibility for the president’s security but the Upper House would also allow the Ministry of Defence to carry out these duties in accordance with the original text of the bill.The bill stipulates that no legal action or penalty could be carried out against a president for actions in the line of duty.

230 institutions sealed, 53 warned against gaps in securityISLAMABAD (Dawn) -- More than 230 educational institutions in Rawalpindi division, including 138 government-run schools and colleges, were sealed – not because of freezing temperatures, but due to inadequate security – police and security officials said on Thursday. In addition, as many as 53 educational institutions in the Rawalpindi division, including Rawalpindi Medical College, on Thursday received final notices to improve security arrangements by Sunday, or the head of the institution would be booked.In Jhelum, 15 educational institutions, including 10 government and five private schools were sealed, Chakwal saw four schools sealed and three others were given warnings by the administration, while in Wah Cantt, police said, the principal of a private educational institution was threatened.

Thai polls likely delayed until late next year

Meechai Ruchupan.

every effort will be made to identify the person or persons responsible,” NSW police said.

The search in New South Wales follows the evacuation of multiple schools in Victoria state after similar threats were made via recorded messages on phone calls, however Fairfax Media reported at least one Melbourne school had “received an actual phone call”, according to a student’s mother.

Both New South Wales and Victorian authorities won’t confirm the exact type of threat.

“The schools are being evacuated as a precaution,” Victoria police said in statement.

A spokesperson for Victoria’s education department told Xinhua the affected schools enacted their emergency management plans

which included evacuations after they reported the threats to police earlier on Friday.

“The safety and wellbeing of our students is always our number one priority, and the Department is taking these incidents very seriously,” the spokesperson said.

Australian schools evacuated after multiple phone threats

current term will also cooperate with the new representatives to maintain political stability and national development, he said.

During the current term, people-centreed development projects have been implemented starting 2011-12 fiscal year, said the president.

Focusing on market-oriented economic development, the government laid down and carried out seven prioritised projects covering electricity, drinking water, agriculture, livestock and breeding, job creation, tourism, monetary policy as well as trade and investment.

As communication can keep rural people informed of economic and weather conditions, it plays a vital role in narrowing the knowledge gap between urban and rural citizens. Low-priced SIM cards are now available and the tele-density reached 65.35 percent as of August last year, up from only 2.33 percent in the fiscal year 2010-11, according to earlier local media reports.

In the educational sector, a presidential scholarship programme has been introduced to encourage students to study overseas. As of last year, there were over 45,000 schools nationwide, official figures showed.

Myanmar president hails achievements of

government’s 5-year term

Japan’s job availability best in 24 yrs in Dec

Vientiane Times 5Saturday January 30, 2016

World

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The UN envoy for Somalia said the cabinet agreed Thursday on a model for elections later this year, calling the long-awaited decision “an important milestone” for the impoverished Horn of Africa nation grappling with Islamic extremist insurgents.

Michael Keating, who took over as special representative this month, told the UN Security Council that the Cabinet decision was the culmination of almost six months of intense consultations and “may be a watershed moment.”

Somalia has been trying to rebuild after establishing its first functioning central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a longtime dictator and turned on each other, plunging the impoverished nation into chaos. Al-Shabab rebels were ousted from the capital, Mogadishu, in 2011 and have been pushed out of other key cities but they are not yet defeated, and the government

UNITED NATIONS (Xinhua) -- Zika virus is spreading “explosively” in the Americas, and could spread even further afield amid an “extremely high” level of alarm, said a senior official of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday.

Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, made the statement while briefing WHO’s board members in Geneva on the Zika situation, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news here.

Chan said that as of Thursday, Zika cases have been reported in 23 countries and territories in the region.

Symptoms of Zika virus, which is spread to people through mosquito bites, include low-grade fever, joint pain, rash, conjunctivitis, headache, muscle pain and eye pain.

“Chan explained that a causal relationship between the virus infection, and

UNITED NATIONS (Xinhua) -- breastfeeding has lifesaving benefits, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement here Thursday.

“Investing in breastfeeding has a significant impact on the health of women and children and on the economies of both rich and poor countries,” said UNICEF Chief of Nutrition Werner Schultink, citing a new series published by the weekly medical journal, The Lancet.

“The (Lancet) series provides crucial evidence for the case that breastfeeding is a cornerstone of children’s survival, health, growth and development and contributes to a more prosperous and sustainable future,” he said.

The study found that breastfeeding saves babies lives, reducing the risk of sudden infant deaths and intestinal diseases.

It also highlighted the economic benefits of breastfeeding and called on governments to support mothers with policies such as a minimum of 14-week maternity leave. It

PARIS (Xinhua) -- French President Francois Hollande on Thursday said it was possible to negotiate a political transition in Syria despite possible delays in talks aimed at ending the civil war the conflict-torn Arab country.

At a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, Hollande stressed Tehran’s role in “promoting talks over a political transition in Syria.”

Political negotiations have been slow to unfold, he said, adding the Geneva talks originally scheduled for Jan. 25 have been postponed to Friday, with possibilities for further delays.

The UN-brokered Geneva talks between rival Syrian factions are likely to be

VANCOUVER (Xinhua) -- Canada is known around the world as a wealthy country, so it may be a surprise that about eight percent of Canadians can’t afford fresh, nutritious food and have to rely on food bank for living.

And that percentage could rise as food prices are set to increase substantially because the weak Canadian dollar is making imported produce more expensive.

At the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, manager Ariela Friedmann told Xinhua Thursday that the high cost of food was making it tougher for low-income Canadians to access and eat healthy foods.

“The high cost of produce is a huge concern, especially for our members. We know from a survey that over 50 percent of our members make under 1,200 CAD (US$840)

birth malformations and neurological syndromes has not yet been established, but is strongly suspected,” Dujarric said. “And the possible links, only recently suspected, have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika, from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions.”

She added that the increased incidence of microcephaly is particularly alarming, as it places a heart-breaking burden on families and communities.

“WHO is deeply concerned about the rapidly evolving situation for four main reasons -- the possible association with birth malformations and neurological syndromes; the potential for further international spread; the lack of population immunity in newly affected areas; and the absence of vaccines, specific treatments, and rapid diagnostic tests,” Dujarric said.

“Conditions associated with this year’s El Nino weather pattern are also expected to

increase mosquito populations greatly in many areas,” the spokesman said.

Chan will convene an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on the virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations on Feb. 1 in Geneva to ascertain whether the outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, he said.

Zika is transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitos, which also transmit chikungunya and dengue viruses and which are present in every country of the Americas except Canada and continental Chile.

It is strongly suspected of causing birth malformations. Thus, women in Brazil, Colombia and El Salvador have been advised against becoming pregnant during the outbreak.

Zika virus was first isolated from a monkey in the Zika forest in Uganda in 1947.

Zika virus spreading “explosively” in Americas, WHO head warns

A health employee takes part in a spraying day against the Aedes Aegypty mosquito in El Valle in Caracas, capital of Venezuela.

remains weak. Keating said the security situation remains “very challenging” and called al-Shabab “a potent threat,” noting two terrorist attacks in just the last two weeks.

Somalia also faces a serious humanitarian situation: 4.9 million people, representing 40 percent of the population, in need of assistance, over 1.1 million internally displaced, some 300,000 children under the age of five acutely malnourished, and millions without basic healthcare, water and sanitation, Keating said.

At the same time, the UN envoy stressed the importance of the newly agreed electoral model, which he praised for being an entirely Somali creation.

The UN’s Security Council said “holding a peaceful, transparent electoral process in 2016 will mark a historic step forward for all Somalis, and will be fundamental for the country’s continued progress towards democracy and stability.” UN

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the decision and called on all parties to urgently establish a roadmap to universal elections in 2020 “to ensure continued momentum in the country’s transition to democracy.”

The current non-elected parliament of the transitional government, sworn in in 2012, expires this year.

Keating said the new electoral model envisions a 275-member lower house which maintains a power-sharing formula among clans and a 54-member upper house based on equal representation of existing, emerging and prospective federal states plus additional seats for Puntland and Somaliland. It also requires that a minimum of 30 percent of seats be reserved for women.

While “the decision marks an important milestone for Somalia,” Keating said, “there are many more ahead (and) the journey will be long and bumpy.”

UN: Somali cabinet has agreed on model for elections in 2016

delayed after the Syrian opposition on Thursday set an end to air strikes and blockades in Syrian cities as conditions to join the negotiating table.

Negotiating political transition in Syria “possible”: President Hollande

French President Francois Hollande (right) and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attend a joint press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France.

found that countries lost over US$500 billion annually because of a loss in cognitive ability which led to reduced earning capacity for people who had not been breastfed as babies.

In China, the study found that breastfeeding had decreased by five percent between 2003 and 2008 and that a ten percent increase in breastfeeding could reduce treatment costs of childhood disorders by about US$30 million in urban China alone.

UNICEF, which contributed to the Lancet series, said the study showed that breastfeeding can help achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The SDGs are a set of 17 economic, social and environmental goals all UN member states have agreed to work towards achieving by the year 2030.

“Breastfeeding is the most natural, cost effective, environmentally sound and readily available way we know to provide all children, rich or poor, with the healthiest start in life,” said Schultink. “It’s a win-win for all concerned to make it a priority.”

UNICEF says breastfeeding has lifesaving benefits

a month to live on for a family. With that amount, you pay for your cost of living, utilities and medications, there is so little money left for necessities, one of which is food,” Friedmann said.

Over the last year, food costs across the country have climbed by roughly 14.5 percent, putting increased pressure on families which are trying to make ends meet. Ultimately, that means there are more people seeking help from food bank.

The Greater Vancouver Food Bank is the largest food bank in British Columbia in west Canada. It was created in the early 1980s to provide food for low-income families during an economic recession.

It was supposed to be temporary, but a lack of food has become the new normal for many in Vancouver - a

city with an extremely high cost of living.

“Currently we have 26,500 people every single week who turn to us for services and support. And we help people through 13 locations that we run, every single week in Greater Vancouver,” Friedmann said.

She said the food is collected from donations of non-perishable items and then sent to outlets around the region. The food bank also relies on cash donations to buy fresh fruits, vegetables and eggs. They receive and distribute roughly 4.4 million pounds of food each year to the community.

Friedmann said she was seeing too many empty shelves around the warehouse, that was a sign that the number of people needing the food is on the rise, and the number of donations are falling.

More Canadians face surging food costs


Opinion

Reiko Bando

TOKYO (The Japan News, ANN) -- The fourth basic plan is notable for stressing the need to review male-oriented labour practices. It aims to promote the activities of working women by changing the current work structure and enabling men to more actively participate in child-rearing and other domestic work. However, experts point out that methods to realise the fourth plan must be addressed.

Shizuko Koedo, representative of the civic group Working Women’s Network (WWN), praised the fourth plan. “What we have been asking for has been adopted,” she said. The gender-equality basic plan has been renewed every five years since 2000. It deals with a wide range of issues related to women, including lifelong health support, eradicating violence against women and assisting women who have disabilities or live in poverty.

The latest plan stipulates policy measures and target figures to be

Harry Aginta

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post, ANN) -- We are too often tempted to conclude that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) always leads to or stimulates economic growth. By holding a general consensus on the positive influence of FDI on growth, the government formulates many seductive incentives in order to earn induce FDI.

In fact, despite controversial results on the issue, in most cases, the evidence shows that the impact of FDI on growth depends on its quality, not its quantity.

Prasad, Rajan and Subramanian (IMF, 2007) examined the impact of foreign investment on growth in 51 non-industrial countries by using current account balances as a measure of total external capital financing available for a country.

Theoretically, current account balances show the difference between national savings and national investment and thus, indicate the total amount of foreign investment. Surprisingly, they find a positive correlation between growth and current accounts. That means developing countries that have relied less on foreign finance have grown faster over the long run.

In regards to that paradox, Amartya Sen, a 1998 Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics, argued that FDI in some sense was not a value in itself and an economy could not solely depend on it for progress.

So, the quality of FDI is the critical factor. But, how do we measure the quality of FDI?

UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2006 describes “quality FDI” as “the kind that would significantly increase employment, enhance skills and boost the competitiveness of local enterprises”. More specifically, high-quality FDI causes technical spillover effects and increases in added-value.

With limited sources for domestic financing, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration aims

Mei Xinyu

CHINA (China Daily) -- Billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros has made news at the World Economic Forum in Davos. This year, he declared an “open currency war”, saying he was short selling Asian currencies, including the renminbi. Due to his financial influence, his short selling remarks have added to the already volatile international financial market and increased the pressure from speculative at tacks on the Asian currency market.

Soros is unlikely to achieve victory in challenging the Chinese renminbi. Despite its economic downturn since last year and its volatile stock market, as well as the renminbi’s depreciation against the US dollar, China is still among the countries that boast good economic fundamentals at a time when the global economy as a whole is suffering. The 6.9 percent economic growth China registered in 2015 was two times that of the United States. In 2015, China’s exports declined by 1.8 percent, while global trade fell by 10 percent.

China’s industrial up grading is continuing, and its emerging advanced manufacturing is beginning to gain an upper hand in an increasing number of areas. China still enjoys far better macro economic stability than a majority of other countries, including the other members of BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.

The better economic shape China is now in compared with other countries means there is no possibility for pure economic shocks to upset it. True, the renminbi has depreciated slightly since the middle of 2015. But it save rage exchange rate against the US dollar has exhibited a strong up ward tendency for 20 consecutive years. After such considerable appreciation, it is natural for the renminbi to depreciate moderately. China is now the world’s second-largest economy and it is unlikely the country will permanently peg the renminbi to the single currency of the US dollar.

