News
Polling stations set up for Lao expatriates
Preparations are in place to enable Lao nationals in foreign countries to cast their vote for new members of parliament, with the National Assembly election scheduled to take place this weekend. Lao citizens can vote on Saturday 19 March at Lao embassies and consulates in China, ...
Thai dredging vessels told to retreat from Lao side of the Mekong
The operators of Thai sand dredgers working in the Mekong River close to Khammuan province signed a document last week stating they would not continue to cross the border into Laos. Deputy Head of the Khammuan provincial Administration Office, Mr Vannavong Vongphachan, told Vientiane Times on ...
UXO sector achieves new clearance milestone
The year 2015 was a year of significant progress and innovation for the UXO sector in Laos, thanks to a new evidence-based survey method. The sector has seen a considerable increase in the number of cluster munitions cleared per hectare of land; from fewer than seven ...
Laos placed in top quarter of global peace rankings
Laos has been ranked 41st out of 162 countries in terms of peace, according to the recent Global Peace Index 2015 (GPI) report. The report ranked countries in five categories from ‘Very High’ to ‘Very Low’, and had Laos in the second best ‘High’ grouping alongside ...
Minister tours provinces to promote election campaign
Laos’s Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Prof. Dr Bosengkham Vongdara visited the National Assembly election campaign in the provinces of Borikhamxay and Vientiane last week to explain the significance of the election. Keep reading ...
NGOs urge PM to raise dam issue on Laos trip
Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen will lead a delegation to Laos over the weekend to meet his counterpart Thongsing Thammavong, although officials on 10 March were silent on whether concerns surrounding the controversial Don Sahong hydropower dam would be raised. Keep reading ...
Timber busts made in Stung Treng, Mondulkiri

The ongoing nationwide crackdown on illegal logging in Cambodia has produced another pair of high-profile busts touted by the national military police. On 9 March, alleged smugglers in Stung Treng were busted attempting to sneak three tractor-loads of luxury wood into Laos. The day before, some 10,000 cubic ...
Kasy-Maed road link eases travel in Vientiane province
Even though the construction of a 60-km road linking Kasy and Maed districts is far from complete, travel between the two urban centres of Vientiane has already become easier. Project Manager Mr Somnam Vongphachanh talked to media last week about the progress made on the road ...
Hydropower experts mull industry's future
The Sixth International Conference and Exhibition on Water Resources and Hydropower Development in Asia, held in Vientiane last week, gathered experts in the field to discuss how hydropower could be developed in the most beneficial ways. The conference, which ran from 1-3 March, discussed the experiences ...
Kasy-Maed road link eases travel in Vientiane province
Even though the construction of a 60-km road linking Kasy and Maed districts is far from complete, travel between the two urban centres of Laos’ Vientiane has already become easier. Project Manager Mr Somnam Vongphachanh talked to media last week about the progress made on the ...