Laos similar to many nations has been suffering due to the global pandemic. DiscoverLaos being headquartered in Luang Prabang has observed much devastation in our local community. Hence, we would like to reach out to those who have more and are willing to share to help others in need.
Thailand Reopening Plan Includes Travel Bubble With Laos
Thailand has announced that it will reopen the country by January 15, with travel bubbles under consideration with neighboring countries including Laos.
HDcourse launches free online SEO courses to help SMEs increase their organic traffic by 12 times in 6 months
Hong Kong SAR – Media OutReach – 7 September 2021 – Customers who have just started to learn about search engine optimization should focus on search intent, backlinks, user experience, internet speed, etc. to save time and achieve maximum results. HDcourse launched free online SEO courses to help SMEs increase their organic SEO traffic by 12 times within 6 months.
HDcourse was established in 2019, and its courses cover SEO, WordPress, email marketing and digital marketing. This is an online learning course that supports short video teaching and is suitable for people who are studying on mobile phones and busy with work. Users can continue to learn anywhere.
One of the students from Malaysia had only 53,500 impressions and 1,240 clicks on Google 6 months ago. After learning and applying some search engine optimization techniques, there are now 583,000 impressions and 15,000 clicks, an increase in 6 months 12 times the natural flow rate and excellent results. HDcourse also provides SEO services.
The free SEO teaching courses provided by HDcourse are from the simpler to the deeper, even if the client does not have SEO knowledge, they can easily start. Our professional team integrates 10 factors that can improve the SEO of our clients and obtain organic traffic.
1. Search intention
The first is whether the content is aligned with the user’s search intention. There are many keywords that customers can put on the website, but the customer needs to know if the user enters those words, whether it means that they want to buy that thing. For example: Enter hand sanitizer, whether you want to know if there is a problem with that hand sanitizer, or you want to buy hand sanitizer.
2. Index
If the customer’s website is not indexed, there is no way to do search engine optimization, so the first step is to have the search engine index the content of the customer’s website one by one.
3. Backlinks
It mainly refers to how many other people’s website links point to the customer’s website. The more the better, the higher the quality, the higher the relevance will increase the customer’s ranking.
4. User Experience
For the time the user stays on the website, Google will know that the content is of poor quality or not relevant enough, so it will improve or downgrade the customer’s ranking.
5. Uniqueness of content
Try to write deep and rich content, enhance uniqueness, and achieve content optimization.
6. E.A.T. Expertise, Authority and Trustworthy
Whether the person who writes the content is an expert, the person who writes a weight loss method or health tips is a doctor in a certain hospital, in order to increase the authority and professionalism of the content.
7. Freshness of content
News is easy to get out of date, try to write some long-lasting content, such as weight loss methods, some methods maybe similar in ten years or so, to maintain a sense of freshness.
8. Click-Through Rate
If the customer’s title is added with numbers or attractive words, it will help the user to click and it will help the search engine.
9. Website Speed
The time to load the website should be within 2-4 seconds. Basically, mobile users will leave if they can’t load it within 4 seconds.
10. Responsive design
Users can easily browse the same website regardless of computer, tablet or mobile phone.
About HDcourse Limited
HDcourse provides SEO optimization services and training. It is founded and operated by people with more than 18 years of SEO and WordPress experience. It is based in Hong Kong and is committed to obtaining more traffic for SMEs to increase business opportunities. One-stop digital marketing solutions include: SEO, SEM, WordPress and Shopify website design.
Website: https://www.hdcourse.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ivansopage
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ivanso
#HDCourse
Laos Sees Over 300 New Cases of Covid-19
Laos has today recorded over 300 new cases of Covid-19 with a new influx of imported cases in Savannakhet Province.
Road Deaths Increased Nationwide During August
Laos recorded 66 road deaths in August despite covid restrictions and lockdown measures in place across multiple provinces.
Business Environment Council Presents a Two-day, High-impact Programme at the BEC Theatre with Special Focus on Business Leadership and SMEs
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 September 2021 – Hong Kong-based event company EnviroEvents (ReThink) Limited will organise ReThink HK 2021 on 5-6 October at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. We are proud to announce the line-up for one of the high profile conference programmes at ReThink HK 2021 – the BEC Theatre – sponsored by Schneider Electric and curated by the exclusive Co-organiser Business Environment Council. Programme on both days will facilitate engaging discussions with Hong Kong’s top business leaders on putting sustainable strategies into action.
