Lao morning news for January 18

PM calls for brainstorming on revenue collection, ways to drive growth
Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has called on senior government officials in charge of economic affairs to explore ways to ensure that all revenue streams are fully utilised, and to spur economic growth.
— Vientiane Times

Lao Protest Villager Freed, 11 Still Held
Lao authorities have released a villager held since 2017 with a group arrested for protesting the loss of land awarded by the government to a Vietnamese rubber company, sources in the communist Southeast Asian state said.
— RFA

UK Grants US$ 4.5 Million Support For UXO Clearance Efforts In Laos
The UK government has provided a grant support of US$ 4.5 million for efforts to remove unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the Lao PDR.
— KPL

Villagers in Laos Fearful of New Chinese Tourism Project
Villagers in the remote Lao hamlet of Huaiyae in the scenic Vang Vieng region north of the capital Vientiane are concerned about possibly losing their land to a Chinese development project, after local authorities were spotted in the town taking measurements and noting the locations of trees.
— RFA

Japanese-Funded School Construction Project in Oudomxay Province
The Government of Japan has handed over a school which was financed and constructed by the Japanese Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) in Namo District, Oudomxay Province.
— KPL

Lao police pounce on huge shipment of drugs
The Lao drug control and supervision police seized a huge shipment of drugs in northern Laos.
— Khmer Times

Maximising the benefits of Visit Laos-China Year 2019
LAO and Chinese authorities are drawing up detailed plans for activities during Visit Laos-China Year 2019, the first time Laos has partnered with another country in such an event.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Lao Migrant Youth Increasingly Looking for Work in China
Young people from the northern provinces of Laos are increasingly moving across the border to China in search of jobs and higher wages.
— RFA

Lao man arrested, 350kg of marijuana seized in Nakhon Phanom
A Lao man was arrested in Nakhon Phanom’s That Phanom district after he and others allegedly smuggled 350 kilogrammes of marijuana across the Mekong River into Thailand, police said.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

R. Korea Donates Ambulances For Attepeu
Wednesday witnessed the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Laos, Mr Shin Sung Soon, presenting three ambulances worth US$ 156,000 to Minister of Health Bounkong Sihavong to be given to the Attapeu Provincial Department of Health and the Attapeu Provincial Hospital.
— KPL

Founding anniversary of Lao People’s Army marked in Hanoi
The Lao Embassy in Hanoi held a ceremony to mark the 70th founding anniversary of the Lao People’s Army (January 20, 1949 – 2019) in Hanoi on January 17.
— Vietnam+

Lao, Vietnamese PMs Co-Chair Meeting Of Inter-Governmental Committee
Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc co-chaired the 41st session of the Laos – Vietnam Inter-governmental Committee in Hanoi on Jan 6.
— KPL

Laos’ First Real Estate Expo Expecting To Draw 40+ Firms To 2-Day Fiesta
The first real estate investment expo in Laos is set to open eyes, hearts, dreams, and pocketbooks at Don Chan Palace Hotel on Friday & Saturday, March 1-2 2019.
— Laotian Times

Laos remains the most ‘under-toured’ country in the world despite beautiful locations
If there were a competition to find the word of the year in the tourism sector, there would be only one serious contender for 2018: overtourism. From Barcelona to Bali, the Indian Ocean to the Adriatic, 2018 was the year that people in the world’s most coveted, visited and Instagrammed places said “enough was enough”.
— Daily Times

Political theory books presented to Laos
The National Political Publishing House on January 16 presented the Lao-version copies of political theory books to the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism (MoICT).
— VietnamPlus

Hmong Exiles Reach End of Road in Suit Against Laos
The Ninth Circuit on Monday tossed a Hmong woman’s proposed class action accusing Laos and several of its highest-ranking government officials of trying to exterminate Hmong people who fought in the Vietnam War as part of the CIA’s “secret army.”
— Courthouse News

Senior Officials of National Banks of Cambodia and Laos Meets
Senior officials of the national banks of Cambodia and Laos have met here recently in Phnom Penh to share lessons learned and experience to boost bilateral cooperation.
— AKP

Party Central Committee’s Office honoured with Lao orders
The Lao State has conferred the Labour Order and Labour Medal on several outstanding individuals and collectives of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee’s Office in recognition of their significant contributions to Laos’ cause of information, culture, and publication in 2005-2013.
— VietnamPlus

MRC hosts Paklai dam discussion
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) yesterday hosted a regional meeting when Mekong stakeholders discussed the updated features of the planned Paklai dam on the Mekong River.
— Vientiane Times

Luang Namtha, Phongsaly Feeling Earth Move As M4+ Quakes Detected
Earth tremors in Laos north have been reported, with another quake of some 4.0 felt in the early hours of January 16 in Luang Namtha Province.
— Laotian Times

Bigger than ever Boun Kabongyay festival planned for this year
Visitors are welcome at the Boun Kabongyay festival in Savannakhet next month to join Brou people from across the province in a celebration of food and culture.
— Vientiane Times

Feature photo sharonang

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Lao morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Lao PDR news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.