To maintain an independent monetary policy in a world with a high degree of capital liquidity, China is willing to see a mode rate

achieved in 12 areas from fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2020.

Making women more involved in the planning process and expanding their appointments to important posts were included in the first of the 12 areas as the most important theme,

but the reform of male-oriented labour practices and promotion of women’s activities are listed in the latest basic plan for the first time.

WWN has been urging the government and the United Nations to

review male-oriented labour practices that take overtime work and transfers to different work sections for granted.

“At the root of the difficulties women feel when they work are male-oriented values in which long hours are considered a matter of course,”

said the women’s organisation.The fourth plan seems to

incorporate the requests of WWN and similar groups. “For women to add more to the society, men must first change the way they work,” said

Seiichi Ito, an official of the Gender Equality Bureau of the Cabinet Office.

The fourth plan sets detailed numerical targets that include raising the percentage of male workers who take days off immediately after their spouses have babies to 80 percent by 2020.

Ceiling on overtimeTo achieve the numerical targets,

the fourth plan proposes applying the overtime premium rate for large companies, which is 50 percent or more, to small and medium-sized companies, where the rate currently stands at 25 percent or more; considering the introduction of a ceiling on overtime work; and other measures. The fourth plan also proposes authorising the national government to take corrective measures against companies that unfavourably treat male workers who take child-care leave.

“The ideas and viewpoints [of the fourth plan] are good, but I don’t think they will eliminate long working hours. The plan would have been better

if it included more effective measures such as legal restrictions on overtime work,” said Koedo.

Evaluate whether targets achieved

Other observers have criticised the fourth plan.

Masumi Minagawa, a part-time lecturer at Waseda University who specialises in gender studies, points out that the number of areas were reduced from 15 in the third plan to 12 in the fourth plan, and the number of numerical targets to be achieved by 2020 similarly dropped from 82 to 71. “Gender equality should be expanded much more in terms of quality and quantity, but instead things are moving in the opposite direction,” she said.

“The fourth plan was made without sufficiently evaluating whether targets in the third plan were achieved or how much progress was made,” Minagawa said. “To improve the plan’s viability, an inspection system to check the effectiveness of each policy should be strengthened.”

Legal restrictions needed to boost gender equality in Japan

exchange rate fluctuation of the renminbi. Investors will surely realise this trend sooner or later and reduce their excessive reactions to it as in the previous months.

From a long-term perspective, the US dollar may maintain a strong momentum against emerging countries’ currencies for quite a longtime, but it will be difficult to do the same against the renminbi. China now maintains a continuous trade surplus and it continues to expand. The US economy is deeply mired in a disease of the apparent causal relation ship between the increase in the economic development of a specific sector and a decline in other sectors, and its “re-industrialisation” campaign as part of its plan to reconsolidate its real economic foundation will be difficult to maintain.

Instead, the balance of its trade in goods is worsening despite its economic recovery. From 2011 to 2013, the growth of US’ exports was faster than that of its imports, which to some extent improved its trade in goods balance. But starting from 2014, the trend reversed, as its exports growth again exceeded its imports growth, and the gap has continued to widen. Experiences from several dollar crises since the 1960s indicate that an ever-worsening trade balance and current account and fiscal deficit will cripple market confidence in the dollar. The latest round of a strong dollar against the renminbi will be interrupted by the Triffin Dilemma (where by the US needs to run balance of payments deficits that undermine confidence in the dollar as are serve as set) and this is expected to occur sooner rather than later.

From another perspective, the war declared by Soros on Asian currencies will offer an opportunity for China to deepen financial and fiscal cooperation with other East Asian countries, and cooperation on the China-led Belt and Road Initiative. Currently, East Asian currency cooperation basically stays at currency swaps or other forms of low-level cooperation.

--The author is a searcher at the Ministry of Commerce’s International Trade and Economic Cooperation Institute.

to reform Indonesia’s economic structure into an industrial-based economy. Therefore, apart from quantity, the Indonesian government should put more effort into attracting high-quality FDI.

So, what kind of strategy would be best to attract high-quality FDI? Let’s consider the case of Ireland.

In 2005, IDA Ireland, an Irish investment promotion agency, deployed 70 million Euro to establish the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and

Training. Though it was the most costly project of that year, I would emphasize another brilliant angle to all of this: the timing.

Despite experiencing negative shocks in FDI in 2004/2005 due to external factors, the Irish government consistently showed its commitment to inviting high-quality FDI into the country. As a result, the facts speak for themselves. Now Dublin is known as the European headquarters of Google, Facebook and LinkedIn. Also, according to IBM’s 2015 Global Location Trends report, Ireland has been named as the top-ranking destination by quality and

value of investment for four years in succession.

There are different stories in other countries, but to summarise, there is no single best policy that works for every country at any time to attract high-quality FDI.

Fortunately, however, empirical evidence offers a clue to attracting high-quality FDI: A high level of human capital is paramount, complemented by developed financial markets, adequate infrastructure and good institutions.

The study by Borensztein, De Gregorio and Lee (1998) and Alfaro & Charlton (2007) support the conclusion that the positive relationship between FDI and growth is particularly strong for industries with high-skill requirements, where the exploitation of technology and innovation spillovers run more quickly.

Therefore, to make Indonesia more attractive for high-quality FDI, over the coming decade, policies should be directed toward improving education in order to provide a highly skilled workforce.

Also, the government should spur public investment in infrastructure projects (specifically electricity and transportation). In order to distribute the benefits of FDI equally across the nation, improvements in the aforementioned sectors should be prioritised outside of Java.

Simultaneously, government and relevant authorities should formulate new strategies to accelerate financial expansion and eliminate corruption. The capacity of institutions should be elevated in order to produce effective regulations and to strengthen the rule and consistency of law.

Competition will lead to technological improvement and gains in innovation and productivity. These are all essential to generating increasing returns to scale that will push Indonesia’s economy to a higher growth trajectory and help to avoid the risk of a middle-income trap.

--The writer is an economic analyst at Bank Indonesia.

Renminbi strong enough to withstand currency war

A fresh look at FDI: Is it quantity or quality?

Empirical evidence offers a clue to attracting high-

quality FDI: A high level of human

capital is paramount, complemented by

developed financial markets, adequate infrastructure and good institutions.

“The ideas and viewpoints are good, but I

don’t think they will eliminate long working

hours. The plan would have been better if it

included more effective measures such as legal

restrictions on overtime work.”

Vientiane Times 7

StreetwiseStreetwiseSaturday January 30, 2016 Opinion

Mail this completed form with your cheque to:

Vientiane Times, Kamphaengmeuang Rd, Phonpapao Village, Unit 32 Sisattanak District, Vientiane Lao PDR PO Box 5723. Tel: 021 336042, Fax: 021 336041 Website: www.vientianetimes.org.la

Email: [email protected]

Payment in advancePlease request rates for other destinations at [email protected]. Make your payment to Vientiane Times bank account at the BCEL (US$) A/c 010110100989471001 or (kip) A/c 010110000989471001

4. ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION FEE Website is update four (4) times a day and every issue is published on our website in HTML and PDF

3 months ( 78 issues) 150,000 6 months (156 issues) 270,000 1 year (312 issues) 500,000

Please return this form with the following information to Vientiane TimesFULL NAME: _________________________________________________________________________________ADDRESS: __________________________________________________________________________________TEL: _________________________FAX:____________________EMAIL:_________________________________FOR ONLINE: Name:________________________________PREFERRED PASSWORD_____________________(Password not more then 8 characters)

Deliver to Provinces + online fee

Vientiane Times Subscription 20151. DOMESTIC SUBSCRIPTION (6 issues/week) and online fee

Regular price

Home Delivery (City Centre)Area: Thadeua Rd. Dongdok, Ban Tanmixay and Sikhay villages.

78 issues (3 months) 305,000k +100,000k 405,000k


312 issues (1 year) 1,217,000k +100,000k 1,317,000k



312 issues (1 year) 1,560,000k +100,000k 1,660,000k

2. DOMESTIC SUBSCRIPTION FOR PROVINCES (6 issues/week), inclusive of postage cost

Deliver to Provinces156 issues (6 months) 1,451,000k

312 issues (1 year) 2,902,000k

156 issues (6 months) 1,451,000k +100,000k 1,551,000k

312 issues (1 year) 2,902,000k +100,000k 3,002,000k

3. OVERSEAS SUBSCRIPTION (6 issues/week) and online fee Total + Online fee

Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia

Asia, Australia & New Zealand

Europe (Including Russia)

America and Canada


312 issues (1 year) 7,488,000k +100,000k 7,588,000k


312 issues (1 year) 8,736,000k +100,000k 8,836,000k


312 issues (1 year) 9,984,000k +100,000k 10,084,000k


312 issues (1 year) 12,480,000k +100,000k 12,580,000k

Times Reporters

Mr Touny Xayavong, a company employee in Xaythany district,

Vientiane: I ride my bike along the road behind Kaysone Phomvihane Museum every day. I know that road very well

Are poor road conditions causing accidents?

Many roads in Vientiane take a long time to build or repair and the roads in general are poorly designed, which creates problems for motorists and makes driving more risky. A case in point is this road behind the Kaysone Phomvihane Museum, which has no kerb or barrier at the side. Vientiane Times went out to ask

people about their own driving experiences and the problems they encountered.

so it’s not a problem for me but sometimes I worry, especially at night, because it’s quite dark. Fortunately I haven’t heard of any accidents happening there yet. However, I think it’s very dangerous for people who don’t know this road well because there’s no barrier to prevent motorists running off the road and into the drainage channel. I don’t know if the work on this road is finished yet and I don’t think it is but it’s been like this for a long time. I think the authorities should put something there to show drivers there’s a drop by the side of the road, and a drainage channel. I worry that if no one does anything about it there will be an accident on

this road soon and maybe someone will die because of it.

Ms Souphansa Phommany a student at the Institute of Banking: I live in this village so I drive along this

road many times a day. Of course it’s dangerous because there’s nothing to protect the

edge of the road. I would like to know what’s going on and what the authorities plan to do. I don’t know if construction has finished or not but people have been allowed to use it in this condition for a long time. If the road’s finished, all I can say is that the design is dangerous. The authorities should explain the matter to the public because many people have complained about it. They have ways to improve the situation by putting a barrier of some kind along the side of the road so that vehicles don’t go over the edge. We also need lights because it’s very dark at night.

Mr Khamphet Mahachaleun, a student at the National University of Laos: I think this road will cause accidents, as

well as other roads, because they are not safe. Some roads are badly designed

and others take a very long time to build, and drivers are left in the dark about the state of progress. I often drive on the road behind the Kaysone Phomvihane Museum. Yes, this road is dangerous because it has bends and there are some junctions as well. The most dangerous thing is that there’s a drainage channel right alongside the road but it’s not covered. There’s also nothing along the edge to prevent people driving off the road. It’s not just this road that needs attention. I have seen many roads that need improving, with lots in dire need of repair. We also need new roads to be built.

THE STRAITS TIMES

THE DAILY YOMIURITHE YOMIURI SHIMBUN

Asia News Network (ANN)The Asia News Network (ANN) is a network of leading daily English language newspapers in Asia, supported by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation of Germany through its regional representative bureau in Singapore. It was established in March, 1999, to provide avenues for cooperation and optimise coverage of major news events in the region. It also aims to promote journalism, share news stories, feature articles, editorials and personality profiles. ANN is the world’s most active newspaper alliance with a membership base of 18 newspapers in 16 countries. The German News Agency of Deutsche Presse-Agentur, as one of the leading international agencies and ANN’s exclusive partner, distributes news and features, background stories and commentaries from ANN to subscribers worldwide.They consist of Rasmei Kampuchea (Cambodia), China Daily (China), The Statesman (India), The Korea Herald (South Korea), The Star (Malaysia), Sin Chew Daily (Malaysia), The Nation (Thailand), The Straits Times (Singapore), The Philippine Daily Inquirer (Philippines), The Jakarta Post (Indonesia), Vietnam News (Vietnam), The Daily Star (Bangladesh), Vientiane Times (Laos), The Kathmandu Post (Nepal), The Island (Sri Lanka), Brunei Times (Brunei), The Nation (Pakistan), and China Post (Taiwan). The combined circulation of these newspapers is more than 14 million copies per day.


Education & Health

Phomphong Laoin

Many students dream of a bright future and a great job after they graduate. For some it all works out, but others struggle to achieve their dreams

despite their hard work and good intentions.Ms Latsamy Chanthalasy, 22, one young lady

who met with great success as a student of finance at the Banking Institute in Vientiane, from which she graduated last year with a red diploma.

“The grade of your diploma certificate is the proof of your knowledge and your work is the test of your skills,” said MsLatsamy.

Ms Latsamy, or Toukta as she is known to her friends and family, was born in 1994 into a family living in Vangvieng village, Vangvieng district, Vientiane province. As a child, she never imagined that she would turn out to be a top student at a finance school in the capital.

She proved to be a good student and in 2011 she completed uppersecondary school in Vangvieng districtand then secured a place at the prestigious Banking Institute in Vientiane.

After four years of dedicated study, she finally graduated last year in the field of finance with a treasured red diploma of honour and a Grade Point Average of 3.56.

Ms Latsamy said she found inspiration from her family and it was they who gave her the determination to succeed in life, backing her every step of the way. “My study method is to read as much as possible,summarise the important points of every lesson and subject, review the essence of each topic in the library, and look for more information on the internet.”

“My activities while attending the Banking Institute included sports, spending time with my friends and helping my family with their work.”

“I had classes between 8am and 16:40pm from Monday to Friday, but not for eight hours a day. I also studied by myself by reading over previous lessons and also the next lessons. And I had an English language class three days a week.”

