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...

ASEAN Launches Airborne Infection Defense Platform to Address Tuberculosis

The Airborne Infection Defense Platform (AIDP) was officially launched on 8 August in Vientiane Capital to strengthen ASEAN countries’ tuberculosis (TB) response, health care...

Thai Court Dissolves Progressive Move Forward Party

Thailand's Constitutional Court has ruled to dissolve the opposition Move Forward Party (MFP), over its campaign to amend a royal insults law that protects...

Algerian Boxer Advances to Gold-Medal Round at Paris Olympics Amid Gender Controversy

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, at the center of a recent gender controversy, advanced to the women's welterweight final at the 2024 Paris Olympics after...

Laos, Vietnam to Enhance Disaster Preparedness with Digital Innovation

Laos and Vietnam have formalized agreements to enhance disaster management capabilities by establishing data and communication centers. This initiative was solidified during a meeting on...

Laos, United Kingdom Ink Deal on Green Economy Framework

Saleumxay Kommasith, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and David Lammy, Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, signed...

World Bank Suggests Steep Alcohol Tax for Vietnam Amid Rising Health Concerns

The World Bank has recommended that Vietnam adopt a 155 percent special consumption tax on alcoholic beverages, warning that the country's rising alcohol-related deaths...