Day One: “Empowering Businesses to Lead for Impact”
Day one begins with an opening address by CLP CEO and BEC Chairman Mr Richard Lancaster, followed by a panel discussion entitled “Defining New Business Leadership – Dialogue with C-level Executives.” Moderated by BEC Director – Policy & Research Mr Simon Ng, the uniquely curated panel of top-level executives includes Mr Lancaster, Cathay Pacific Airways and Swire Coca-Cola Chairman Mr Patrick Healy, and Champion REIT CEO Ms Ada Wong. They will discuss how Hong Kong’s business leaders are driving and transforming the business sector towards sustainability.
The second session “Going Circular” will focus on the topic of circular economy, in which moderator Ms Helga Vanthournout will lead a discussion with Ms Suzanne Cheung of Swire Coca-Cola, Ms Stephane Heddesheimer of SUEZ (Asia) and Ms Payal Jain of H&M. The conversation will touch on how these companies set out to becoming circular and how that leads to new business experience and long-term benefits.
In the afternoon, other engaging sessions are lined up, covering discussions on “Innovating for a Sustainable Tomorrow”, “The SDGs and Business”, as well as a panel moderated by Mr Tim Lo of BEAM Society entitled “Deconstructing Future Smart Buildings” – featuring Mr Donald Choi of Chinachem Group, Ms Ivy Lee of Leigh & Orange, Mr Kelvin Li of Schneider Electric and Mr Andrew Young of Sino Group. There is also a solo talk by Mr Francis Ngai of Social Ventures Hong Kong.
Day 2: Sustainability for SMEs (conducted in Cantonese)
BEC CEO Mr Adam Koo will kick off Day 2 with an opening address, followed by a specially designed programme focusing on SMEs. Sessions include: “Supporting SMEs to Practise Sustainability: HSBC Living Business Programme”, “Sustainable Production, Consumption & Green Procurement”, as well as “Sustainability Clinic” with breakout groups to discuss topics such as environmental conservation, social sustainability, post-COVID recovery and decarbonisation with an SME perspective. All the programme on Day 2 in the BEC theatre will be conducted in Cantonese. Supporting material will be provided in English.
Both days will feature an “ESG Game” to end the programme (English on Day 1 and Cantonese on Day 2). Participants will learn about emerging ESG risks and opportunities faced by corporates and the effects on corporate decision-making and operations.
The BEC Theatre will surely deliver excellent value for participants – offering valuable insights and actionable advice for the business community to move forward together towards sustainability development.
If you are interested to join the programme at the BEC Theatre and the extensive two-day programme of over 120 sessions and presentations at ReThink HK, you may still get a delegate pass now at the ReThink HK website (https://bit.ly/RTHK21_Book). Only a limited number of passes are available.
#ReThinkHK2021
Central Retail Vietnam partners with Ho Chi Minh City’s authorities to deploy BIPBIP apps for residents’ convenient online grocery shopping
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM – Media OutReach – 6 September 2021 – Central Retail Vietnam, a leading multi-format and multi-category group, which owns and manages many hypermarkets and supermarket such as GO!, Big C and Tops Market, has suggested working with Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade to partner with the People’s Committee and local authorities of districts & wards to deploy BIPBIP application, an online grocery shopping platform that is user-friendly to order, easy to pay, and convenient to track shipments.
As Ho Chi Minh City residents are requested to remain in their homes for over 2 weeks, the local authorities and voluntary forces have been trying many ways to fulfill the grocery shopping needs of the most crowded city in Vietnam.
However, the diversity of demand has created difficulties. Manual order forms for fixed combos managed by leaders of blocks or wards, redundant tasks and inefficient operation processes have left mistakes in ordered items, delivery and payments.
Via BIPBIP app, people can directly purchase a great number combo selections starting at only 120,000 VND. This partnership not only helps Ho Chi Minh residents to be more assured when shopping, but also reduces the workload for local authorities.
The districts of Binh Tan, Go Vap, 2 & Tan Phu are the first locations to apply and guide residents to use BIPBIP app as an additional method to purchase products for their families. Regardless of the short roll-out period, BIPBIP has received a great response.
Not stopping here, Central Retail Vietnam is working with more district authorities to expand the coverage of BIPBIP even further.
Olivier Langlet, Central Retail Viet Nam Group CEO, said. “Through the combination of applying technology solutions and strong quality grocery sourcing capability with affordable pricing, we are trying every day and committed to supporting our community to easily access a supply of quality necessity-products during this social isolation period.”
BIPBIP provides ONLINE GROCERY SHOPPING – ANYWHERE, ANYTIME from Central Retail Vietnam with over 20,000 best-selling items from BIGC/GO! or TOPS MAKET.