“In class I sat at the front and was determined to pay attention when the teacher was talking. I took notes and if I didn’t understand something I would ask the teacher to explain it more clearly.”

“If my friends didn’t understand something I would try to explain it to them.”

A teacher at the Banking Institute, Mr Souvanthone Bouphala, who was Ms Latsamy’s supervisor when she was writing her thesis, said

“She was determined to study and took her work seriously. If she didn’t understand a point, she would ask questions.”

“Ms Latsamy was the first student at the institute to be awarded a red diploma. We set the requirement for this quite high at a Grade Point Average of 3.25, and Ms Latsamy has been the only person to achieve this feat.”

“She always liked to ask questions and make comments. She always paid attention and also took time to help her friends if they didn’t understand a point. If she had problems with her thesis she would discuss them with me and she would catch on quickly when I explained something to her,” MrSouvanthone said.

Ms Kaisone Inthapanya, who was on the same course as Ms Latsamy, said “I was her close friend. She was very nice, friendly and always willing tohelp her friends when needed. She would explain a topic until everyonefully understood it, especially calculation, because she was really good at that. She also knew a great deal of theory concerning finance. Her efforts and attitude were always appreciated by her teachers and friends, so it was very appropriate that she got a red diploma.”

Ms Latsamy Chanthalasy’s father congratulates her on graduation day at the Banking Institute last year.

Ms Latsamy Chanthalasy (centre) and her friends stand with their diplomas at the Banking Institute.

Finance student has it all figured out

Times Reporters

Being constipated means your bowel movements are difficult or occur less often than normal. Almost everyone has this problem at some point in life, and it’s usually not serious. Still, you’ll feel much better when your system is back on track.

The normal length of time between bowel movements varies widely from person to person. Some people have bowel movements three times a day. Others have them only once or twice a week.

Going longer than three or more days without one is usually too long. After three days, the stool or faeces become harder and tougher to pass.

Many parents worry when their child becomes constipated. A paediatrician from the Children’s Hospital in Vientiane explains how to observe for the symptoms and causes of constipation, and how

to deal with them.You are constipated is

you have infrequent bowel movements, trouble having a bowel movement (straining), hard or small stools, a sense that everything didn’t come out, a swollen abdomen or abdominal pain and vomiting

The paediatrician described some of the causes of constipation and how you can prevent them.

Some causes include antacid medicines containing calcium or aluminum, changes in your usual diet or activities, colon cancer, eating a lot of dairy products, eating disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis, not being active, not enough water or fiber in your diet, overuse of laxatives (over time, this weakens the bowel muscles), pregnancy, problems with the nerves and muscles in the digestive

system, resisting the urge to have a bowel movement, which some people do because of hemorrhoids, some medications (especially strong pain drugs such as narcotics, antidepressants, or iron pills), stress and under active thyroid (hypothyroidism).

Children and adults who suffer from constipation are advised to follow these tips: drink two to four extra glasses of water a day (unless your doctor told you to limit fluids for another health reason), try warm liquids, especially in the morning, add fruits and vegetables to your diet, eat prunes and bran cereal.

If needed, use a very mild over-the-counter stool softener like docusate or a laxative like magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia). Do not use laxatives for more than two weeks without calling your doctor. Laxative overuse can worsen your symptoms.

How to deal with constipation

CHINA (China Daily, ANN) -- White skin still means beauty among Chinese Internet users, according to a report by China’s search engine giant Baidu Inc.

The number of searches for cosmetic products has increased dramatically, to about 37 percent year-on-year, while whitening products account for 70 percent of all searches, suggesting a trend that porcelain-pale skin still remains the hallmark of glamorous women in China.

According to the survey, skincare products account for 66.4 percent of all cosmetic searches, while make-up accounts for 30.9 percent and perfume, for less than three percent. In terms of skincare functions, 67 percent of Chinese women choose whitening products.

The report reveals that whitening and anti-aging are top female concerns in choosing skincare products, said Li Xiaolong, co-founder of Baidu Distributor Institute.

The most searched-for topic on mobile terminals is “How to whiten skin,” reflecting the deep-rooted aethestic standard that being

white is beautiful, he added.In addition, 30 percent of young users born after 1995 and

2000 also began to search for cosmetic products.Consumers are becoming more curious about perfume,

especially its price, scent and fragrance, it was added.

Chinese consumers still obsessed with white skin

A woman gets a whitening facial mask treatment.

Vientiane Times 9Business Read more news at www.vientianetimes.org.la Saturday January 30, 2016

Euro 50-500 8,868 8,913

Foreign Currencies Buying Selling

US Dollar 50-100

Thai Baht

8,126

227.4

8,164

229.1

Exchange rates as of january 29, 2016Banque pour le Commerce Exterieur Lao Public

Times Reporters

The CIMB Thai Bank - Vientiane Branch has provided a US$8 million

equivalent Lao kip loan to ACLEDA Bank Lao Ltd., to help boost financing for the country’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including those in the agriculture sector.

The local currency loan is fully guaranteed by the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.

MSMEs are an important part of the Lao economy and employ a large part of the population. However, access to finance is seen as a key obstacle to their growth and expansion since lending is primarily based against collateral.

With the local currency loan from CIMB Thai Bank – Vientiane Branch, a member of the CIMB Group, ACLEDA Bank Lao, a leading bank for the country’s smaller businesses, aims to triple its MSME lending to about US$236 million through over 52,500 loans by

(From left) Mr Narin Phon and Mr Surachai Chitratsenee display the loan agreement after signing it in Vientiane on Thursday.

Thai Bank loan to ACLEDA to assist small business

the end of 2017. Speaking at the loan

agreement signing ceremony, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ACLEDA Bank Lao Ltd Mr Narin Phon said “Our business is centered on micro, small and medium enterprises whose demand for finance is huge. Serving the sector will bring us opportunities for growth and expansion.”

“We appreciate IFC’s support in connecting us with the CIMB Group for much-needed long-term funding to promote our core business,” he added.

The credit guarantee by IFC has enabled the CIMB Group, one of Asean’s leading banking groups, to make an on-shore funding in local currency to a Lao financial institution.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Senior Executive Vice President, Head of Business Support Group of CIMB Thai Bank Mr Surachai Chitratsenee said “We are excited to partner with IFC in this pioneer transaction in Laos to provide long-term financing in local

currency to ACLEDA Bank Lao Ltd., while at the same time helping our client and its end-borrowers mitigate exchange-rate risks.”

IFC’s Financial Institutions Group Manager for East Asia and the Pacific, Mr Adel Meer, also said that the innovative structure, with a local currency loan from CIMB Group to ACLEDA Bank Lao was backed by an IFC credit guarantee.

“It allows us to effectively support our client’s local currency needs, even when such funding is not readily available in the local market,” he said, adding that the funding will allow ACLEDA Bank Lao to provide loans in kip with competitive interest rates to local companies, which can now concentrate on their core business and mitigate currency risks.

“We expect to replicate this model in other emerging markets in the region and beyond,” Mr Meer added.

Senior officials from the Bank of the Lao PDR and relevant sectors also witnessed the signing ceremony.

TOKYO (BLOOMBERG, The Straits Times) -- Japan’s consumer prices stayed barely above zero, household spending dropped, and the jobless rate held steady in December, adding pressure on the Bank of Japan to consider further expanding its already record asset-buying programme.

Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 0.1 percent in December from a year earlier, according to a statistics bureau report on Friday. That matched the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Household spending slumped 4.4 percent from a year earlier, while the jobless rate stood at 3.3 percent, data from the bureau showed.

Japan’s inflation is still near zero ahead of BOJ decision today

The Ameyoko shopping district in Tokyo .

A further drop in oil prices, a reversal in the yen’s declines and turmoil in global financial markets have put pressure on the BOJ to do more to spur price gains and boost economic growth. Some BOJ officials view it a close call as to whether the policy board will add to stimulus at a two-day meeting ending around midday in Tokyo, according to people familiar with discussions at the central bank.

“Given declining oil prices and a reversal of the weak yen, the inflation rate will probably stay near zero and inflation expectations will be unlikely to rise anytime soon,” said Hiroaki Muto, chief economist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center. “Sooner or later, the

BOJ has no choice but to take on additional easing.”

The yen has strengthened against the US dollar in the past month, while most other major currencies have weakened, eroding some of the advantage Japanese exporters had from the foreign exchange market. A stronger yen also pushes down prices.

Six of 42 economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the central bank to boost stimulus at today’s meeting. Twenty-three see a move likely between March and July and 13 say there is no prospect of further easing in the foreseeable future.

At its last meeting in December, the central bank left its main monetary stimulus target unchanged while outlining operational changes for purchases of government bonds, exchange- traded funds and real estate investment trusts. Its policy of expanding the monetary base at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen, mostly through the purchase of government bonds, has been unchanged since October 2014.

While Muto said the BOJ may expand stimulus at this meeting, Junichi Makino, chief economist at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., said the BOJ may hold off expanding stimulus this time and expand it further as early as the March meeting.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Like a friendly but persistent sales rep, Microsoft has a message for anyone who owns a personal computer: If you haven’t yet upgraded to Windows 10, the company highly recommends it.

So highly, in fact, that in coming weeks, PC owners who have set their machines to automatically install important updates — like security fixes — could find the new operating system already downloaded and ready for activation.

Microsoft’s aggressive campaign to promote Windows 10 has led to its deployment on more than 200 million devices since its July release. It’s part of a multi-pronged strategy, along with a push to expand in “cloud” computing, that analysts say is driving the early stages of a financial turnaround, as evidenced by Microsoft’s latest earnings report on Thursday.

The Redmond, Washington-based tech company reported US$5 billion in profit on nearly US$24 billion in sales for the quarter ending on December 31. Revenue and profit were both down from a year ago, but after adjusting for deferred

Microsoft earnings show effects of turnaround strategy

A man walks past a Microsoft sign set up for the Microsoft BUILD conference at Moscone Center in San Francisco.

revenue and one-time costs, the numbers were better than Wall Street analysts expected.

Microsoft beat Wall Street’s estimates for sales in key segments. Those include its cloud-computing segment, which lets commercial customers run their businesses on Microsoft’s servers, and the division that sells PC software, Surface tablets and Xbox gaming consoles. Adjusted earnings amounted to 78 cents a share, while analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 71 cents a share.

“All around, this looks like a quarter that (Microsoft CEO

Satya) Nadella can frame and put in his office,” FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives said. Microsoft’s stock rose more than 3 percent in extended trading after the results came out.

Long a dominant seller of PC-based software, Microsoft has seen its profit decline as consumers and businesses buy fewer PCs, cutting into licensing fees Microsoft gets from computer-makers. The last major upgrade of its operating system, known as Windows 8, was widely viewed as a flop, which hurt PC sales even more.

Vientiane Times10 Business Saturday January 30, 2016

Asean Economic Community

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post, ANN) -- Automotive sales in Indonesia are likely to increase by 5 percent to reach 1.05 million units this year, an industry association has predicted.

“We are optimistic sales will be better than 2015, but it will not be a major jump,” said Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) co-chairman JongkieSugiarto in the press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Amid the sluggish demand in 2015, Jongkie explained, low-cost green cars (LCGC) were the best selling products while sport utility vehicles (SUVs) recorded the highest jump in demand. “Meanwhile, in the sedan segment sales were squeezed due to the luxury tax,” he said.

Last year, Indonesia’s vehicle sales reached 1.01

Opening the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) 2015 in the Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) in BSD City, South Tangerang.

Indonesia to see limited growth in car sales: Industry association

million units, down 16 percent compared to the previous year. Exported vehicles reached 207,000 units, an increase of 5,000 compared to 2014.

Despite the lower vehicle sales, Indonesia still maintained its position as the largest automotive market in Asean in 2015.

However, business management consultants Frost & Sullivan predicted total vehicle sales in Indonesia would contract by 4.3 percent year-on-year to 969,100 units in 2016.

Among the key factors that would drag vehicle sales down were the depressed commodity market and the depreciation of the rupiah, Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific vice president for automotive and transportation VivekVaidya said.

The increase in the US’ benchmark interest rates and

the turmoil in the Chinese economy will further weaken the rupiah. At the end, car prices would be higher as imports of both parts and components as well as completely built up (CBU) cars would get costlier, he said.

“This could have a significant impact on the prices of many models. Imported CBUs, especially luxury cars, are likely to become more expensive. LCGC cars will be the least affected models, due to a high degree of localisation,” Vaidya explained.

Therefore, he applauded the government’s measures to stimulate the industry such as tax incentives, incentives for investment in special economic zones (SEZs), assistance to SMEs, an 8 percent hike in infrastructure spending, and removing restrictions on foreign investment.

PETALING JAYA (The Star, ANN) -- The recalibration of Budget 2016 may affect several sectors, including telecommunications as well as alcohol and tobacco companies.

“While potential measures would address the oil revenue shortfall in Budget 2016 and help stave off the risk of ratings downgrade for the Malaysian sovereign debt, it could affect selected sectors or companies,” said UOB KayHian Research in a note yesterday.

StarBizWeek reported that measures the Government is possibly considering could include a new round of spectrum auctions and the abolition of Labuan’s status as a duty-free zone.

If the Government called for a new round of spectrum auctions, the telco sector could face higher spectrum costs and hence potentially lower profits, the research house said.

“While we believe the regulators prefer to embark on a spectrum re-farming exercise, we do not completely rule out the potential threat of hefty spectrum auctioning.

“This follows in the footstep of regional peers, which have reported intense bidding war for spectrum allocation,” it added.

Meanwhile, experts said that although the lifting of Labuan’s duty-free zone status starting with alcoholic beverages would boost the Government’s coffers, the overall impact may not be too significant.

