Regional

More Lao Citizens Live Abroad as Foreign Population Nearly Doubles

The number of foreign nationals living in Laos has nearly doubled over the past decade, led by a sharp increase in Chinese residents, even as hundreds of thousands of Lao citizens live abroad. Laos recorded 79,827 foreign residents in its 2025 census, up from 45,538 in 2015. The census also...

Lao Migrant Workers Send Home USD 500 Million in First Seven Months of 2026

Lao migrant workers sent an estimated USD 500.7 million back to Laos during the...

Timor-Leste Moves to Join Cluster Munition Ban at Vientiane Conference

Timor-Leste has taken a formal step toward joining the Convention on Cluster Munitions, signing...

Seven-Year-Old Becomes Laos’ Youngest Internationally Rated Chess Player

Seven-year-old Bounthiengtham “Jayson” Sengphachan has already done something no Lao chess player his age...

Thailand’s HIV Cases Pass 550,000, Laos Reports Rising Infections Among Young People

Thailand has recorded 557,993 cumulative HIV cases, health authorities say, even as new infections...

New UN Report Reveals Cracks in Region’s Health Sector Investments

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exposed critical cracks in health sector investments in Asia and the Pacific, with the sector’s foreign direct investments (FDI) dropping...

Govt. Inaugurates New Train to Transport Bananas to China

The Department of Agriculture and Forestry, alongside Xuanye (Laos) Co., Ltd., held a ceremony on 5 December in Vientiane Capital, to inaugurate a new...

Indonesia Prohibits Sex Outside Marriage in New Legislation

On Tuesday, the Indonesian parliament greenlit a legislation that would ban sex between unmarried couples and also make it illegal for partners to live...

Three Killed, Four Injured in Second Rail Bombing in Thailand

Thailand's Songkhla province has seen another rail bombing today, which took place in the same area where a bomb went off on Saturday. The...

Lao President Receives Honorary Doctorate Degree in China

The President of Laos received an honorary doctorate degree from Guangxi University for Nationalities in Beijing last week. President Thongloun Sisoulith visited China for...

The Philippines Starts Probing Human Trafficking Schemes in SE Asia

The Philippines Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is now launching an official investigation into the trafficking of Filipino citizens to Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar...