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...

ASEAN Rail Tourism Corridor Takes Center Stage at Mekong Tourism Forum 2025

Laos hosted the Mekong Tourism Forum 2025 in Luang Prabang from 24 to 27 June, spotlighting the proposed ASEAN Rail Tourism Corridor (ARTC) as...

Vietnam Approves New Law Allowing Foreign Spouses to Gain Citizenship Without Residency

Foreigners married to Vietnamese citizens will now be eligible for Vietnamese citizenship without having to meet previous residency, language, or financial requirements, following a...

Lao Government Voices Concern Over Regional, Global Tensions

Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone has voiced serious concerns about rising regional tensions and global instability, warning of their potential impact on Laos’s economy and...

Toxic Thailand Rivers Pinned on Myanmar Mines

By Chayanit Itthipongmaetee and Sally Jensen/AFP - A sprawling new mine is gouged into the lush rolling hills of northeast Myanmar, where civil war...

Indonesia Province Pushes Vasectomies to Curb Poverty Amid Regional Population Shift

Late April, Indonesia’s West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi announced a birth control initiative encouraging men from low-income households to undergo vasectomies in a move...

Thai Political Crisis: What We Know

By Damon WAKE/AFP - Thailand's government is on the brink of collapse after a key coalition partner quit, leaving the kingdom facing yet another...