However, the move to tax Labuan alcohol could help to plug leakages and minimise contraband issues.

UOB said the potential elimination of Labuan’s duty-free zone status should be seen as a moderate positive

Budget review likely to affect telco, tobacco, several other sectors

“We expect the oil price assumption for Budget 2016 to be revised lower to US$30 per barrel from the earlier assumption of US$48 per barrel. This would mark the third time in a year that oil price assumptions used to draft the fiscal budget were revised lower,” CIMB Research said.

for the sin stock companies, given that historically some of the duty-free supply is sold back into the duty-paid market.

“While industry volumes and producers’ sales would presumably be unchanged, some substitution of duty-free with the higher-margin duty-paid products should lift margins,” it said.

Meanwhile, the research house believed Labuan’s tax free status would not be affected, should the Government decide to strip the duty-free zone status.

Separately, analysts said the recalibrated Bugdet 2016 is likely to assume oil prices trading at US$30 per barrel.

Although oil prices had been trending downwards, CIMB Research expected a recovery as supply adjusts downwards and demand normalises.

However, the recovery is likely to be muted. “We expect the oil price assumption for Budget 2016 to be revised lower to US$30 per barrel from the earlier assumption of US$48 per barrel. This would mark the third time in a year

that oil price assumptions used to draft the fiscal budget were revised lower,” it said.

The change in prices will mainly be reflected in petroleum income tax, the second-largest component of revenue to the Government.

Oil-related revenue is estimated to account for about 13.8percent of total revenue under Budget 2016, significantly down from 19.7percent in 2015.

At US$30 per barrel, that share is expected to shrink further to 12.9percent, said CIMB.

It added that it is likely that the Government will cut operating expenditure rather than development expenditure.

These could be in more subsidy rationalisationprogrammes, and cutbacks in supplies and services across all the ministries, said the research house.

“Even with the cuts, total subsidies are still sizeable. In our view, there is still room for further cuts in subsidies that will not affect the rakyat,” it said.

THAILAND (The Nation, ANN) -- Index Living Mall, a top retailer of home-furnishing products, yesterday announced its 2020 vision to extend its leadership outside Thailand and into Asean.

The vision is in line with urbanisation in the region, which has shifted Asean consumers towards a more modern lifestyle, including the way they buy and use home-furnishing products, as well as the rise of middle-income earners throughout the Asean Economic Community.

Index Living Mall has franchised stores in three countries in the region, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

M a n a g i n g

director Kridchanok Patamasatayasonthi said the company aimed to double the contribution fromAEC markets from 5 percent of its total revenue currently to about 10 percent by 2020. The company posted Bt9.5 billion in total revenue last year, up 5 percent over 2014.

“Our market expansion through international franchisees is the result of growth in the home-furnishing and accessories retail sectors among Asean member countries. Other positive factors, including the bustling economic outlook, rising gross incomes, and similar customer behaviour, helped to accelerate our decision to look for investment

opportunities in new markets such as our neighbouring countries within Asean,” she said.

Kridchanok said the company recently appointed VinDS, the retail investment arm of Vingroup, one of the largest commercial-property developers in Vietnam, as its franchisee to tap into the home-furnishing and accessories retail market in that country.

The first Index Living Mall there had a soft opening last month in Ho Chi Minh City, occupying 7,000 square metres of retail space. Located at Vincom Mega Mall ThaoDien, the store cost more than Bt200 million and is expected to achieve Bt350 million in sales in the first year.

Index Living Mall goes for Asean leadership

BRUNEI (The Brunei Times, ANN) -- THE launch of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015 will benefit Sarawak and Brunei as it will strengthen bilateral trade and investments.

Datuk Amar HjAwang Tengah Ali Hassan, Minister of Planning and Resource Management II, Minister of Public Utilities and Minister of Industrial Development of Sarawak, said Brunei and Malaysia have committed to dismantle non-tariff barriers to enhance trade within the region.

“The removal of these barriers will enable local products to penetrate the larger regional market especially for products that require stringent measures and compliance such as prepared-food products,” he said.

The minister, who was in the sultanate yesterday to launch the Sarawak Pavilion at the 17th Consumer Fair, said the AEC will present an opportunity for the small and medium enterprises in Brunei and Sarawak to penetrate the wider Asean market.

The minister launched fifteen booths under the Sarawak Pavilion. The Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) and the Ministry of Development Sarawak (MID) led a group of entrepreneurs who are participating in the ongoing Consumer Fair.

The group is composed of three furniture companies which are promoting their handcrafted wooden furniture and five small and medium enterprises (SMEs) marketing food and handicraft products including kek lapis and beaded necklaces.

“Sarawak’s participation in this event is one of the continuous efforts btyhe STIDC and MID to assist and facilitate our timber (industry) players and SMEs to promote their products internationally. There is a need for them to go into the global market as (the) Sarawak domestic market is small,” Datuk Amar said in his opening speech.

He said Sarawak’s main exports to Brunei include machinery, transport equipment, timber and timber products. This indicates there’s a potentially big market for Sarawak products in Brunei.

AEC to enhance Brunei-Sarawak trade


Environment

RIO DE JANEIRO (IPS) -- Brazil, which boasts that it has one of the cleanest energy mixes in the world, is now plagued by corruption, poor market conditions, and bad decisions – a near fatal combination.

Brazil’s energy mix is made up of 42 percent renewable sources, three times the global average.

But the country also hopes to become a major oil exporter, thanks to the 2006 discovery of the “pre-salt” wells – huge reserves of crude under a thick layer of salt far below the surface, 300 km from the coast.

Megaprojects involving the construction of refineries and petrochemical plants, dozens of shipyards that mushroomed up and down the coast, and the dream of turning the new oil wealth into a better future lost their charm in the face of the corruption scandal that broke out in 2014, revealing the embezzlement of billions of dollars from the state oil giant Petrobras.

Nearly 200 people are facing charges in the scandal for paying or receiving kickbacks for inflated contracts. Around 50 of them are politicians, most of them still active members of Congress.

The heads of the country’s biggest construction companies were arrested, which dealt a blow to the real estate market and major infrastructure works nationwide.

The investigations took on momentum when over 30

of those facing prosecution struck plea bargain deals, agreeing to cooperate in exchange for shorter sentences.

The scandal is one of the main elements in the economic and political crisis shaking the country, which saw an estimated drop in GDP of more than three percent in 2015, rising inflation, a dangerously high fiscal deficit, a threat of impeachment hanging over President Dilma Rousseff and chaos in parliament.

Besides the corruption scandal, Petrobras has been hit hard by the collapse of oil prices, which has threatened its investment in the pre-salt reserves, and by the losses it accumulated during years of government fuel-price controls.

The government took advantage of Petrobras’ monopoly on refining to curb inflation by means of price controls, mainly for gasoline.

But the oil company scandal, which broke out after the October 2014 elections in which Rousseff was reelected, fuelled the growth of inflation, to over 10 percent today.

With Petrobras in financial crisis and selling off assets to pay down its debt, none of the four planned refineries has been completed according to plan. The only one that was finished is operating at only half of the planned capacity.

Most of the shipyards, which were to supply the oil drilling rigs, offshore platforms and tankers involved in the production of

pre-salt oil, have gone under, and the government’s plans to build a strong naval industry have floundered.

The priority put on oil production, to the detriment of the fight against climate change, along with subsidised gasoline prices dealt a major blow to ethanol, which was enjoying a new boom since the emergence in 2003 of the flexible fuel vehicle, specially designed to run on gasoline or ethanol or a blend of the two.

The innovative new technology revived consumer confidence in ethanol, which had been undermined in the previous decade due to

Energy from all sources, a game of chance in Brazil

An industrial sugar and ethanol plant in Sertãozinho, in the southern Brazilian state of São Paulo. The sugar cane industry in Brazil has shrunk under the government of Dilma Rousseff, due to the gasoline subsidy, which dealt a blow to its competitor, ethanol.

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) -- The leaders of Cyprus, Greece and Israel pledged on Thursday to work together to seize opportunities emerging from newly found offshore gas reserves in order to bolster stability and security in a region wracked by conflict.

The talks in the Cypriot capital are the first tripartite summit between Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Our states share the same values as well as the conviction that in order to effectively counter multiple challenges confronting us on a local, regional and international level, we must work collectively,” Anastasiades said at a news conference.

Discussions centered on cooperation to exploit newly found offshore gas reserves as well as migration, combatting terrorism and boosting tourism. The countries also signed a cooperation agreement on managing water resources.

Netanyahu said the leaders agreed to set up a tripartite committee to study the possibility of building a

pipeline to carry natural gas found in waters off Israel and Cyprus to Europe via Greece.

Netanyahu said the committee would also assess the possibility of an undersea cable to link their countries’ electricity grids.

Tsipras said Greece can act as a bridge for the transfer of

east Mediterranean gas to the EU.

“These are momentous goals and by working together we can advance them more effectively than we can separately,” Netanyahu said.

Tsipras said the leaders agreed that dealing with the largest migration of people

since World War II means tackling the problem “at its root” — poverty and war.

Anastasiades said that additional financial support and economic development in war-torn areas would help alleviate the migration crisis. The leaders said they would meet again in the second half of this year.

Leaders of Cyprus, Greece, Israel meet to boost cooperation

Cypriot president Nicos Anastasides, center, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, right, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk during their meeting at the presidential palace in capital Nicosia in the mediterranean island of Cyprus. –Photo AP

ABU DHABI (IPS) -- The Paris climate change agreement adopted at the end of 2015 has put renewable energy at the heart of global energy system with investments expected to grow further even amidst the decline in fossil fuels.

This was observed by delegates to the sixth International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) assembly held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The IRENA Assembly, the first international event to take place after the climate talks in Paris, has attracted governments, the private sectors and parliamentarians to elaborate on how they plan to achieve their emission reduction targets, in part through renewable energy.

Adnan Z Amin, Irena Director General said “The Paris COP21 was an extraordinary political success. Global leaders committed themselves to a target of below two degrees Celsius temperature increase, with even greater ambition of 1.5 degrees Celsius target. This will have far reaching implications for our future.”

He said with the agreement in place, there is need for international cooperation at this time of unprecedented

focus on renewable energy. “Renewable energy is soaring, growing far more quickly than many predicted and mainstream projections for its future envisage a profound impact on the global energy mix” he said “Renewables today constitute 30 percent of all installed power capacity, the largest share of any source” said Amin.

Studies by IRENA indicate that in the last five years only, the installed solar power increased seven-fold, while wind power capacity more than doubled. Global investment flows into renewables have increased six-fold in the last decade, which is more than five-times what it was only a decade ago.

Early estimates indicate that 2015 witnessed continued growth with over 280 billion dollars invested in the sector worldwide with developing countries accounting for half of this investment.

European Union Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, in a presentation at: Ministerial Roundtable on “Concerted action towards Renewable Energy Deployment” said the Paris Agreement was more ambitious than many of them expected.

Global renewable energy investments a win-win scenario

supply shortages. With the flex-fuel cars, consumers no longer had to depend on one kind of fuel and could choose whichever was cheaper at any given time.

The use of ethanol, which is consumed in nearly the same quantities as gasoline in Brazil, broke the monopoly of fossil fuels, making a decisive contribution to the rise in the use of renewable energies.

But gasoline price subsidies drove many ethanol plants into bankruptcy and led to the sale of one-third of the sugarcane industry to foreign investors. Many local companies, facing

financial disaster, sold their sugar mills and distilleries to transnational corporations like Bunge, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus and Tereos.

Brazil has practically given up on the idea of creating an international market for ethanol, after initially encouraging consumption and production of the biofuel made from sugarcane. Former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010) was very active in this campaign, unlike his successor Rousseff.

HydroelectricityAnother decisive

factor in achieving a more

renewables-heavy energy mix is the predominance of hydroelectricity in the generation of electric power. In recent years, wind power has grown fast, and the use of biomass from sugarcane bagasse has also expanded, although to a lesser extent.

But the construction of giant hydropower dams in the Amazon jungle, such as Belo Monte on the Xingú River, has drawn strong opposition from indigenous communities and environmentalists, which, along with legal action by the public prosecutor’s office, has brought work on Belo Monte to a halt dozens of times.


Dining Out

Manta Klangboonkrong

THAILAND (The Nation, ANN) -- It might seem that the beginning of the year is all about movies with various guilds lining up to reward their favourite films and actors but it’s also the time when the food industry celebrates its own by announcing “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants”.

Launched in 2002 by William Reed Media Group, the list quickly became the jet-setting foodie’s bible, and four years ago expanded to cover Asian eateries. Next month, just 24 hours after the Academy Awards are announced in Los Angeles, the “Oscars of the food world”, will be handed out in Bangkok to winning Asian chefs and restaurateurs.

Categories include the S. Pellegrino Best Restaurant in Asia, The Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award, the Highest New Entry Award, sponsored by LesConcierges, the One To Watch Award, sponsored by Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Asia’s Best Pastry Chef Award, sponsored by Cacao Barry , the Chefs’ Choice Award, Asia’s Best

Asia’s best NOSH

Progressive Indian cuisine by Gaggan.

Female Chef Award, the Highest Climber Award and individual “Best in Country” awards.

Results are secured from more than 300 leaders in the restaurant industry across Asia, each selected for his or her expert opinion of Asia’s restaurant scene. For the 2016 edition, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants has retained the services

of professional services consultancy Deloitte as its official independent adjudication partner.

“The voting panel comprises chefs and restaurateurs, food writers and critics and well-travelled gourmets, all of whom vote for their seven best restaurant experiences over the 18-month voting period,” explains William

Drew, group editor of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Restaurant magazine.

