News
Khammuan raises the bar in rice production
The agricultural practices commonly employed in Khammuan province are still mostly traditional but farmers are gradually being introduced to modern methods so they can grow better quality rice and earn more money. The introduction of modern equipment is expected to help ease the sowing and harvesting ...
Cash for work project benefiting flood-hit communities
Local communities impacted by flooding are benefiting under a ‘cash for work’ project as part of the collaboration between the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and the United Nations Development Programme. The project began in 2018 to support the most vulnerable families, most of ...
Phetphoxay Sengpaseuth
Lao Villagers Displaced by Nam Theun 2 Dam Say They Still Need Help

Lao villagers moved by government order from their homes 10 years ago to make way for a showcase hydropower project have new houses, schools, and clinics in their resettlement areas, but are still left without access to fishing areas or adequate land to farm, sources ...
Part 1 – 5 countries, 13,000 km, 1 goal: Challenge the everyday use of plastic
I was on a 3-month bike ride across five countries of Myanmar, Laos, Thailand , Cambodia and Nepal, to challenge the everyday use of plastic through an activity called Plogging – a mix of jogging and picking up trash. Dwarfed by the five-feet jumble of trash ...
Abhimanyu Chakravorty
UN rights envoy says Laos focus on big projects hurting poor
The U.N. rapporteur on poverty, Philip Alston, said Thursday that Laos’ impoverished economy can only thrive if its leaders do a better job of educating and caring for all of its people. The current strategy of favoring big-ticket projects with Chinese investors and granting big ...
Laos’ Deputy Prime Minister Blames PNPC Dam Collapse on Poor Planning
Laos’ deputy prime minister has identified poor soil analysis for a fatal hydropower dam collapse, often described as the country’s worst flooding in decades. At a concluding environmental sector annual meeting early this month in Vientiane, Deputy Prime Minister Bounthong Chitmany, who also heads the ...
Meth production in Vietnam, Laos and Thailand booming: UN
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) published a report Tuesday which names the “Golden Triangle” of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos as the heart of methamphetamine production and trafficking in East and Southeast Asia. The report also states Taiwan-based crime syndicates operating across ...
Thailand offers loans for Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam entrepreneurs
The Export-Import Bank of Thailand (Exim Bank Thailand) has unveiled a new loan facility for entrepreneurs in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam who purchase products from Thai businesses, a move aimed at boosting exports to the subregion. Under the scheme, each borrower is offered up to ...
Laos Stops Chinese-backed Tourism Development After Villagers Complain
A Chinese development project in Laos has been suspended indefinitely after pushback from local villagers and merchants. Project would affect 22 villages near Vang Vieng tourism district. In mid-January, developers had begun initial surveys in Phoudindeng, Huai Sa-ngoa and Pakpo villages, located near scenic Vang Vieng. Keep reading ...
Laos builds more dams, scientists worry about Mekong’s ecosystem
Instead of requesting additional data used in the building of Pak Lay hydroelectric dam in Laos, Dr Le Anh Tuan, a Mekong River expert and deputy head of the Institute for Climate Change Research at Can Tho University, believes that it would be better to ...