World

Laos Steps Up Anti-Corruption Reforms, Deepens Cooperation With Vietnam

Laos is ramping up efforts to strengthen transparency and public accountability, rolling out a new Party resolution alongside deeper cooperation with Vietnam on inspection and anti-corruption work. At high-level talks in Hanoi on 25 August, Lao and Vietnamese officials agreed to strengthen ties between their inspection and anti-corruption agencies, exchanging...

US Court Strikes Down 75-Country Visa Pause, but Ruling Does Not Lift Laos Travel Ban

A US federal judge has struck down a Trump administration policy that paused immigrant...

Japanese Arrivals to Laos Jump 36 Percent Amid Renewed Tokyo Tourism Push

Laos welcomed 23,133 Japanese tourists in the first six months of 2026, a 36...

Prime Minister Calls for Tighter Oversight of Boten SEZ Amid Development Challenges

Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone has called for stronger management of the Boten Special Economic...

Laos-China Railway Trade Surges as Cross-Border Freight Hits New Highs

Trade along the Laos-China Railway continued to grow sharply in the first half of...

MRC Secretariat Welcomes New Leadership

Busadee Santipitaks has officially taken on her role as the first female and fourth Riparian Chief Executive Officer of the Mekong River Commission (MRC)...

Love Wins in Thailand: Country Celebrates First Day of Equal Marriage

Laotian Times/AFP - On 23 January, Thailand marked a historic milestone as its same-sex marriage law officially came into effect, with the LGBTQ+ community...

Laos Wins 29 ASEAN Tourism Standards Awards

On 20 January, Laos received 29 ASEAN Tourism Standards Awards during the ASEAN Tourism Forum held in Johor, Malaysia. These accolades celebrate the country's...

Laos Sends Condolences to US as Los Angeles Wildfires Rage

Laotian Times and Huw GRIFFITH/AFP- On 17 January, Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone sent a letter of condolences to the Former United States President...

President Trump Delays TikTok Ban in United States

AFP - Less than 24 hours after the TikTok ban was enacted in the United States (US), newly inaugurated President Donald Trump ordered a...

TikTok Calls Report of Possible Sale to Musk’s X ‘Pure Fiction’

By Antonin UTZ/AFP - On 14 January, TikTok labeled as "pure fiction" a report that China is exploring a potential sale of the video-sharing...