Thursday, July 16, 2015

Family Members of Lao Elite Smuggling Rosewood to China

Luxury rosewood illegally logged throughout Laos is routinely smuggled north across the border to China by family members of the country’s elite officials along a route paved with bribes to local authorities, according to sources with knowledge...

Lao Provincial Official to Grant Concession for Public Property to Chinese Investor

A Lao official has decided to grant a land concession to a Chinese investor to develop the area around one of the country’s most famous natural landmarks, despite heavy criticism by locals who oppose such deals involving public property. Khampheng...

Lao Education Officials Investigate Examination Cheating Incident

Some secondary school students in Lao are suspected of cheating on their final exams after a copy of the nationwide test was posted on social media, although the country’s education officials so far have denied that any tests had been leaked....

Southeast Asia Drought Forces Farmers to Leave Fields Unplanted

A severe lack of rain and higher-than-normal temperatures in parts of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have caused some farmers to leave their fields and rice paddies unplanted, sources inside the developing Southeast Asian countries said. Farmers...

Hun Sen Asks Western Leaders to Help Resolve Cambodia’s Border Disputes

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen sent letters to the leaders of the three western countries on Wednesday asking to borrow a decades-old map to try to settle disputes over alleged territorial encroachment by Vietnam. The Cambodian leader sent...

Lao Governor Reassigned Amid Concession Criticism

The government of Laos has ordered the governor of Luang Prabang province to helm a central ministry as part of a reshuffle sources say is meant to shield him from criticism over a controversial land concession he recently granted to Chinese...