Authorities in Laos detained nearly 10,651 suspects of 31 nationalities in the first nine months of 2026 in a nationwide crackdown on cybercrime and online gambling, officials reported.
The Ministry of Public Security said on 6 October that authorities had detained the suspects between the start of the year and 16 September. Police also resolved 153 related cases during the period.
The suspects were mostly Lao, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Myanmar, Russian, Brazilian, Ethiopian, Ugandan, and Rwandan nationals.
Growing Sophistication
Police said cybercrime has become increasingly sophisticated, with criminals using artificial intelligence (AI) to create fake identities and forge voices and faces for scams.
They also operate illegal loan apps to harvest personal data, use...
Laos’ economy grew 4.8 percent in the first nine months of 2026, Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith told lawmakers on 5 October, crediting manufacturing, private investment, electricity, trade and tourism-related...
Laos and Thailand have moved a planned 820-meter bridge in Luang Prabang Province into the next stage of development, with the project’s environmental and social impact assessment and detailed...
Bolikhamxay is finalizing land compensation rates for the Vientiane-Hanoi Expressway, pushing forward a major infrastructure project designed to link landlocked Laos with Vietnamese seaports.
Local officials met with affected households...
The Lao central bank plans to resume accepting applications to establish new non-bank financial institutions by the end of 2026, after suspending new applications earlier this year to review...
Vientiane’s Smart Clean-Cooling Road System pilot project has reached 95 percent completion, and contractors expect to finish all work in October, the contractor said.
The project is the first of...
Laos’ inflation rate rose to 7.8 percent in September, up from 7.7 percent in August, with education, utility, and some seasonal costs contributing to the increase, according to the...
Khammouane is preparing a UNESCO bid for the Hinboun Geopark, hoping the international designation will help raise the province’s profile as a tourism destination.
Provincial officials and international experts met on 29 September to finalize conservation plans and prepare the geological and cultural documentation required for the application.
The proposed site includes limestone karst mountains, river cave networks, dense forests, and prehistoric archaeological sites, including the recently opened Hidden Hands Cave.
Hidden Hands Cave
One focus of the province's UNESCO bid is Tham Pha Mue, also known as Hidden Hands Cave, located near the geopark's entrance.
Researchers have documented more than 285 prehistoric rock-art images inside the cavern, including hand stencils, human figures, and...
Laos expects to welcome between 5 and 6 million international tourists in 2026, with Chinese visitors projected to account for around 2 million of that total, according to government estimates.
The numbers will be...
Laos hosted the Mekong Tourism Forum 2025 in Luang Prabang from 24 to 27 June, spotlighting the proposed ASEAN Rail Tourism Corridor (ARTC) as a key initiative to boost regional travel and connectivity.
Held...
Attapeu authorities have detailed five years of corruption investigations and financial irregularities, including a major treasury case involving more than LAK 90 billion (USD 4 million) in payments made without original supporting documents.
On 22 September, Souvansi Keoviset, head of the Attapeu Provincial Anti-Corruption Agency, presented the results of investigations covering 2021 to 2025 as officials discussed the province's anti-graft plan for 2026–2030.
Earlier cases involved individual officials, while a larger investigation in 2024 and 2025 involved 38 people, including 24...
Laos is preparing to compete in 12 sports at the 14th ASEAN Para Games in Kuala Lumpur next October.
The Lao team has proposed entering athletics, swimming, powerlifting, boccia, women’s goalball, men’s blind football,...
Laos continues working to develop chess among younger generations.
A group of young Lao players has returned from Singapore with 12 medals after gaining international experience against competitors from across Asia and beyond.
Team Laos...
The men behind a barbecue grill in Vientiane speak English more easily than Lao.
Some spent decades in the United States. Others left Laos as babies and did not return until they were sent back years later.
Now, a small group of deportees is working together to run a barbecue restaurant and build a new life in a country that was once home, but is unfamiliar to many of them.
It is one of the ways returnees are trying to find their feet after being deported from the United States.
Since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, Lao nationals have been caught up in a broader immigration crackdown targeting people with deportation orders. Some men and women who had lived in the United States for years, and sometimes decades, were detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with little warning. Some were sent to Laos with only the clothes they were wearing when they were detained. By the end of January last year, more than 4,500 Lao nationals had final deportation orders.
In March 2025, the Lao government urged nationals living illegally in the US to return voluntarily, saying...