“They must, however, remain anonymous, aside from the Academy Chairs who head up each voting region. At least 30 percent of the voters are new each year.”

The Academy is divided into six voting regions: India and Subcontinent; Southeast

Asia - South; Southeast Asia - North; Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau; mainland China and Korea; and Japan. The divisions are designed to represent the Asian restaurant scene as fairly as possible at the current time and are agreed with the Academy chairs.

“The list provides diners with the only pan-Asian list of high-quality restaurants where they are almost guaranteed not to have an ordinary meal.” Drew enthuses.

“It also serves to bring the restaurant sector together, not just chefs, restaurateurs and the media, but food-lovers too, to celebrate great restaurants and each other’s achievements. Finally, it inspires both chefs and diners to reach for the top.

“The Asian dining scene is hugely rich and immensely diverse. I think the list increasingly reflects that diversity with more countries represented each year. Interestingly, there are quite a number of restaurant serving versions, or reinterpretations, of street food, which I think reflects the huge importance and influence of such food in Asian dining culture.”

Progressive Indian

restaurant Gaggan, by chef Gaggan Anand from Bangkok, was crowned Best Restaurant in Asia and Best Restaurant in Thailand in 2015. And like any other prestigious accolade, the title sent him to stardom on the regional culinary scene.

“One thing I see is that Indian food is now accepted as fine dining cuisine,” the chef told XP. “My focus [after the award] hasn’t changed: to me, food remains the hero. |We are always under pressure to deliver better and better food so that people love the whole experience. We maintain the quality and standards of our restaurant but we are evolving faster than we thought.”

So far, two awards in the 2016 edition have been announced. Margarita Fores, respected chef and owner of an acclaimed group of restaurants in Manila, has been named Asia’s Best Female Chef 2016, while Tokyo’s French restaurant Florilege is the recipient of the 2016 One To Watch Award. For the first time in the four-year history of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, the One To Watch Award honours a restaurant that is outside the 50 Best list but is identified as the rising star of the region.

Marine Laouchez

CHINA (China Daily, ANN) -- Chuao, Baracoa, Hacienda Rio Peripa: When it comes to cocoa beans, it turns out there are vintages just like there are for fine wines, says Belgian chocolate maker Benoit Nihant.

Ina country where chocolate is a source of national pride, Nihant is one of around a dozen “bean-to-bar” makers who go direct to the source in Africa, the Americas and Asia to get the best possible taste.

And it is the Chuao plantation on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast, where the beans dry beneath the sun in the village square before a blue and yellow church, that produces the finest chocolate in the world, experts say.

The select group including Nihant and his fellow Belgian Pierre Marcolini are now trying to transform the often traditional world of chocolate making by mastering the process from the bean harvest to the creation of elaborate confections. “It took us three or four years to really master, to understand the impact of the work on the plantations on the chocolate itself,” says the 41-year-old Nihant at his shop in Awans, near Liege in southern Belgium.

After starting out as an iron and steel engineer in the Belgian rust-belt, Nihant says he had a revelation just before he turned 30.

“I suddenly realised that I hadn’t chosen my career, my

Belgian chocolatier goes ‘bean-to-bar’ for best tastedestiny,” he says. “I really wanted to create something, and to live my passion on a daily basis.”

That passion was chocolate, accounting for the attention to detail that now informs his work. “Good chocolate is made with love. Good chocolate is made with beans which come from a small plantation, which have been chosen and not mixed with the harvest from a neighboring plantation,” he explains.

“It’s chocolate where the grower is aware of what the chocolatier wants and respects all the steps of fermentation and drying without taking shortcuts.”

Most of the world’s major chocolate makers buy their chocolate ready-made from a small group of multinational firms which mix beans from different sources for a more consistent taste.

But for his chocolate, Nihant has hand-picked nine plantations after a series of journeys, in Venezuela, Ecuador, Cuba, Madagascar and Bali in Indonesia. Soon he hopes to source beans from Peru, where he recently bought land.

He imports 25 tons of beans a year in a country that produces a massive 650,000 tonnes of chocolate a year, mostly by big brands including Godiva, Leonidas and Neuhaus.

Going direct to the source does not come cheap, though. He buys his beans for between six and 12 euros

(US$6.50 to US$13) per kilogram, whereas ready-made chocolate is sold to manufacturers for 3.50 euros per kilo.

Chocolate fans pay the price in the end for their pleasure: a 50-gramme Benoit Nihant bar costs between 4.20 euros and 7.20 euros.

Changing traditionIt’s not just the cocoa

beans that have been taken back to their roots.

Behind a big window in his workshop, watched by curious customers, are two huge machines.

One dates from the 1950s and was rescued from an abandoned chocolate factory in Asia. The other, for grinding, has two huge granite wheels which turn the roasted and crushed beans into chocolate liquor, the base for all recipes.

The machine dates from the 19th century and was being used as a decoration in a factory in Greece, but was restored thanks to the know-how of Belgian workers.

“These are the techniques which give you flavor,” Nihant says.

It is the operator’s job to determine when the cooking process is finished, a crucial yet precise step which extracts the taste from the cocoa.

It’s this process that allows Nihant to make a 70-percent dark chocolate that has strong taste without the bitterness.

The chocolatier has made his own expertise the centrepiece of his Christmas window display: five stars representing each

Belgium chocolatier Benoit Nihant with chocolate stars made with cocoa beans in Awans.

of the “grand cru” or major “vintages” of chocolates that he makes.

The one in the middle is stuffed with praline made with lightly salted pecans.

Nihant started off his business in the garage of his

parents-in-law and in 10 years he has expanded three times.

Today, he has four shops in Belgium while his chocolate is also sold in around a dozen shops in Japan. He is in talks to open in China and the United States, as well as a

tie-in with the famed Harrods department store in London.

“We are a generation which is turning tradition and the old way of doing things on its head. We’re doing our bit for the Belgian tradition,” he says.

After we receive your subscription, a username and password will be sent to you which will give unlimited access to the newspaper every day - including

advertisements. You can also access back issues for up to seven days. Just log in and you’ll automatically be registered with www.vientianetimes.org.la.

Contact Vientiane Times or send an email to: [email protected]

Tel: (856-21) 336042, 336048 Fax: (856-21) 336041

Online subscription


Feature

THAILAND (The Nation, ANN) -- Nang Kwak, the beckoning female figurine, is commonly seen in shops, luring customers and thus prosperity. A decade ago there was the frenzy over Jatukham Ramathep amulets believed to guard against danger. No such precursor foretold the arrival of look thep, which became a social-media firestorm last year courtesy of their celebrity owners.

Thanatchapan “DJ Pukko” Booranachewawilai of 94 EFM at A-Time Media set out to buy a kuman thong. “But a fortune-teller introduced me to the look thep and I thought it was adorable,” says Pukko, invariably accompanied these days by a doll named Nong Wansai.

When he first took it home, he says, the magic was instantaneous.

“I’d bought the doll new clothes and right away there was a message on my phone reinstating a job that had been cancelled. Then I prayed to Nong Wansai to get me a bigger job, and a friend called to say a director wanted me to star in his movie! I wasn’t sure about this one, so I told Nong Wansai that if I got a call about the job right away, I’d buy her a one-baht gold necklace. And, unbelievably, I got the call!”

Siraporn Soonthornnet, 30, the mother of a teenage girl, has also been “parenting” a pair of look thep for the past four months - Ramruay and Poonsap - but she insists she doesn’t follow

Is this the doll of destiny?

A fad for our peculiar times, child angels are much more than just cute companions.

trends.“The way I connected

to them was miraculous. I loved them at first sight and immediately wanted to adopt them,” she says. “I raise them as though they’re my own children and I’m not shy about taking them everywhere. Anyone who’d feel ashamed about doing that just shouldn’t adopt one.”

Siraporn paid Bt3,600 for each of the dolls, both already bearing the marks of a monk’s blessing. She hasn’t noticed anything supernatural, but does feel a close bond to them.

“My husband doesn’t mind and my daughter plays with them like they’re her little sisters. I feed them real

food and sweets and milk. At night I clean them with a cloth then dress them in pyjamas and then pray with them before tucking them into bed.

“Most often I take them to the temple to make merit. I don’t think this is blind faith. If you look after them with love and goodwill, the child angels will bring you good fortune. Sometimes I ask them to help me with my online sales and promise them a reward.”

Child-angel retailing really took off for shop owner Det-a-duh Nachariyanukul six years ago. The buyers are usually middle-aged women or “lonely people” in need of companionship, he says.

The price ranges from Bt100 to Bt10,000, depending on the quality of the material. He’s sold limited-edition dolls for Bt10,000 that are now worth more than Bt100,000.

Det-a-duh tells customers that they don’t need to feed the doll or take it with them when they go out. “It needs only good merit to keep it powerful.”

Some owners obviously do want to take their dolls out - and in high style. Thai Smile Airways made global headlines last month when it agreed to sell regular passenger seats for child angels, complete with meals, the first airline to recognise the fad.

The move prompted

urgent discussions among authorities concerned about air-related security. National police chief General Chakthip Chaijinda demanded strict guidelines to stop criminals from smuggling drugs and other contraband on board stashed inside the dolls.

Thai Smile has told its cabin crews to treat the dolls like human passengers, from full service to reminders about fastening seatbelts. Customers can of course request an aisle seat or one by the window so the child angel to gaze out toward Heaven. Seating arrangements are important as well since passengers sitting nearby might regard the dolls - superstitiously - as potentially evil, as in the cinema devil doll Chucky.

“Nok Air will treat the child angel like any doll,” says chief executive Patee Sarasin. “We don’t encourage passengers to purchase individual seats for their dolls - it’s expensive, after all - but we can’t stop them from doing it.”

“Bangkok Airways doesn’t do anything special for the baby doll - we treat it as a doll,” says Arisra Sangrit, a senior media-relations manager for the airline. “As long as the doll makes it through the security check and doesn’t break any civil-aviation rules, the airline has no problem accommodating the dolls.”

Bangkok Airways has seen passenger peculiarities before. Travellers have been known to book seats just for

their designer handbags.Several Bangkok

restaurants are ready to serve children’s meals to the dolls, and shops stock clothing and jewellery specifically for look thep. There are even beauty salons and nurseries catering to their whims.

Child angels are most welcome at the Hot Pot buffet-restaurant chain, whose managers are savvy enough to know they come in different sizes. Just like real kids, look thep under 110 centimetres in height dine for free, while the adult price applies if they’re taller than 130cm.

The chain even has a heads-up for the “parents”: “Please be aware that your child angel might not appear cute or adorable to other people.” And, for other diners: “Please treat child angels as if they were cute little children.”

After dinner, it’s off to a show. BEC-Tero Entertainment is happily selling look thep seats for its “Disney on Ice” performances at Impact Arena from March 30 to April 3. However, if they’re under 90cm in height and can sit on their owner’s lap, they can get in for free.

No, says Dr Jesada Chokedamrongsuk, director-general of the government’s Mental Health Department, this is not mental illness. It’s purely a matter of personal belief. Nevertheless, he says, Thais should be more circumspect about their tendencies to both believe in the supernatural and to follow popular trends.

INDIA (The Statesman, ANN) -- He calls himself a “designer” and not an “artist”. He uses basic — processed and unprocessed — materials to create innovative “objects”. He travelled all the way to India from the Netherlands to participate in the second edition of the month-long public arts festival, Publica 2016 in the national capital and feels that Indian traffic is one of the “wonders of the world”.

And now, Madrid-born Lucas Munoz is all set to present his bamboo-based creation that depicts one of the most discussed and worrying issues of the present times — Delhi’s air and its impact on the health of the public — aptly called ‘Delhi Lungs’, after unveiling it in Modi Nagar last week.

Speaking exclusively to thestatesman.com, ahead of showcasing his design at the Bikaner House on Saturday as a part of Publica, Munoz discussed how he started working on this project, his experience of working with artists in India, shopping in the local markets and his future plans.

The journey so far...“It started last summer.

Surbhi Modi saw me in an exhibition in London where I was exhibiting some of my

A sculpture that functionsprojects. Then she contacted me regarding some of my work by email. She spoke to me about the Floodlight Foundation and the projects and came up with a proposal. This is how it started,” Munoz said.

With the thought of making Delhi residents aware of the toxic air they breathe in, through his artefact, the 33-year-old designer landed in the city on December 31. But, he changed his mind soon after visiting the DLF Emporio Mall at Vasant Kunj where his creation will be shifted on January 31 and viewed by the public.

“When I visited the Emporio (Mall) and saw the environment of the place I decided not to make it at all. Then on day 10, I fell in love with it again because I was motivated by the fact that there was a reason for it to be made,” he added.

Munoz didn’t look back since then and with assistance of the students of International Institute of Fine Arts, Modi Nagar, and other local artists, he continued to give shape to his first public art installation using bamboos, ventilators and muslin.

On Delhi LungsMunoz has installed

multiple ventilators in the ‘Delhi Lungs’ and it will suck

Delhi’s air for a month and blow it through white muslin and form a visual imagery of the residues flowing in the air of the city.

The Netherlands-based designer said that he didn’t intend to make just a “sculpture” and wanted to create something that had “function”.

“There’s nothing new about pollution in Delhi, but I wanted to create an artefact that has an outcome. So, somehow this ‘Delhi Lungs’ is like a printer, you aren’t interested in the printer itself, you are interested in the text that comes out of the printer,” Munoz who had earlier founded eStudio enPieza! in Madrid, explained.

“The Delhi Lungs is a device that will end up producing a fabric with some dirt on it. So, it is this fabric which is my interest. After 30 days, we will see how much contaminated or how much dirty this fabric has got,” Munoz added.

