Environmentalists have criticised Lao PDR for pressing ahead with plans for another "destructive dam" on the Mekong River, a waterway already strangled by hydropower schemes.The flow of the Mekong, Southeast Asia's longest river, is interrupted by a cascade of dams in China - where it is called the Lancang.Two downstream dams - the Xayaburi and Don Sahong - have been built in Lao PDR, which wants to construct seven more as it strives to live up to its billing as the "Batte

As of 30 March, over 700,000 people have been infected with the new COVID-19 virus, with 8,000 confirmed cases reported across ASEAN. The virus, which first emerged from China’s central Hubei province has killed over 200 people in Southeast Asia and shows no sign of slowing down.

Tens of thousands of migrant labourers from Lao and Myanmar flooded bus stations and border crossings in Thailand on Monday (23 March), defying requests to stay put to prevent exporting infections of the deadly coronavirus. Lao and Myanmar, as of 23 March - two of Southeast Asia's least developed countries - both claim they have no cases of COVID-19, which has killed more than 15,000 people globally. The number of confirmed infections in Thailand, which employs millions

The elephant is a cultural symbol in Lao probably due to the fact that at one period in time, the country was known to have a large number of these mighty mammals roaming its lands free.

Reports recently surfaced revealing that 69-year-old Thitphay Thammavong had been arrested in Lao last month on 16 September. His crime? According to his family members, he had refused to sign papers that would give up control of his 1.5-hectare plot of land near Viengkham village in Bolikhamsai province’s Pakkading district so authorities could build a health centre on it.

Lao human rights activist, Od Sayavong, has been missing in Thailand since late August, just months after meeting a United Nations (UN) special rapporteur. Od, a former member of “Free Lao” was last seen at his home in Bangkok on 26 August. On 2 September, a colleague reported his disappearance to the Thai police.

Lao recently held an event where managers of its mass media and publishing generally agreed that the country’s media and the publications they produce needed to aspire to self-development. They said this was so they are better equipped to fulfil their duty to promote national protection and development.In a socialist state such as Lao, the managers’ general assessment makes perfect sense.

Recently, students from secondary schools and the National University of Laos met in Vientiane to learn about human trafficking and, especially, how to counter trafficking in persons under the rule of international law.

Major dam construction projects have become a favourite pastime of some autocratic governments, with China leading the way. But, far from protecting against water shortages, as supporters promise, large dams are contributing to river depletion and severely exacerbating parched conditions.

The Thai government must suspend plans to buy electricity from a dam in Lao, conservationists said Friday, as water levels along the kingdom's section of Mekong river plummet to near-record lows.The Thai-built Xayaburi dam, a few hours from the northern Lao town of Luang Prabang, is set to be completed in October, the latest in a welter of barriers across the waterway.It has been cloaked in controversy since construction began in 2012, with environmentalists raising alarm about its likel