Regional

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 first seven months of 2026, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.  The ministry shared the figures during a labor migration meeting in Vientiane on 22 September. Employment Department Director General Anousone Khamsingsavath said...

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...

Laos, Vietnam Set USD 4 Billion Trade Goal as Economic Ties Grow

Laos and Vietnam are pushing to take their economic partnership to the next level,...

ASEAN Summit in Malaysia Highlights 0% US Tariff, Regional Cooperation, Myanmar

The 47th ASEAN Summit, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 26–28 October, brought together leaders from Southeast Asia and partner countries to discuss trade,...

Laos’ President Mourns the Passing of Thailand’s Queen Sirikit

Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith expressed his condolences to Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn on the peaceful passing of his mother, Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother...

Leaders Tackle Regional Conflicts, Expansion on First Day of ASEAN Summit

Laotian Times, Isabelle Leong and Jan Hennop/AFP - Southeast Asia’s leaders gathered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 26 October, marking the start of the two-day...

Year-Long Funeral Starts for Thailand’s Former Queen Sirikit

Thousands of grieving Thai royalists lined the streets of Bangkok on 26 October, saluting a procession bringing former queen Sirikit's body to lie in...

East Timor Formally Joins ASEAN as 11th Member

East Timor joined the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc as its 11th member state on 26 October, after 14 years of...

Thailand’s Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, Passes Away at 93

The Bureau of the Royal Household of Thailand has announced the passing of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, at the age of...