The Indian Bazaar and artists

“Indian art students are very committed. The energy, the will to work is amazing, you never get to see a sad face even when they need to work for a few extra hours,” Munoz who has a reputation for developing conceptual work based on local and context-driven research,

said.“I’m actually used to

working in my workshop and I’m out of my comfort area here. There are many people working around me and I have to coordinate and there’s a bit of a language barrier,” he added.

But, language barrier proved to be a bigger hurdle for him at the local market place.

“When I go outside to the market, I have to show my drawings to buy things, and if I want bigger holes, then I draw a smaller hole and then a bigger hole, and then explain that I don’t want that I want this,” the Spanish artist revealed, bursting out in a hearty laughter.

“When I’m buying

anything in Europe the price is same in every shop. Here when you go to different shops, you figure out that all the shops have same materials but not the same price,” Munoz said, speaking on his Meena bazaar experience calling it a “challenge” that he had to face while sourcing materials.

The Shibuya connectionThe Eindhoven artist

whose work features in private and public design collections across the world was quite amused by something in Delhi.

Well, it was nothing else but the Delhi traffic that left him astonished!

“First time I got stuck in the traffic, I thought this is a nightmare and now I think that it’s one of the biggest wonders

of the world,” Munoz said, adding “If I have to pick the wonders of the world then I’ll pick the Crossing of Shibuya (Tokyo) and the traffic of Delhi - self organising system, out of rule, out of norm and it works!”

Public arts and more plans

“Initially, I was shocked that most of the pieces are going to shopping malls for Publica (the festival), but then I understood that the concept of a shopping mall here is different. It’s like a public space, where everyone from the society is going. This is what public art is aiming at. It took me a while to understand it,” said Munoz who feels that public arts need to be made “viral”.

He added: “It would be nice to see an installation at Connaught Place in Delhi. I think that will happen sometime in the future.”

Hopefully, ‘Delhi Lungs’ would just be the first project that Munoz presents in the country and he would continue to work on other projects in India in future.

He doesn’t seem to disagree!

“I’m planning to do a trip. So that would probably bring more ideas,” Munoz said with a giggle, adding, “I’m in talks with the Floodlight Foundation for other projects, but they are still ‘secrets’.”

Lucas Munoz (Facebook).


Art and Culture

KOREA (The Korea Herald, ANN) -- The government is seeking to add the historic Seoul City Wall and Confucian academies of Korea to the UNESCO cultural heritage list this year. In addition, it also hopes to include haenyeo, female divers on the resort island of Jejudo, and Korean traditional wrestling to the intangible heritage list.

The state-run Cultural Heritage Administration outlined its plan to submit the applications for inclusion on the UNESCO lists this year at a press conference Tuesday to introduce its plans for the year.

“We will continue to discover more cultural and intangible heritage in order to enhance our global standing and promote our cultural heritage,” said Na Sun-hwa, head of the CHA.

Nine Confucian academies of Korea, or seowon, were added to the tentative list of the UNESCO’s Cultural Heritage in 2011. The CHA applied to include haenyeo

Korea seeks UNESCO listing of Seoul City Wall

on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2014 and is awaiting a final decision in November.

It also plans to add new items such as lacquer craft chiljang and two historic records -- royal seals and documents and the 1907 Debt Repayment Movement -- to UNESCO’s Memory of the World list. The 1907 movement was organised to pay Joseon-era Korea’s debt to Japan through individual donations amid the growing influence of the imperial power that annexed Korea three years later.

To respond to the growing popularity of public programs held at major historic properties, the CHA will also increase the number of royal palace tour programs and develop more interesting programs in historic places nationwide that will appeal to both Koreans and foreign visitors.

More frequent and diverse programs will be offered at Seoul’s Joseon-era palaces this year. For example, the

Oksan seowon in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang province is one of the nine seowon Confucian academies for which a UNESCO heritage listing is being sought. (Conservation and Management Foundation of Seowon).

popular Changdeokgung Palace Moonlight Tour will be held for 120 days compared to

just 40 days last year. The old kitchen building of Sojubang in Gyeongbokgung Palace,

which became popular after it was featured on TV drama “Jewel in the Palace,” will be

open to the public from April to October and run food-related programs.

THAILAND (The Nation, ANN) -- A teacher lifts his thumb, index finger and little finger to say “I love you” in sign language, and the smiles widen on his students’ faces.

At the Setsatian School for the Deaf in Bangkok, more than six months have passed since retired Fukuoka art teacher Junichi Takaishi, 61, took up his post as a senior overseas volunteer for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

“Whether in Japan or Thailand, whether able to hear or not, students are students. They react honestly to my sincerity whenever I do my best to teach them,” Takaishi says. His belief in his students, cultivated as a teacher in Japan, has strengthened with his latest assignment.

Raised in Fukuoka Prefecture, both of Takaishi’s parents were teachers. He started his career at an advertising design company, but at the age of 25 he became a design teacher at Kyushu High School, which is affiliated with Kyushu Sangyo University, in Fukuoka city. He also appeared on the NTV

A new lease on life

network’s “Kinchan’s All Japan Costume Grand Prix” television show, guiding his students to victory. At the age of 53, he moved to Nakamura Gakuen Sanyo Junior High School and Senior High School in Fukuoka city.

Then, at age 60, with two years remaining until mandatory retirement, Takaishi opted to quit his job

early.“I’d done all I set out to

do as a teacher,” Takaishi says, adding that he had long wished to challenge himself abroad.

He had lived for a short time in Stockholm and London, but still felt unfulfilled. He raised two sons after divorcing before 50 years old, but after his

second son entered university, Takaishi found himself at a point in his life when he could pursue his goal to go abroad.

Familiar with the JICA senior volunteer system, he applied and was accepted in the summer of 2014. After receiving training in the Thai language and other useful skills at a JICA training

office, he entered Thailand in March 2015.

He still has a housing loan but used his retirement allowance to pay it down and reduce his monthly payments to 55,000 Japanese yen (Bt16,700) Before leaving Japan, he also paid his second son’s university tuition fees for his fourth year. He pays his domestic expenses in Japan with his allowance from JICA, his savings and other means.

In Thailand, Takaishi makes his own breakfast and dinner, and eats school lunches with his students. Prices are lower than in Japan and, with the money for living expenses he receives from JICA, he suffers few inconveniences.

At school, he teaches 15 small classes a week, each consisting of about 10 high school students. He initially planned to teach only pottery making but has expanded his lessons to general art.

Though still learning Thai sign language, he compensates for any lack of understanding with the physical artwork he shows his students and with his enthusiastic gestures.

“It appears to be

pantomime, but I can’t be beaten in terms of passion for teaching,” he says with a laugh, adding that he is once again enjoying the joys and responsibilities of teaching.

Senior overseas volunteers are a JICA project that began in fiscal 1990. At the end of October 2015, 444 people were working to 59 countries under the project. In total, 5,831 people have been dispatched to 73 countries.

Their fields of activity include agriculture, administration, quality control, health and medical work.

Applications are accepted twice a year in spring and autumn, and are based on requests from recipient countries. The target age for recruitment is from 40 to 69, and the dispatch period is two years in principle.

JICA pays US$570 to US$1,510 (Bt25,500 to Bt54,100) for monthly living costs and provides return transportation fees. The recipient countries offer accommodation. Those under 65 years old receive an allowance of 55,000 Japanese yen per month for domestic expenses in Japan during their dispatch periods.

Retiree Japanese art teacher extends his career, volunteering to work with deaf students in Bangkok.


Poverty Reduction

Trade Facilitation: Improved Sanitary and Phytosanitary Handling of Greater Mekong Sub Region Trade Project

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT Food Safety Specialists

for Lao National Only

The Government of Lao People’s Democratic Republic has received a Grant from the ADB (ADB Grant No. 0296-LAO) and a Loan (ADB Loan No. 2874-LAO) towards the cost of Trade Facilitation: Improved Sanitary and Phytosanitary Handling of Greater Mekong Sub Region Trade Project. The project is looking for qualified international and national consultants to be recruited for the following positions:

S. No. Position Work Station Duration 1. National Food Safety Specialist-1 Vientiane 220 working days 2. National Food Safety Specialist-2 Luangprabang 220 working days 3. National Food Safety Specialist-1 Champasack 220 working days

Terms of Reference:

i. Work close coordination with international expert, assist on organization of and participate in awareness raising workshops and meetings and trainings on GMP and GHP scorecards and rating system;

ii. Assist the development of manual and training program framework on different training objects. iii. Assist trainings for employees, workers, managers of food establishments on good practices and

good conditions in Vientiane; iv. Collect information to develop main indicator food analysis and the method of food analysis in

Laos, in food processing and tourist industry; v. keep records of all activities, store data in a database, and participate in monitoring and

evaluation activities; vi. Translate the manual/handbook on manual on ensuring in food business, food enterprise in food

processing and tourist industry. vii. be responsible for the planning and logistics of all field work;

Interested candidates can apply through ADB CMS website www.cms.adb.org. Interested candidates can also submit the CV along with a letter of interest by email to Project Director, SPS-GMS Trade Project Email: [email protected]

Deadline for the submission of application is 1 February 2016.

Xayxana Leukai

Even though the Lao government has achieved a lot of things in regards to

poverty alleviation over many years there are still many challenges which remain unaddressed.

Understanding of the policy of the Party and government in relation to Lao ethnicities is not widespread while the gap between rural communities and urban centres is growing wider every day.

The character of social growth has not kept pace with the progress of the economy; basic rural infrastructure is weak, the production of farmers is not strong; and the nutrition status of rural children has yet to be solved.

The result is that development and poverty alleviation has not yet matched with the ratio of natural resources that have been excavated while investment in different sectors has not yet been injected into priority focal points.

It means that such projects have worked in general and largely focused too much on basic infrastructure.

In addition, some residential allocations have not been made and permanent daily sources of making a living have not been provided to some local communities as yet.

Mobilisation, contribution and assistance in relation to project management in different sectors of society, particularly rural development and poverty eradiation, has not always proved fruitful.

Deputy Minister to the Government Office, Mr Somsanith Souvannalath,

Improved productivity essential to alleviate poverty

spoke at the 10th Congress of the Party, which was held recently in Vientiane.

He told the congress that even though Laos has a bounty of natural resources it remains on the list of least developed countries. Most of the people are located in rural areas where basic infrastructure is weak.

In addition, human resources and social capital remain at a low level. Due to the country having lost its independence for a long time and being almost destroyed by the war, it suffered backward impacts from the foreign colonists and the war.

As a result, the Party has always considered rural development as the first priority. This means that after the national revolution democracy triumphed throughout the country in 1975.

The Party leads people to practise two strategies of national protection and development. The ‘Three Builds’ directive or Sam Sang is the effective policy of the Party to help local people to achieve a standard of living above the poverty line.

In conclusion, in the period of the last five years, we could achieve the acknowledgement of central and local levels and development partners in relation to poverty reduction.

The government assists these organisations to work in the same way to combat poverty. It can certify the right policy of the Party to help Laos to escape from the UN list of least developed countries by 2020.

To continue the implementation of rural development and poverty alleviation in the future, Mr Somsanith said, we must focus on training political the grassroots and pursuing

Encouraging all farmers to produce crops for commercial sale will support the poverty reduction policy of the government .

rural development under the direction of the Sam Sang.

We must continue implementing the direction of comprehensive national protection and development at the grassroots level; all sectors are advised to be unanimous in focusing on poverty alleviation.

Everyone must focus on eradicating poverty via the policy and measures on goods promotion for sale and working in cooperation with foreign countries to seek funds for rural development.

All sectors are advised to implement the achievements of the 4th nationwide political grassroots construction and rural development initiative and be active and

boosting the leadership of the Party in terms of political grassroots construction and comprehensive rural

development. The Lao government

defines poverty as not having enough food, lacking

adequate clothing, not having permanent housing or lacking access to health, education or

transportation services.

AnnouncementThe book “40 Years of the Lao PDR” in two languages - Lao and English - is now available at the Vientiane Times office.

The book consists of 213 pages and is divided into three parts: Laos in Brief; Achievements in National Protection and Development; and Vision of the Lao PDR.

Information on all sectors of national socio-economic development, national protection and foreign policy as well as international cooperation of the Lao PDR are included in the book.

The video DVD and CD of the “40 Years of the Lao PDR are also available here.

In addition, the media directory book consisting of the history, telephone numbers, emails and website addresses of all Lao media organisations published in the Lao PDR is also available here. These books would make interesting gifts for your friends. For more information call: 021 336042-8.


Travel

Times Reporters

Those who enjoy overland travel can now avail themselves of a

new route that has opened up between Champassak province and Ho Chi Minh City (HCM) in Vietnam.

The route passes through Cambodia and provides an easier and more comfortable travel option en route to HCM – an increasingly popular destination with its mix of

universities and historic and cultural attractions.

Now one Lao and three Vietnamese public transport operators are running buses to HCM from Pakxe district in Champassak province. The number of buses on this route is increasing, with each operator taking it in turns to transport passengers each day.

I am one of the many people who like to travel by land to Vietnam, especially to HCM, a bustling modern

city with many tall buildings and an exciting buzz about it. The city is also the main generator of economic wealth for Vietnam.

The road from Pakxe through Cambodia to HCM is an Asian highway linking each country. Five years ago only

one bus company operated on this route, but today there are four. Passengers leave Pakxe at 4am and arrive in HCM at 4 or 5pm the same day.

This route is not only popular with tourists, but some 600 Lao students doing bachelor and master’s degrees in Ho Chi Minh also take these buses to get to the city and to return home in the holidays. Others use this route to visit hospitals in HCM.

Vietnamese nationals working in Pakxe and neighbouring provinces or in Cambodia also use these buses to return to HCM.

