News
Lao Protest Villager Freed, 11 Still Held
Lao authorities have released a villager held since 2017 with a group arrested for protesting the loss of land awarded by the government to a Vietnamese rubber company, sources in the communist Southeast Asian state said. Phonesawai, the fourth villager of the group to be released, ...
Potential upsides emerge from Lao dam disaster
The July 23 Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower dam collapse that left at least 35 dead, 99 missing and 6,000 homeless in Attapeu province in southern Laos was an unprecedented manmade tragedy and wake-up call for the communist-run nation. Keep reading ...
Deal struck to curb Thai, Lao car fumes
The Thai and Lao pollution control agencies have agreed to work together to reduce air pollution caused by vehicles in the two countries, especially at border checkpoints. A meeting attended by officials from the two countries was held last Thursday near the border post in Nong ...
Lao dam failure creates hydroelectric woes
Hundreds still remain unaccounted for in the thick mud and flood waters of Attapeu and Champasak, two provinces in southern Lao PDR where the failure of an auxiliary dam sent a torrent of water gushing down on 13 villages downstream. Keep reading ...
Lao hydropower dam disaster offers great lessons on safety: expert
The hydropower dam collapse in Laos should be seen as a valuable lesson about dam safety, according to Dao Trong Tu from the Vietnam River Network. Keep reading ...
Lao's controversial hydro ambitions
Mountainous and landlocked Lao PDR, known as the “Battery of Asia”, is building dozens of dams at breakneck speed so it can sell energy to power-hungry neighbours as a fast track out of poverty. But the communist country’s ambitious power plans are highly controversial. Keep reading ...
Lao dam collapse will not affect Mekong Delta: expert
The Xe Pian – Xe Namnoy hydropower dam in southern Laos, which collapsed on the night of July 23, will not affect Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region, according to Associate Professor Le Anh Tuan, head of the Climate Change Research Institute under the Can Tho University. Keep ...
Live Lao pangolins seized on Mekong boat
The Thai authorities on Wednesday morning rescued some 40 live pangolins, weighed 200kg in total, that were smuggled in 10 sacks in a boat across the Mekong River into Chiang Rai’s Wiang Kaen district to be sold to restaurants and medicine shops. The pangolins were ...