Many payment methods are available and secure. The customer services are available in many methods such as in-app, a hotline, fanpages and Zalo official accounts.
Customers can use any method, are guaranteed to arrive at the correct addresses thanks to cooperation with local authorities.
#CentralRetailVietnam
#BIPBIP
Hong Kong Baptist University study finds strong association between PM2.5 and neurological disorders
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 6 September 2021 – A comprehensive, systematic meta-analysis conducted by HKBU scientists found a significant association between exposure to PM2.5, i.e., fine particulates with equivalent diameters of less than 2.5 microns suspended in the air, and neurological disorders. These include stroke, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Neurological disorders are the leading cause of disability and the second leading cause of death worldwide, posing serious challenges to global health.
Professor Ken Yung Kin-lam (right) and Dr Fu Pengfei, Postdoctoral Research Fellow of the Department of Biology of HKBU, find a strong association between PM2.5 and a wide range of neurological disorders
The paper with the study’s finding was published in the academic journal Science of the Total Environment, and has become the top 1% highly-cited paper worldwide by citation in the field of Environment and Ecology, according to Essential Science Indicators (ESI).
Comprehensive study covers 26 countries or regions
As systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the association between PM2.5 exposure and neurological disorders have been limited so far, the HKBU research team, led by Professor Ken Yung Kin-lam, Professor of the Department of Biology of the University, analysed a total of 1,645 articles published by June 2018, and identified 80 eligible studies that covered a population of more than 6.33 million from 26 countries or regions in all continents except Antarctica.
Previous meta-analyses of a similar nature covered at most seven countries, and nearly all of them were lightly polluted. In contrast, HKBU’s study covered countries and regions known to have more serious air pollution problems, such as Chile, China and India.
PM2.5 exposure increases stroke risks
After a series of statistical analyses of the data published in the selected studies, the research team used odds ratio (OR) to represent the association between PM2.5 exposure and the risk of different neurological disorders. Odds ratio, commonly used in public health analysis, is a measure of association between an exposure and an outcome. An odds ratio value of 1 indicates that an exposure does not affect odds of an outcome; a value of over 1 means an exposure is associated with higher odds of an outcome.
Analysis results of the association between PM2.5 exposure and stroke risks are tabulated as below:
PM2.5 exposure |
Risk of stroke (in odds ratio) |
Risk of stroke mortality (in odds ratio) |
Short-term |
1.01 |
1.02 |
Long-term |
1.14 |
1.15 |
Lightly polluted areas |
1.01 |
1.06 |
Heavily polluted areas |
1.02 |
Data not available |
The results revealed that exposure to PM2.5 in general increases the risks of stroke and stroke mortality, with the risk associated with long-term exposure more significant than with short-term exposure. It also showed that the risk of stroke in heavily polluted areas is higher than that in lightly polluted areas.
Neurological disorders strongly associated with PM2.5 exposure
Analysis results of the association between PM2.5 exposure and the risks of developing other neurological disorders are presented as below:
Neurological disorders |
Risk (in odds ratio) |
Alzheimer’s disease |
3.26 |
ASD |
1.68 |
Parkinson’s disease |
1.34 |
Dementia |
1.16 |
The results revealed that PM2.5 exposure is strongly associated with increased risks of Alzheimer’s disease, ASD, Parkinson’s disease and dementia.
PM2.5 is typically made up of heavy metals, organic carbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons suspended in the air. According to studies, some of the tiny particles and soluble components can enter the bloodstream by many pathways, such as crossing the blood-brain barrier and gaining access to the central nervous system. These particles can induce inflammation, death of cells and DNA damage.
Call to improve air quality for public health’s sake
“While various hypotheses were suggested on the underlying mechanisms of how PM2.5 causes different types of neurological disorders, it remains an area with many unknowns for biomedical scientists to explore. More vigorous research endeavours are required before we can fully understand the mechanisms, based on which we can formulate effective environmental and public health strategies in response,” said Professor Yung.
Tomorrow (7 September) will be the 2nd International Day of Clean Air for blue skies designated by the United Nations General Assembly, with the theme “Healthy Air, Healthy Planet”, which emphasises the health effects of air pollution.
“The International Day of Clean Air for blue skies reminds us of the urgency for national governments and the international community to collaborate and take swift, effective actions to improve air quality, given its extensive health implications. Our study made it clear that PM2.5 exposure, a typical indicator of air pollution, is closely associated with many neurological disorders, and thus improving air quality will be a direct response to this public health challenge,” said Professor Yung.