From Laos, a Vietnamese company also runs buses from the Southern Bus Station in Vientiane to HCM, leaving several days a week and taking two days to arrive.

But of course if you need to get there quickly, Vietnam Airlines has daily flights from Vientiane to HCM via Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

Ho Chi Minh City is a great place to explore because of its many modern

shopping areas, tourist sites and entertainment venues. It is a vibrant city that generates an air of prosperity and is without doubt Vietnam’s commercial hub. There are also wide boulevards lined with grand colonial buildings.

The famed Cu Chi tunnels are also located in HCM and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that were used by Viet Cong soldiers during the Indochina war.

Travelling from Pakxe, some buses have reclining seats so you can stretch out and sleep while others have ordinary seats. The fare is 800,000 dong (350,000 kip) per person and includes breakfast in Cambodia and lunch in Vietnam. On the return journey you will have breakfast near the Vietnam border and lunch in Cambodia before reaching the Nongnokkhian international checkpoint on the Laos-Cambodia border.

There is also a direct route from Pakxe or Vientiane to Attapeu province and then

across the border to HCM, but few people use it because it’s a long way and takes three or four days.

Mrs Malivankham, who did a master’s degree in HCM six years ago, said “I used to travel by bus from HCM to Attapeu province and then on to Vientiane. It took three or four days, but it was still cheaper than flying.”

She said lots of students now take the bus through Cambodia. They leave HCM and arrive at Pakxe at 5pm, then get the 8pm VIP bus which arrives in Vientiane in the early morning.

Travelling from Pakxe via Cambodia to HCM, people get to see the local lifestyle, agricultural activities and scenery, which varies considerably from place to place.

Another advantage of this route is that there are few haulage trucks using it to cross borders, especially in Laos and Cambodia. The route to HCM has also been open to private vehicles since last year.

Taking it easy: go by bus from Pakxe via Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh

The immigration building at the Nongnokkhian border crossing between Champassak province and Cambodia.

A Vietnamese bus stops at the border between Cambodia and Vietnam for immigration procedures.

Passengers from Laos and Vietnam wait to get their passports stamped at Cambodian immigration.

Vientiane Times 17

Art & LeisureSaturday January 30, 2016

Visith Teppalath

To introduce its new songs and singers, TK Xao-Lao Entertainment held

a launching ceremony aimed at promoting traditional folk songs and attracting more music lovers.

The ceremony took place at Nutphop 2 Restaurant in Pakthang village, Sikhottabong district, and was led by the company director, Mr Thavisak Thammavongsa. The event was attended by organising staff, invited and company singers, invited guests, and media.

The event presented 11 new traditional folk songs sung by 11 new and well known singers of the company.

After that, four new singers were warmly welcomed to the company and were introduced to the media.

The four newcomers were Mini Angel, a beautiful, popular radio DJ who has fallen in love with music and singing with her hot single named Khoy Bormaennangfar; Vin Nakhonxam, a smart boy with a new single named Huachay Kheedeu; Sonexay Xayhoungheuang, an active boy with his own composed single Saotatoup; and Tay Sivilay, who sang Tangvaichaitongkan with famous senior singer, Mr Bounkeud Nouhuang.

During the event, the new singers took turns to introduce themselves and performed their songs for the audience.

To make the event even more colourful, various older singers took turns going onstage to greet the audience, led by Mr

TK Xao-Lao Entertainment launches new songs

Singers pose with event organising staff.

Tonkhoun Sounakhen, Ms Linthong Khamphoumy, and Ms Southida Panoy.

There was also a ceremony to present congratulatory certificates from the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism to nine artists and staff who worked at the 65th anniversary of Media and Publication Day last August. The certificates were handed over by company director Mr Thavisak Thammavongsa.

According to the organising committee, this is the music launch of the year, although the company held its first launch last October. But this time was more special, as there were more songs to reveal and more artists, invited guests and media.

Mr Thavisak, warmly greeted and welcomed all the artists, guests and media. He congratulated all the singers on their success, encouraged them to work harder to produce more songs, and thanked the guests who attended the event.

He also said his company is a new style of entertainment but had worked actively to produce the best products for fans last year, and that this year the company will continue to produce more products.

He told Vientiane Times he was very happy to offer new music and welcome new singers to his company because it meant that his company will achieve more and go on to the next step of its plan to promote traditional folk songs and attract more music lovers, especially now the company has more singers and more singles.

At the launch, well known singer Mr Tonkhoun

Sounakhen, whose music video Laychai Leodainhang was released last year, told Vientiane Times he was very happy to attend the event and give interviews to the media again.

“I am very happy to attend the launch again. After launching last year, my music video has become more famous and I have more fans following me. I would like to thank the media for their help to promote our music, especially mine, and thank the fans for their support and for following my progress. Of course, I am preparing some new music videos which are more colourful and beautiful, but let me keep secret about it all. I want to surprise the fans, please wait,” he said.

Meanwhile, a new singer, Mini Angel, a beautiful, famous radio DJ who has fallen in love with music and singing said she was so happy to come to TK Xao-Lao because this is her first company to work with as a singer. She also thanked the company for giving her a chance to be a part of their team.

“I come with my single named Khoy Bormaennangfar, which describes a girl who is not as beautiful as an angel, who is not excellent or rich, but who tries her best to make her lover happy. My single became famous quickly when it was first released on media channels such as radio and YouTube, but today is the official launching. I would like to thank my fans for supporting my current single and I hope they continue to follow me and support my next songs,” she added.

Mr Bounkeud Nouhuang and Ms Tay Sivilay perform their duo “Tangvaichaitongkan”, which describes a couple’s love.

Mini Angel performs her hot single “Khoy Bormaennangfar”.

CHINA (China Daily, ANN) -- Shi Nuo, a 26-year-old director, seeks to tackle the subject of aging and facing death in a 17-minute film that has just been announced winner in its category at an annual event in Beijing.

Navigators features an accidental yet moving friendship between a dying old man and a bullied schoolboy who has lost his mother.

On Tuesday, the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival declared the film had won the top prize in its international short film competition.

“You never know how to live until you come close to death,” Shi says of her film. “I hope to share with the audiences what I found to be true in life when pain and hardships strike, we can see beauty.”

By giving prizes for short films for the first time since the annual festival’s inception in 1992, its organisers, China Film Association, are looking to encourage the genre’s growth in the country.

“For young filmmakers

Top festival gives short films first-time awards

like me, it’s our responsibility to explore what new technology has to offer to the film industry,” says Shi, the Beijing-based director, who hopes to develop her own style of filmmaking while experimenting with technology.

Shi studied at both New York Film Academy and Beijing Film Academy, and is working on TV series other than short films.

With technology advancing in the past few years, making short films and distributing them on various platforms has become much cheaper and easier, according to Zhou Xing, president of the School of Art and Communication at Beijing Normal University.

Zhou helped set up the competition in the festival and was also on the judging panel.

“More filmmakers will be producing short films online, and these films will reach out to more people,” Zhou says. “So, the recognition from one of China’s eminent film

awards will encourage young people to work in the right direction.”

The festival had received more than 7,000 low-budget entries in the short film competition section from China and abroad, including the United States, Russia, Italy and Britain. The submissions mainly came from college students, who presented their fresh views on a variety of topics, such as philosophy, religion and modern life.

Allergic to the Truth, a Russian production, as well as six other foreign entries, earned various prizes in the competition.

“With short productions, a little push can go a long way,” Zhou says.

Besides Shi’s film, some 70 other productions won prizes in the categories of drama, documentary and animation.

“These short films, though restricted in budget, are so full of vitality,” says Mai Lisi, another judge for the awards and a Chinese film director.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden has been hired to succeed Alan Gilbert as music director of the New York Philharmonic.

Gilbert, who began in 2008-09, said last February that he intended to leave after the 2016-17 season. The orchestra said this week that van Zweden will be its music director designate in 2017-18 and will become music director starting in 2018-19.

As music director, van Zweden will conduct the orchestra for 12 weeks annually plus tours. During his tenure, the philharmonic hopes to

Van Zweden to become New York Philharmonic‘s music director

renovate newly renamed David Geffen Hall, whose acoustics have been criticized since the building opened on the campus of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 1962.

Van Zweden, 55, became music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 2008-09. Dallas said Wednesday he will step down from that post at the end of the 2017-18 season and will have the title of conductor laureate from 2018-19 through 2020-21. He also has been music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra since the 2012-13 season.

Van Zweden studied at the Juilliard School and was 19 when he became the youngest concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in the Netherlands. He started conducting in 1995 after encouragement from Leonard Bernstein, the New York Philharmonic‘s music director from 1958-69. Van Zweden made his New York Philharmonic debut in April 2012.

Esa-Pekka Salonen, the New York Philharmonic’s composer in residence, said he didn‘t want to become its music director.

Issues of Vientiane Times from 1994 to January 2016 have been recorded on CD-ROM. Now available at Vientiane Times office. Phonpapao Village, Unit 32, Sisattanak district, Vientiane. P.O. Box:

5723, Tel: (856-21) 336042, 336048, 216364. Fax: (856-21) 336041. Email: [email protected]

Vientiane Times on CD-ROM


What’s OnWhat’s OnWhat’s OnWhat’s OnWhat’s OnWhat’s OnWhat’s OnWhat’s On

The Vientiane Times welcomes notices from

members of the public for announcement on

this page. Any events or functions open to

the general public are suitable for publishing.

Contact: [email protected]

Warm for Winter appealThe Lao Red Cross asks everyone to help people living in northern Laos keep warm this winter. Please donate clean blankets, warm clothing, towels, shoes, gloves and socks to our Warm for Winter Appeal 2015.Where: Lao Red CrossWhen: Normal working hoursFor more information: 021 253 014, Facebook/LaoRedCrossSocietyThank you so much for your generosity!

Puppet exhibitionThis exhibition showcases a range of puppet making and visual images created by the Director of the Object Theatre Kabong Lao, Mr Leuthmany Insisiengmay. When: Open daily until March 3Where: i:Cat gallery, Simeuang village, Setthathirath Road, VientianeGallery open: 3.30pm-8pm Mon to Fri; 12 noon-6pm Sat & SunCall 020 7783 9674

JPop Cover Dance CompetitionThe Laobangfai Academy is calling on young people to enter the JPop cover dance competition. When and where: Auditions will be held on February 6, at the Lao Music and Dance School The final round will take place on February 20, at the National Culture Hall The winner will be awarded a visit to Japan, paid for by the Japanese Embassy to Laos.For more information call: 020 5229 5456

Free Polio Vaccinations The Expanded Programme of Immunisation of the Ministry of Health will provide free vaccinations against polio for about 2.4 million children nationwide aged 15 and under.When: January 21-31Where: Hospitals and healthcare centres nationwide. For more information, please call 021 312352

Kiettisack Fun Fair Kiettisack International School is holding a Fun Fair to raise funds for rural schools. Activities: Carnival games & raffle, bouncy castle, booths, food & drinks, second-hand stall. Entertainment: Lao Bang Fai Dancers, KIS Acoustic Band, street performances. Please bring clothing, books and toys for donation. Where: KIS Campus 1, opposite Electricite du Laos (EDL)When: Saturday January 30, 10am-4pm, Free admission. Contact Bhasu: 5630 3777

Toyota Painting Contest The Toyota Dream Car Art Contest 2016 is open to children, with the theme ‘Toyota in My Dream’The painting contest is divided into three age groups: Under 8; Ages 8-11; and Ages 12-15. When: Submit your painting anytime from December 16 – February 15, 2016Where: For details, contact Toyota company offices nationwide on: 021 453801-2, 041 260882-4, 071 214111, 031 251400 or any Education and Sports Department.

Charity Football Match There will be a Charity Football Match between the Lao Premier League’s Allstars and Thai champions Buriram United When: January 31, 6:30pmWhere: National Stadium, Km 16. The match will be televised on TV Lao channel and 3SD Thai channel.

Elephant Festival This year’s Elephant Festival will feature 67 elephants taking part in activities including a beauty contest, bathing and baci ceremony. There will also be a large and vibrant street fair. When: February 19-21 Where: Xayaboury district, Xayaboury province

Actors and actresses wanted Kheo Heng (KH) company is inviting good-looking young people to apply for two male and two female lead roles in the romantic comedy film ‘Hong Ham Tao’. Female applicants should be 18-26 years old and males should be aged 20-28When: Applications until February 28Where: Contact through Facebook at Inbox only, www.facebook.com/phoumsana.sirivongsa or Search in facebook: Jear Pacific

First International Half Marathon in Vientiane

Social enterprise Events for Good (EFG) will host the first international half marathon in Laos to mark International Women’s Day. EFG invites participants to join either the 21km, 10km, or 5km runs. The event will start and finish at the That Luang stupa. Every participant who crosses the finish line within the allotted time will receive a medal and certificate. Trophies and cash prizes will be provided to the top 5 male and top 5 female runners of the half marathon and quarter marathon. A Health and Fitness Expo will also be held before and during the event. Check Facebook event page for further details.When: Sunday, March 6, 2016; 5am – 8am.Health and Fitness Expo Time: Friday, March 4, 10am–7pm and Saturday, March 5; 10am–7pm.Media event organisers should contact Vanpheng Southichak or Thouni Seneyakone about sponsorship opportunities. Ask about customised sponsorship packages, including on-site display opportunities, guidebook advertisements, and in-kind donations.Vanpheng Southichak Managing Director +856 (0) 20 – 5588 8688 [email protected] Seneyakone Operations Manager +856 (0) 20 - 9144 8858 [email protected]

Arts FestivalVientiane Performing Arts FestivalWhen: January 29-31, 5pm-9pm Where: National Culture HallEntry free.For more information see facebook.com/Khao Niew Lao

Lao Food FestivalThe Lao Women’s Union and Lao Businesswomen’s Association are holding the 11th Lao Food Festival in Vientiane. Everyone is invited to come along and sample traditional Lao cuisine.Where: Chao Anouvong Park. When: January 28-30. Opening ceremony at 9am.

