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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Water levels on a stretch of the Mekong River along the border of Thailand and Laos, already low because of equipment testing at China’s upriver Jinghong Dam, have failed to rise again, raising concerns in communities living downstream, sources say. Chinese authorities at the end of ...

With its fast-growing economy, landlocked Laos is turning a once disadvantageous position into an important land transport link for ASEAN regional connectivity with southern China’s Yunnan province. The 114-kilometre Hongsa-Chiang Man Road, which will be a shortcut to Laos’ northern Luang Prabang province, will link Thailand, ...

Twelve special economic zones (SEZs) established across the country have attracted investment of almost US$5.7 billion and created thousands of jobs for local people, a report this week showed. The zones’ developers have invested US$4.28 billion, individual companies invested US$1.36 billion, and the Lao government has ...

About 70 percent of survivors have returned to their villages a year after the catastrophic dam collapse last year in Attapeu, amid ongoing efforts to rehabilitate flood victims. The disaster occurred on the night of July 23, 2018, when water poured over a saddle dam at the ...

A Vietnamese-run night club featuring scantily-clothed pole dancers in the historic Viengxay caves in northeastern Laos has closed down a few days after its opening after it received a barrage of criticism on social media, a provincial official said. The nightclub had a soft opening on ...

Australia will increase its Official Development Assistance to Laos from AUD40.7 million in 2016-2017 to AUD42.3 million in 2017-18. The financial support announced during the Laos-Australia Portfolio Review Meeting was held on Friday, which also discussed the progress of development cooperation between the two countries.Read ...

Assuming the chairmanship of ASEAN this year offers Laos a great opportunity but the country will face numerous challenges in leading the bloc, a senior official has acknowledged. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Thongloun Sisoulith made the comment recently when speaking to Foreign ...

Thai authorities have detained 43 Lao women, some of whom appear underage, for illegally entering the country to work in the sex trade just two days after the Lao parliament passed an anti-human trafficking law to ensure protection for victims and punishments for perpetrators. Passed on ...

Thai residents living in eight northeastern provinces along the Mekong River are opposed to Laos’ plans to construct a new hydropower dam on the Mekong River over fears it will threaten the river system, where seasonal flooding supports fisheries and regional agriculture. The protest comes as ...

Several new facilities that will help increase fish production in Laos and improve the livelihoods of people engaged in fishing are being built under a project for Strengthening Research and Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture. The construction was launched last week by the Deputy Minister ...

Members of a large fishing community in Naxab village, Naxaithong district, Vientiane, are appealing to authorities to address the problem of farms dumping animal waste in the Khon River, which they say is creating a threat to fishing. The polluted river affects some 1,648 people who ...

The “ASEAN journalists to cover the biggest cultural event workshop” was launched on 23 November in Vientiane, and will run from 23-26 November. Media personnel from ASEAN member countries are attending the workshop to exchange their traditions and culture and also share news reporting skills on their biggest cultural events. The ...

The new 500 kV and 230 kV transmission lines to be installed in Laos’ capital Vientiane, a joint project between Lao and Chinese companies, will ensure more Lao people to have sufficient power, officials here have said. The new power lines will transmit electricity from hydropower ...

Four years after a dam collapse that caused Laos’ worst flooding in decades, survivors who lost everything say they are tired of waiting for the government to provide them with new homes and arable land. On the night of July 23, 2018, billions of cubic feet ...

The government of Laos, in partnership with the United States, recently hosted the Lower Mekong Initiative Disaster Relief Exercise and Exchange in Vientiane.  The exercise and exchange is an annual initiative between the governments of Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States. Each year ...