Vietnamese border guards have worked with Lao police to swoop on a major transnational drug ring, capturing five foreigners in the border area between the two nations. Ha Tinh border guards, in coordination with Lao police officers, have arrested five members of the drug ring, who ...

A groundbreaking ceremony to begin the construction of a high-profile rail project linking Vientiane with the Chinese border is scheduled to take place on 2 December– the day the Lao People’s Democratic Republic marks its 40th anniversary. The governments of Laos and China signed an agreement ...

In 2017, the Lao government ordered the closure of the country’s Chinese-owned banana farms following reports of pollution and workers falling ill after being exposed to dangerous chemicals. Firms already operating in the country were allowed to stay open until their contracts expired. The ban prohibited ...

The State Inspection Authority (SIA) has retrieved more than 50 billion kip over the past two years from corrupt officials who had previously embezzled State properties. A senior official from SIA who asked to remain anonymous told Vientiane Times on Monday that all State budget ...

13 to 16 April was Pi Mai, the Lao national holiday that welcomes in the Buddhist new year. Usually characterised by festive gatherings, water fights and the consumption of large quantities of Beer Lao, this year it was quiet and subdued, as the country of seven million entered ...

The opening of general consulates in each other’s main cities, cooperation in border security and education, and the progress of border surveys and marker installation are the results of the longstanding cooperation between Laos and Cambodia. These achievements were reviewed at a meeting between high-ranking officials ...

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a plan to support free migration for Vietnamese returning from Laos to settle in Vietnam. The plan will be carried out in 10 provinces that border Laos including Dien Bien, Son La, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, ...

Lao Tea Day – the first event of its kind ever to be held in Laos – is expected to shape the future of the Lao tea farming and processing industry. Taking place this weekend on June 4-5 at Lao-ITECC in Vientiane, the tea festival is ...

The government has made tangible achievements in implementing its socio-economic development plan over the past six months while it says efforts will be continued for achieving its planned targets. Prime Minister Mr Thongloun Sisoulith, representing the government, spoke to the National Assembly about its intentions in ...

Thailand will seek talks with Myanmar and Laos to lend strength to the fight against haze and smog pollution, according to Jatuporn Buruspat, the natural resources and environment permanent secretary. The government will seek cooperation from Myanmar and Laos authorities to jointly deal with the seasonal ...

Armed Chinese guards are forcing Lao workers in the country’s northern Oudomxay province to labor in banana plantations contaminated with dangerous chemicals, local sources tell RFA’s Lao Service. A chief of the Nongbouadeang village in the province’s Houn district told RFA that 50 Lao workers in ...

An environmental watchdog based in Vietnam is asking the Laos government to reconsider the construction of a controversial hydropower plant along the Mekong River. The non-governmental organisation Vietnam River Network issued a press release on 18 September stating that the Don Sahong project, the second largest ...

Laos is set to fast-track entry for travelers from China beginning Sunday, relaxing controls on a northern border crossing previously tightly shut to prevent the spread of COVID-19, under relaxed quarantine policies that worry some ordinary Laos, sources in the country told RFA. Under a recent ...

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has called for the Ministry of Public Works and Transport to enhance urban management and consider suitable transport options to ease traffic and reduce road accidents. Mr Thongloun put these issues to officials in his address at the ministry’s annual meeting ...

Thailand and Laos have pledged to raise bilateral trade to US$8 billion over the next three years, driven mainly by underlined partnerships through special economic zones (SEZs).   Thailand plans to develop SEZs in 10 provinces, six of which have been designated in the first phase ...

A heavy mist hung over the Mekong River as the first arrest under Thailand’s new Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act took place at Cham Pong Pier, the entry point for the Cham Pong morning market. This market, located in Wiang Kaen district, Chiang Rai province, ...

UNESCO has requested a new assessment for a large-scale Lao Mekong River dam located near a World Heritage Site, fearing that the dam’s potential impact could put the site at risk. According to UNESCO, the town of Luang Prabang is “an outstanding example of the fusion ...

The Lao Ministry of Health reported 198 more cases of dengue fever, bringing the total number of infections to 5,223. The 5,223 people has been diagnosed with dengue fever and nine deaths were recorded, Center of Information and Education for health under Lao Ministry of Health ...

Health officials need accurate reports on community health, including figures relating to nutrition, if the problem of malnutrition is to be adequately addressed, the health minister has said. For several years, health officials working to tackle nutrition in some provinces have been reporting successes that ...

The unemployment rate in Laos skyrocketed to 20 percent in 2020, a 10.6 percent increase compared to the figures for 2017, and the global Covid-19 outbreak was the main factor for the sharp increase in the number of jobless in the country. The pandemic forced thousands ...