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...

United States Plans to Hit Southeast Asian Solar Imports with Tariffs as High as 3,400 Percent

On 21 April, the United States Department of Commerce announced its final decision in a major trade investigation targeting solar imports from four Southeast...

Thailand Reviews Visa-Free Entry Amid Concerns of Illegal Stays, Drop in Chinese Tourism

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has ordered a review of the country’s visa-free entry scheme following reports of foreign nationals overstaying their visits and...

Chinese Executive Arrested in Bangkok Building Collapse Scandal

Thai authorities have arrested Zhang Chuanling, an executive of China Railway No.10 Engineering Group, a subsidiary of China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC), as part...

Seven Dead, 53 Injured in Bus Crash in Prachinburi, Thailand

A bus crash in Thailand’s Prachinburi Province on 21 April claimed seven lives and injured 53 others. The double-decker bus, carrying 60 passengers, collided...

Silent Killing Fields 50 Years on From Khmer Rouge Atrocities

By Suy SE/AFP - Cambodia marked on 17 April the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge's march into Phnom Penh, though survivors of its...

Vietnam to Export Power to Singapore, Malaysia; Import More from Laos, China

Vietnam has revised its national power plan as it pushes for double-digit economic growth between 2026 and 2030. The country now aims to significantly...