News
Laos stone not a rock-solid investment for Chinese speculators
A government ban, fines and the confiscation of goods has not stopped Chinese opportunists seeking to make a quick buck in Laos stone, reports the Shanghai-based China Business News. The popularity of Laos stone has investors betting that it could step up next to the greats ...
Thai among 17 busted in Vietnam-Laos drug blitz
Vietnam has a Thai man and 17 others after a blitz on drug crime uncovered major stashes of heroin, cannabis and precursor chemicals, state media have said. Six Vietnamese were arrested in Hanoi after being caught with some 120 kilogrammes of heroin hidden inside household gas ...
Koreans to conduct Laos – Vietnam feasibility study
Korea Rail Network Authority and Seoul University are to conduct a feasibility study for a new rail link between Vientiane and the southern Vietnamese port of Vung Tau. Keep reading ...
Thai court holds hope for transboundary justice in the Mekong
The closely watched lawsuit filed by Thai Mekong communities against the Xayaburi Dam’s power purchase agreement (PPA) has reached a critical juncture: the final day that the Administrative Court will accept evidence into the case. It has been just over a year since the Thai Supreme Administrative ...
Pollution from copper mining in Northern Laos destroying local livelihoods
A company operating a copper mine in northern Laos’ Oudomxay province is polluting the local environment and destroying the livelihoods of residents, according to villagers, who have called for officials to investigate the firm. A resident of Sawang village, in Oudomxay’s Namo district, told RFA’s Lao ...
Vietnam sponsors educational, cultural centres in Laos
Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang’s financial gifts were handed over to authorities in the Lao provinces of Luang Prabang and Houaphanh to build cultural and educational facilities. Keep reading ...
Civil sector workers in Laos lose out to corruption and rising cost of living
Salaries for civil servants in Laos remain stagnant and will not be increased during the next fiscal year largely because of corruption, despite the rising cost of living in the one-party communist nation, sources inside the country said. Sila Viengkeo, vice minister of finance, told a ...
Xebangfay River overflows again
Residents near the Xebangfay River between the two provinces of Khammuan and Savannakhet are still being spared from the flooding which has started since the river began overflowing on 21 July. A Xebangfay district official Mr Sisomphone Innoula told Vientiane Times that the four branches of ...
Thaicom set to seal mobile lead in Laos
Thaicom Plc’s mobile operating unit in Laos has seen its licence extended for another 25 years, six years before the expiry of the original contract. Thailand’s sole satellite service provider expects the extension granted to its joint venture company, Lao Telecom, to cement its leadership in the ...
Lao farmers devastated by severe drought
A lack of rainfall and scorching heat is destroying the livelihoods of Lao farmers, who say their crops are dying amid an ongoing drought in the Southeast Asian region linked to the El Niño phenomenon. The drought since May has left those in Laos who rely on ...
