A four-year project on the prevention and elimination of violence against women was launched on Thursday, which was International Human Rights Day. The project aims to strengthen national capacity for the effective, systematic and accountable prevention of, and response to, violence against women in Laos. The Lao ...

A company from the Republic of Korea (ROK) is intending to carry out a Lao Resort Complex Project in Phonhong district, Vientiane province, one of the mega projects to be developed in Laos. If the project is approved by the Lao government, the total value of ...

The Bounthan Agriculture Promotion Import-Export Company in Champassak province plans to export processed rubber to Iran next month under a contract signed with the Rahnama Trading Company. The company has 570 hectares of rubber plantations in Champassak province, including 200 hectares that have been planted ...

The fragile relationship between agriculture and climate in Laos is imperiled. From the riverine paddies to the limestone karst, Laos’ subsistence farmers—about 80 percent of the rural population—depend on getting the right amount of rain at the right time. But in recent years, changes in ...

Secretary of State John Kerry said on 25 January that the United States is considering increasing financial aid to help Laos clear the countryside of unexploded ordnance left over from the Vietnam War more than four decades ago. Speaking with reporters at the end of a one-day ...

Party Central Committee member Major General Thongloy Silivong was officially appointed on 16 February as the new Party Secretary of Xaysomboun province and provincial Governor. A ceremony to hand over the position between the former Party Secretary of Xaysomboun province and provincial Governor Dr Sombath Yialiher and ...

Champassak provincial authorities have pledged to promote and strengthen agricultural production to take advantage of growing domestic demand as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. Deputy Governor of Champassak, Mr Malaithong Kommasith, told local media recently that Covid-19 has had a major negative impact on the ...

Some four million citizens out of Laos’ population of about 6.4 million are eligible to vote in the upcoming election of members of the National Assembly (NA)’s Eighth Legislature. The National Election Committee (NCE) made the announcement on 22 February when briefing the media about the progress ...

Villagers in Laos say a Chinese-owned banana plantation in has unfairly acquired the land of 46 families in the northern part of the country, many of whom were coerced by authorities into selling for a miniscule compensation package The 46 families sold 60 hectares (148 acres) ...

The imprisonment of Houayheuang “Muay” Xayabouly, a young, female Lao environmentalist turned internet activist who simply asked for help for flood victims, should be a matter of deep concern to the international community. On Sept 5, 2018, Muay used her 17-minute-long Facebook Live broadcast to counter ...

Heavy monsoonal rains in northeastern Laos ripped through a small one-megawatt hydropower dam in Xieng Khouang province’s Pek district earlier this week, causing extensive damage and flooding rice fields and property, local residents said Wednesday. “Because of heavy rainfall and too much water, the dam couldn’t ...

Laos and its development partner the European Union have sought ways to strengthen their cooperation on the implementation of focal work to ensure more effective results from projects in Laos. Keep reading ...

Environmental rights groups are calling on Laos to cancel the latest hydro-electric dam it has approved for construction across the Mekong River, warning of dire consequences for the millions of people who rely on the waterway for a living. A six-month “prior consultation process” for the ...

Director of the Luang Prabang provincial Department of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Onechan Souvannalit, said on 25 May that much more needs to be done in terms of marketing and creating confidence among international tourists, to encourage them to visit the World Heritage town. Tourists mainly ...

One Chinese national was killed and three wounded in a “militant” attack in Laos, state media said on 2 March, in what was at least the second confirmed attack in the country involving Chinese workers this year. China’s consulate in Luang Prabang province confirmed the attack, “which ...

The Vientiane Declaration on Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (VD II or Vientiane Partnership Declaration), a result of joint efforts between the government and development partners to shift from effective aid to effective development cooperation, was signed late last week in the Laotian capital. Keep reading ...

The Global Environment Facility has pledged US$4.7 million to protect Lao wetlands from climate change. Laos has defined two wetland areas under the Ramsar Convention on ‘Wetlands of International Importance’ which covers all aspects of wetland conservation and wise use. These wetland areas are Xe Champone in ...

Human rights groups and the wife of a prominent civil rights leader who disappeared nearly three years ago have called on the Lao government to adequately investigate the incident and provide information about the case’s progress. Sombath Somphone went missing on 15 December 2012, when police ...

Provincial agriculture officials are helping the people of Nateuy village in KaysonePhomvihane district, Savannakhet province, to improve crop cultivation and livestock production methods. The Savannakhet Agriculture and Forestry Department and village authorities gathered on 18 May to explain the best ways to grow fruit, rice and ...

It is estimated that 90 percent of private hospitals and medical clinics in Laos give too much antibiotics to their patients because they lack training in prescribing antibiotics. However this carries many risks. Director General of the Health Care Department under the Ministry of Health, Associate Prof. ...