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...

BREAKING: Bus Fire Claims Lives of Young Students in Bangkok

LATEST UPDATE: 02 October at 1:17 PM A school bus from Uthai Thani carrying 44 people – 38 students and six teachers – traveling to...

European Union-ASEAN Dialogue Explores Green Transition Opportunities, Challenges

European Union (EU)-ASEAN businesses and cooperation agencies discussed the opportunities and challenges of ASEAN’s green transition in the Partners’ Dialogue forum with the Delegation...

Uncounted, Uncertain: Cambodian Lao Community’s Quest for Identity, Recognition

Kai Sy remembers her childhood fondly, riding a water buffalo through the rice paddies and singing in Lao. Though her home province of Ratanakiri has...

Thailand to Launch Electronic Travel Authorization System in 2025, Laos Exempt

Thailand plans to launch an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system for visa-free travelers from 93 countries, but travelers from Laos, Malaysia, and Cambodia will...

Empowering Women in Tourism to Market Mekong Experiences in a Digital Age

The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), the ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC), and Laos’s Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism jointly organized a four-day digital skills...

StarExpress Tourist Train Launches, Connecting Kunming to Laos

On 24 September, the StarExpress, a new cross-border tourist train, launched its inaugural journey from Kunming, China, to Luang Prabang and Vientiane, Laos.  This new...