Laos arrested 4,025 suspects in connection with 1,786 drug cases during the first six months of 2026 as authorities intensified a nationwide crackdown on narcotics, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone told the National Assembly on 6 July.
Laos has been stepping up in its anti-drug campaigns by targeting both domestic drug networks and international trafficking routes.
Recent months have also seen a series of major drug seizures across the country.
On 5 July, police in Bolikhamxay Province seized 1.2 million methamphetamine tablets after a suspected trafficker abandoned a pickup truck and fled into a nearby forest during a police pursuit.
Earlier in July, authorities in Khammouane Province arrested one suspect and confiscated 300 kilograms...
Expanding the railway to southern Laos, rolling out a new school system, reducing poverty, and improving roads and water supply were among the key issues discussed during the First...
Laos has collected approximately USD 12 million in digital taxes from global technology companies since introducing its digital tax system in late 2024, according to Deputy Prime Minister and...
Laos earned more than USD 1 billion from agriculture and forestry exports in the first half of 2026, reaching about 53 percent of the government's full-year target of USD...
Authorities in Champasak signed a concession agreement on 3 July with a private company to develop a 5-megawatt (MW) solar power project in Pathoumphone district.
The project forms part of...
Myanmar's recently elected President, Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power in the 2021 military coup before being elected earlier this year, wrapped up his first visit to an ASEAN...
Vietnam and the Philippines have been reclassified as upper-middle-income economies by the World Bank, leaving Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Timor-Leste as the only ASEAN members still in the lower-middle-income...
Vietnam has launched the Pre-Arrival Information (PAI) system, replacing the paper arrival card that travelers previously filled out at the border with an online declaration submitted within 72 hours before arrival.
The system collects passport details, flight information, purpose of visit, and accommodation details, transmitting them to immigration electronically in advance. Upon validation, travelers receive a QR code that officers scan at the airport.
The card went live first at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on 15 April. Vietnam’s busiest gateway, Tan Son Nhat handles over 25 million passengers annually and has become known for lengthy immigration queues, some travelers report lines of 500 people or...
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 welcomed nearly 3.8 million international tourists in the first ten months of 2025, a 13 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024.
In figures released on 7 December, the Tourism Development...
Lao authorities have seized more than 110 kilograms of suspected illegal wildlife products and arrested a suspect in Luang Prabang as part of an ongoing crackdown on wildlife trafficking.
On 30 June, the Lao Wildlife Enforcement Network searched a property in Sangkhalok village, Luang Prabang, on suspicion of illegally trading protected wildlife products and animal parts.
According to state media, authorities confiscated hundreds of items believed to be derived from endangered species, including 486 suspected rhino horn pieces, 714 suspected ivory...
While the FIFA World Cup dominates football headlines, a Lao youth footballers has returned from Europe with two international titles.
On 5 July, W.I.G NAGA's under-13 team successfully defended its IberCup title in Portugal,...
Vientiane's Chao Anouvong Stadium renovation has surpassed 70 percent completion and remains on schedule for handover in October 2026.
Shuji Hayashi, senior architect at Azusa Sekkei, the project's consulting firm, told the Laotian Times...
While the FIFA World Cup dominates football headlines, a Lao youth footballers has returned from Europe with two international titles.
On 5 July, W.I.G NAGA's under-13 team successfully defended its IberCup title in Portugal, defeating Portuguese side GD Estoril Praia B 4-2 in the final to become back-to-back champions of one of the world's best-known youth football tournaments.
Just weeks earlier, in mid-June, the club's under-10 team also won the MIC Football 7 tournament in Spain, giving Laos two international youth football titles during a single European tour.
When the players returned to Vientiane on 8 July, parents, supporters, and football fans gathered at the airport to welcome them home.
For the coach Tonjukkit Noysomsy, defending the IberCup title was always going to be the team's toughest challenge.
"We knew it would be very difficult," he said. "We never underestimated any opponent. We prepared for a long time through training, studying matches, and analysing replays."
Tonjukkit said the tournament also gave the team an opportunity to introduce Laos to people who knew little about the country.
"We are proud to represent Laos," he said. "Many people there knew very little about Laos. During the tournament I...
