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, Thailand Ramp Up Efforts to Expand Visa Exemption Policies for Tourism Boost

As Southeast Asian nations race to boost tourism recovery, countries such as Vietnam and Thailand have intensified efforts to expand their visa exemption policies...

Southeast Asian Region Contends With Far-Reaching Psychological Effects of Wildfire Smoke 

Research conducted by the Spears School of Business, with colleagues from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) revealed that wildfire smoke in Southeast Asia...

How Thailand’s Thaksin Shinawatra Went From Prime Minister to Fugitive Abroad, Back Home Again

BANGKOK (AP) — Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire former prime minister of Thailand, made a dramatic return home after more than a decade of self-imposed exile. He was detained in...

Former Thai PM Thaksin is Released on Parole After Serving 6 Months in Hospital

BANGKOK (AP) — Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released on parole early Sunday, 18 February from a Bangkok hospital, where he spent six months serving time...

High Air Pollution Levels in Thai Capital Spark Order for City Employees to Work From Home

BANGKOK (AP) — City employees in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, were ordered on 15 February to work from home for two days, and those in...

Indonesian Voters Chooses New President in One of the World Largest Elections

Indonesian voters were choosing a new president Wednesday as the world’s third-largest democracy aspires to become a global economic powerhouse a quarter-century after shaking off a...