Vat Phou Champassak FestivalChampassak province will celebrate the 15th anniversary of Vat Phou and its associated ancient settlements being listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.When: February 20, 21, 22Where: Vat Phou, Champassak province

Sikhottabong Stupa Festival

Khammuan residents will celebrate the annual Sikhottabong Stupa Festival in honour of the revered religious structure, when locally-made products will be on sale.When: February 20-22Where: Khammuan province

Free treatment Interplast Australia and New Zealand plastic and reconstructive surgical team will visit Mahosot Hospital for treatment of cleft lip and palate burns.When: Consultation clinic February 8Surgeries performed February 9-18Where: Mahosot Hospital, VientianeCall for information 020 5560 9415 Dr Vanpheng Norasingh

Meditation courseSincere persons are invited to attend a morality and meditation training course. When: January 25-31, with an almsgiving ceremony on the last day. Where: Vat Pa Siritray Yalam, Layao-tay village, Samakhixay district, Attapeu provinceFor more information call: 030 4826 131, 020 5897 7769

Trade Union Trade Fair There will be a special trade fair to mark the 60th anniversary of the Lao Federation of Trade Union.When: January 23 – February 3Where: Lao-ITECC

Vientiane Trail 2016Come along and enjoy the Vientiane Trail 2016, when the capital’s old quarter will be transformed into a pedestrian zone with night time illuminations, and art and handicraft events.Where: Chao Anou Street to Francois Ngin Street.When: February 26-28, open from 5-9pm each night.

Vientiane Times 19Saturday January 30, 2016 Sports

Shane Marshall

Kaz Patafta has jammed a lot of football expertise and

life experience into his 27 years and is very well qualified to pass judgement on the state of the game in Laos today.

His verdict: Lao football has a very bright future but many locals don’t realise it.

Kaz was born to a Croatian father and Vientiane born mother and enjoyed growing up amongst his mother’s extended family in Canberra, Australia.

A football achiever from an early age saw him progress to many representative honours including captaining the Australian under-17 national team at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Peru and Australian under-20 national team at the 2006 AFC Youth Championship. He also joined the senior Australian train-on squad ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup under the current Chelsea Coach Guus Hiddink.

His growing international profile led to an offer to join the Portugal powerhouse Benfica in their youth team and then stints with the Melbourne Victory and Newcastle Jets in the Australian A-League.

“You could say I had a bit of whirlwind career,” Kaz said.

Seeing the need to complement his football with formal education and looking beyond just playing, Kaz switched to studying law at Bond University in Australia. Upon graduation his football profile ensured there were plenty of job offers and he gained experience at a leading law firm.

Even with an education under his belt Kaz was keen to get back into playing football. “I still had an itch to scratch with football having stopped completely to study law, and I like challenge and

Kila ColumnKila: The Lao word for sport

Lanexang United President Phathachith Inthilath (right) shakes hands with Kaz Patafta after his contract signing last year.

was interested in Asia”, he explained.

So last year he flew to Thailand to play for the ambitious Khon Khaen United Football Club. While in Thailand he was contacted by President of Lanexang United Mr Phanthachith Inthirath.

Mr Phanthachith, who is also President of Intra Corporation Group invited Kaz to play for the local club and there was the chance Kaz might also be able to play for Laos in world cup qualifiers. The club president also explained about his long-term vision and how he wanted to grow the club and attract top talent to the team.

His great affinity with his extended Lao family was another reason that drew him to Laos. “I grew up with six [Lao] aunties, one uncle and lots of cousins and I hadn’t been here which was partly why I came,” Kaz said.

Unfortunately, passport issues curtailed his chance of Lao representative honours but the club performed well on the field, only just missing out on last year’s Lao Premier League title but taking out the Ministers of Education and Sports Cup at Lanexang United’s Stadium.

Kaz’s role with the club has now evolved from player to officially be Legal Advisor – Investment and Consulting dealing with the business end of the game. He believes he can contribute most to football by being “involved on the other side of the fence”.

Kaz explained Lanexang United was serious about developing a top quality club in the region and already had training facilities that even many clubs in developed countries would envy.

“The club is investing a substantial amount of money. Some people would be surprised.”

Lanexang United has signed Serbian Nikola Kavazovic as Head Coach and boasts a top playing roster with talent from Laos as well as South America, Europe and Asia. The club also has its own quality boutique stadium and gym for players with plans to expand capacity of the home ground and introduce other sporting facilities for the public.

To support the major financial investment Kaz has helped the club sign up leading local firms such as Plus Petro Trade and Lao City Ford as major sponsors.

Regarding the state of Lao football Kaz is optimistic and believes there is a groundswell of keen young players who could be tomorrow’s champions and the country’s demographics, with a large proportion of the population aged under 30, are also in its favour. “In ten years I think we will be up to the level of Thailand”.

He also thinks it’s only a matter of time before a Lao player is signed to a contract with a high profile overseas club.

In Kaz’s opinion football generally, not just in Laos, lacks the ability to give young players advice, guidance and mentorship. So he’d like to offer more to football, especially working on youth development.

In the future he’s keen to establish a local football academy to help mentor Lao youngsters to make sure they reach their full football potential. He’ll use his experience of establishing a football academy in his hometown of Canberra.

Please email [email protected] if you

have any sporting events, results and news ideas for the

column.Shane Marshall is an

avid sport fan and Vientiane Times Subeditor.

MADRID (AP) -- Spanish authorities are recommending Sevilla and third division club Cadiz should each be fined 120,000 euros (US$130,000) for “supporting and promoting” activities of violent fan groups.

The government’s anti-violence commission said Thursday the clubs failed to cooperate with authorities who had warned the teams about their actions favoring the groups.

The commission said the “very serious” fine to Sevilla is needed because the club failed to control the violent groups’ behavior inside the Sanchez Pizjuan

Spain recommends fines for Sevilla and Cadiz over fans

Atletico Madrid’s Juan Francisco Torres “Juanfran” (left) tussles for the ball with Sevilla’s Steven N’Zonzi (centre) during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Sevilla at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid on Sunday. --Photo AP

Stadium.Authorities said that in

the team’s game against city rival Real Betis earlier this month, two large banners promoting the violent fan groups were displayed. The banners used the by groups were different from those pre-approved by authorities ahead of the local derby, officials said.

The commission said the club had been warned six times about its support to the violent groups in the last two seasons, being sanctioned in 10 different occasions. The club also was denounced many times because of the fans’ violent chants at the

Pizjuan.Authorities said Cadiz

needs to be punished for giving violent fan groups a place inside its stadium to keep their banners, megaphones and other objects.

The commission said it told the club several times that it was not allowed to support the groups by giving them a place to use at the stadium. It said Cadiz also was punished for not providing enough security personnel to promote fan safety inside its Ramon de Carranza Stadium.

Separately, the commission fined Cadiz in 30,000 euros (US$32,600) for not officially keeping track of fans suspected of wrongdoing. Cadiz was twice sanctioned last season for not implementing proper security measures at its stadium.

In a separate ruling, the commission recommended a 4,000 euro (US$4,400) fine to first division team Espanyol because fans displayed banners insulting Colombian singer Shakira, wife of Barcelona defender Gerard Pique.

The recommendations were made to the Spanish federation’s competition’s committee, which will later decide whether to accept them. The teams will be allowed to appeal.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Draymond Green and Klay Thompson were picked Thursday for the Western Conference team, giving the NBA champion Golden State Warriors three All-Stars for the first time in 40 years.

Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins, Houston’s James Harden, San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge, the Clippers’ Chris Paul and New Orleans’ Anthony Davis were also chosen for the West squad for the Feb. 14 game in Toronto.

The Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan will represent the home team and is joined by fellow East reserves Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, Detroit’s Andre Drummond, Miami’s Chris Bosh, Washington’s John Wall, Atlanta’s Paul Millsap and Boston’s Isaiah Thomas.

The reserves were selected by the head coaches in each conference, who had to vote for seven players: two guards, three frontcourt players and two additional players at any position. They were not allowed to vote for players from their own team.

The coaches made Green a first-time selection and picked Thompson for the second year in a row. With MVP Stephen Curry voted a starter by fans, the Warriors have three All-Stars for the first time since Rick Barry, Phil Smith and Jamaal Wilkes in 1976.

“It’s definitely something I could’ve never imagined happening,” Green said during an interview with TNT. “It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to one day see that happen, but I could never imagine it

San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili (centre) drives to the basket as Golden State Warriors’ Festus Ezeli (left) and Draymond Green defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Monday.

--Photo AP

Green, Thompson picked, giving Warriors 3 NBA All-Stars

happening like this.”Along with Green, who

leads the NBA with eight triple-doubles, Drummond and Thomas were selected by coaches for their first All-Star Game. Drummond tops the league in rebounding and double-doubles, while Thomas — the 60th and final pick in the 2011 draft — is among the NBA’s top 12 in

scoring and assists.On the other end, Bosh

will return to his original NBA city after being chosen for his 11th consecutive All-Star Game, trailing only the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (18), Cleveland’s LeBron James and Miami’s Dwyane Wade (both with 12) among active players. Paul is an All-Star for the ninth straight year.

Footballer with Lao roots helping to develop local game.

Vientiane Times20

SportsSaturday January 30, 2016

Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong

The government presented medals to champion athletes,

trainers and senior officials in Vientiane on Thursday for previous success at international games.

Labour medal, Labour Order Class 3 and Labour Order Class 2 were presented to recognise efforts at the 28th SEA Games in Singapore in June last year and the 4th Asean Beach Games in Phuket province, Thailand, in November 2014.

The medal and certificate presentation ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of Education and Sports

Mr Boualane Silipanya (centre) and senior officials from sports federations at Lane Xang Hotel in Vientiane on Thursday.

Mr Boualane Silipanya presents a Labour Order Class 2 to gold medal winning petanque and sepak takraw teams.

Govt awards Lao sportspeople after international successes

Mr Boualane Silipanya, senior ministry officials and sponsors who supported the medallists.

Gold medallist in the women’s shooting petanque event at the 4th Beach Games, Ms Khoun Souksavath, and gold medallist in the women’s sepak takraw team event, and senior officials from the Lao Petanque Federation and Lao Sepak takraw Federations received Labour Order Class 2.

Silver medallists from petanque teams and sepak takraw teams and coaches received Labour Order Class 3, while bronze medallists from petanque and sepak takraw teams received Labour Medals.

Some 53 Lao athletes and coaches competed in footvolley, basketball, wrestling, petanque and sepak takraw events at the 4th beach games in Thailand with sporting teams from 43 countries competing.

Laos was placed 18th with two gold, two silver and eight bronze medals at the Asean Beach Games in Phuket province.

Laos was ninth overall with 4 silver and 25 bronze medals at the 28th SEA Games in Singapore last year. The four silver medals came from sepak takraw, pencak silat and judo events.

The government presented the Labour Medal to four silver medallists and coaches

and certificates to athletes for participation in the games.

After the presentation ceremony, Mr Boualane said in future the sporting federations would prepare even more thoroughly ahead of international events with an eye on the 29th SEA Games to be hosted by Malaysia in 2017.

“We will use some budget to support professional foreign coaches to train and improve the sporting teams with the aim of winning gold medals,” he said.

Laos sent 308 leaders, athletes and trainers to the 28th SEA Games in Singapore with the goal of winning five gold medals and ranking eighth.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Novak Djokovic called it the best he has ever played against old foe Roger Federer. Serena Williams was just being her dominant self.

The defending champions both made their way back to the Australian Open final, with Djokovic beating Federer 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 and Williams defeating Agnieszka Radwanska 6-0, 6-4 on Thursday.

“I’ve had matches where I’ve played similar tennis,” said Djokovic, the top-ranked player in the world. “But I think against Roger, these first two sets have been probably the best two sets I’ve played against him overall throughout my career.”

Hours earlier at Rod Laver Arena, Williams advanced to within one win of another Grand Slam milestone. If the six-time Australian Open champion wins Saturday’s final against seventh-seeded Angelique Kerber, she will equal Steffi Graf’s 22 major singles titles, a record in the Open era and the second-most in history behind Margaret Court’s 24.

“I was able to do everything that I needed to do,” Williams said of Thursday’s match. “I was really hitting just all the right shots, making little to no errors, which is kind of hard

Djokovic, Williams win Australian Open semifinals

to play like that.”Djokovic, a five-time

champion at the Australian Open, advanced to his sixth final at Melbourne Park. He’ll find out who his final opponent will be after Andy Murray takes on Milos Raonic on Friday.

For Federer, the signs were ominous from the beginning. Djokovic held his first service game at love and broke the 17-time Grand Slam champion in the second. After seven minutes, Federer was trailing 3-0.

The first set was over in 22 minutes. Most spectators — including a woman with a sign reading: “Just Married But Willing to Exchange for Federer” — were behind him, applauding Djokovic’s service faults and giving Federer a standing ovation when he broke to go ahead 4-2 in the third set.

The end came quickly in the fourth. Djokovic broke Federer in the eighth game to go up 5-3 — not even a stunning down-the-line shot after he earlier chased down a lob on the same point could save the Swiss great.

Djokovic held three match points in the next game and he clinched it when Federer netted a backhand. Djokovic, who won three Grand Slam titles last year, took a 23-22 edge in his 45 meetings with Federer.

Documents

2016 VTN Issue 025