Laos refuses to host meeting of ASEAN civil society groups
Laos will not host a meeting of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Southeast Asia on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit next year, a local official said, citing potential criticism by participants against governments in the region and inadequate resources as among reasons for the ...
Flood Warning as China Opens Floodgates on Mekong River Dams
Villagers living near the Mekong River in Chiang Rai Thailand and Laos are finding it difficult to cope with sudden releases of water from dams upstream in China. More than 200 families living in Laos’ Bokeo province have suffered because of sudden increases in the height ...
Lao government, ethnic communities clash over development projects
New reports of Lao military operations against ethnic Hmong communities suggest the government is tightening its control over areas targeted for development and investment. According to a Radio Free Asia report on April 1, Lao military forces have repeatedly attacked Hmong living around Phou Bia mountain in Xaysomboun province, ...
Editorial
Administrative court rules in favour of Egat over Xayaburi Dam
Thailand’s Administrative Court on 25 December dismissed complaints over the Xayaburi Dam against five state agencies. However, the 37 plaintiffs, from eight Mekong provinces, say they will appeal further. The judge, who read the verdict, said the defendants had fully complied with their obligation according to the law, ...
Laos and China innovate poverty reduction cooperation along Mekong River
Sept. 11 (Xinhua): Along the Mekong River which winds through the mountains in northern and central Laos, the poverty alleviation projects with China aid are solidly advanced there with innovation made. In the steepy mountains and deep valleys of the Mekong River Basin, infrastructure is weak. ...
Wood veneer exports approaching limit
Wooden veneer, partially-processed timber products have been exported in accordance with the government’s special permission, according to the latest official report. The latest report from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce showed that as of May 19, as many as 12,182 cubic metres of veneer ...
Laos ignores dam flak
The Lao government is forging ahead with the construction of the massive Don Sahong dam, close to the tri-border area with Thailand and Cambodia, within the next few weeks. The dam is yet another large-scale project being undertaken by Vientiane to make Laos “the battery of ...
Thai football fans arrested after clashes in Laos
A group of Thai football fans were arrested after violent clashes with Lao officials during a youth match in Vientiane. Keep reading ...
Netizens Report Mass Chicken Deaths Across Laos
The Laotian Times spoke with an official from the Lao Farmer Network regarding a poultry disease that has been killing many chickens lately as discussed by several residents in Laos on social media. Many Lao residents including foreigners living in Laos recently took to social media to state ...
Phontham Visapra
Brunei backs Laos' ASEAN chair preparations
The government of Brunei Darussalam has provided financial support to the Lao government as a contribution to the country’s work as the Chair of ASEAN this year. Keep reading ...
Open Development Laos publishes a new page on SDG 2 Zero Hunger
Open Development Laos (ODL) publishes a new topic page on “SDG 2 Zero Hunger,” which aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. You will get more comprehensive knowledge on the moving from the MDG target to SDG 2 in ...
Lao Villagers Displaced by Dams Struggle to Survive in Resettlement Sites
Hundreds of Lao families displaced by Chinese-backed dam projects and now living in resettlement villages are facing hardships due to poor housing and a lack of work, with many still waiting for compensation promised for fields and orchards lost when they were forced to move, ...
After Lao rivers run red, authorities order iron mine to stop production
Authorities in Laos have ordered a Vietnamese mining company to suspend its operations after it polluted local waterways, causing two rivers to run red, local media reported. The Company of Economic Cooperation in Vietnam (Coecco) runs a mining operation in the Boualapha district of Laos’ southern ...
RFA Lao
Crocodiles Are Not Geckos: The Realities Of Run-Of-River Hydropower
Too often, proponents of a specific dam apply this faulty logic and tell decision makers that a crocodile is really just a gecko. For example, the debate on the Xayaboury Dam on the Mekong River in Laos—a massive dam that, in terms of environmental and ...
Jeff Opperman
Laos eyes more sales of electricity to Cambodia
Laos may sell more electricity to Cambodia in order to power development needs in the border area. An official at the Hat substation in Khong district, Mr Bounleud Keophasouk, told reporters on Tuesday when Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Dr Sinava Souphanouvong visited the station ...
Khonesavanh Latsaphao
Are Laos’ Land-Linking Dreams a Risky Bet?
The Lao government aspires to gain centrality in the Greater Mekong Subregion via new infrastructure; but at what price? The Lao government is strongly pushing ahead with different projects to better connect the country to the main transport networks of the region and integrate it into ...
Fabio Figiaconi
Prime Minister joins tree plantation drive
Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh joined students at the Faculty of Architecture, Lao National University, to plant 90 rosewood trees to mark National Arbour Day on June 1. This is a part of the government’s plans to plant 35 million trees over 36,950 hectares this year and ...
Times Reporter
Unraveling the Mystery of Laos U-Turn from Renewables to Coal to Power the Battery of Southeast Asia
After years of hydropower supercharging Laos’ successful ambition to become the key power exporter in the region, Laos’ energy export market has taken a surprising turn towards coal. According to most international analysis from Carbon Tracker to Bloomberg, carbon is dying. Yet in Laos, energy carbon production went ...
Kannikar Petchkaew
Cops nab 58 illegals bound for the capital
Fifty-eight illegal job-seekers from Laos were caught on the banks of the Mekong River in Khong Chiam district as they were preparing to travel to Bangkok yesterday. Capt Nathawat Wichakul, commander of Ubon Ratchathani’s Mekong Riverine Unit (MRU), said a combined security force intercepted a white ...
NILA SINGKHIRI
Lao villagers still disenfranchised three years after eviction
Villagers who were evicted from their homes in northern Laos to make way for a new hydroelectric dam remain disenfranchised three years on, according to media reports. The villagers relocated from Xayaburi province in 2018 are housed in resettlement towns where they lack enough land and ...
UCA News reporter, Vientiane