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...

Vietnam’s Arrest of Reformist Labor Official Could Disturb Bid for Better Trade Terms With US

BANGKOK (AP) — A senior Vietnamese official with the country’s labor ministry was arrested for “deliberately disclosing state secrets,” police announced on May 9,...

Huge Fire at Chemical Storage Tank in Thailand Kills One and Injures 4

BANGKOK (AP) — At least one person was killed and four others were injured after a huge fire broke out at a chemical storage...

Six Laos Nationals Apprehended for Drug Trafficking Into Vietnam

Vietnamese local authorities arrested six Laos nationals on 6 May for allegedly transporting 120 kg of drugs across the border into central Ha Tinh...

Vietnam Celebrates 70 Years Since Dien Bien Phu Battle That Ended French Colonial Rule

DIEN BIEN PHU, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam on 7 May celebrated the 70th anniversary of the battle of Dien Bien Phu in which the French...

Lao Woman Arrested in Extortion Case Involving Police Officers in Bangkok

Thai authorities detained a 34-year-old Lao woman on 4 May, suspecting her involvement in a criminal gang, purportedly comprising several police officers, accused of...

New Express Freight Train Links China, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia in Regional Trade Boost

The first China-Laos-Thailand-Malaysia express freight train began its journey from Chengdu, the capital of China's southwestern Sichuan Province on 30 April, and it is...