Regional

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 a declaration of accession in Vientiane on 15 September during the treaty’s Third Review Conference. Foreign Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas signed the Declaration of Accession, and handed to Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister...

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,...

Former MRC Chief Anoulak Kittikhoun Named First Lao Head of Mekong Institute

Former Mekong River Commission (MRC) Chief Executive Officer Anoulak Kittikhoun has been appointed Executive...

Laos Drops Slightly in 2025 Global Peace Index, Remains Among Most Peaceful in Southeast Asia

Laos is ranked 4th among ASEAN countries in the 2025 Global Peace Index (GPI), published by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), which...

Cambodia Launches Cybercrime Crackdown, Arrests 1,000 in Scam Raids

AFP - Cambodian authorities have arrested more than 1,000 people in raids on internet scam centers, police said on 16 July, as Prime Minister...

Thailand Postpones Tourism Tax Again, Now Unlikely Before 2026

Thailand’s long-anticipated “Tourism tax,” often referred to as the “land entry tax,” has been delayed once again, with officials now targeting the second or...

Body of Man Abducted from Laos Found in Chiang Mai

Thai police have discovered the body of a 24-year-old Chinese man, identified only as Yang, who was murdered in Chiang Mai Province on 14...

Cambodia to Implement Military Conscription in 2026

AFP - Cambodia's military will begin conscripting civilians next year, Prime Minister Hun Manet said Monday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason...

Tripartite Cooperation Accelerates: Promoting Logistics and Tourism along the China-Laos-Thailand Railway

A press conference convened in Thailand's Khon Kaen on 14 July to promote the forthcoming Logistics and Tourism Promotion Meeting along the China-Laos-Thailand Railway,...