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Like the spine of a sleeping dragon, dramatic limestone mountains rise above the luscious paddy fields of central Laos. In the middle of it all, you’ll find Vang Vieng.

Vientiane authorities are cracking down on the arbitrary use of pavements for parking and vendors selling goods, and dismantling shops and advertising signs that are unsightly or impeding passage along 21 main roads in the capital.

The value of Chinese investment in the energy and mines sector has reached US$10 billion, according to a leading official.
The Chinese government is providing US$5 billion to the Lao government and another US$5 billion to support companies from China investing in Laos, Minister of Energy and Mines Dr Khammany Inthirath reported.

The six-lane expressway, with a planned width of 70 metres, will be built parallel to Kaysone Phomvihane Road and will run from the Lao International Trade Exhibition and Convention Centre (Lao-ITECC) in Xaysettha district to Dongmakkhai village in Xaythany district.

Lao smokers aged above 15 across the country in 2015 shared 57.9 percent of the combined population.

Responding this week to appeals by Lao schoolteachers who have gone unpaid for months, Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith ordered that teachers receive their salaries on time, threatening to punish officials found blocking or diverting their pay.
“From now on, no one is allowed to use funds budgeted for teachers’ salaries for other purposes,” Thongloun told a ….

The fourth restoration of Vientiane’s Pha That Luang, which began early last month, aims to preserve this national and cultural icon.
The restoration aims to return the revered stupa to its traditional glory in readiness for the 450th anniversary celebrations that will take place alongside the annual That Luang festival next month.
The stupa is of great national, religious and …….

Since the Zika virus first caught the world’s attention following one of the most serious outbreaks, in Brazil last year, Thai health authorities have been at pains to allay local fears that a similar outbreak could occur in the Southeast Asian country, which reported its first confirmed case of Zika in 2012.
But there has been a dramatic increase in the number of Zika cases since the beginning of 2016, with 97 reported across 10 provinces, after only …..

Rising electricity bills and higher expected wages are the main reasons Thai manufacturers will relocate their production bases to neighbouring countries.
Despite the improving economy, these factors will definitely affect local industries and make operators look for opportunities to set up plants in cheaper wage countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
Thai operators could see a rise in the minimum wage in the near future, even as …..

Laos and China plan to more closely share their experiences in the area of governance so as to constantly improve the ruling parties’ governance capacity.
Laos greatly values its ties with China and is willing to further deepen exchanges and cooperation between the two ruling parties as well as those between the two countries.
Mr Liu gave a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of a seminar on ‘the rule of law’. The CPC attaches great importance to the rule of law and it is of great ….

Up to 130,000 foreign workers are set to be welcomed to the country over the coming half decade (2016-2020) to fulfill domestic labour market demand.
The equivalent of 26,000 additional foreign workers per year will be most needed to feed labour demand in the processing industry and construction sectors, the next five-year plan of the …..

Laos has witnessed a steady growth in the transportation sector along with greater connectivity in the region following the government’s enormous investment in the development of infrastructure.
The road networks in Laos now extends to a total of 43,600 kilometres in total across the country in 2013, which is an expansion of more than 7 percent compared with the previous year.
However, the transport of passengers on water routes dropped 11.7 percent to 1.9 million people in 2012. In order to boost water transport, the ministry is ….

There are still concerns about the quality of education in Laos, despite greater investment in the sector in recent years, a World Bank report has suggested.
Despite sustained economic growth since the mid 1980s, the Lao education system faces challenges in meeting its goals of providing all students with access to education and improving learning outcomes.
“There are concerns about education quality as well, particularly whether students are completing primary school with sufficient mathematics and literacy skills,” the bank said.
In mathematics learning outcomes are particularly poor and results from ….

BMW Group Asia has expanded its business presence to include Laos in its East Asia region. Premium Auto Laos, the authorised BMW importer in Laos, will open its new showroom in Central Vientiane.
“As the demand for BMW continues to grow in our region, we are now onto the latest phase of our ongoing strategic expansion plan to include the frontier markets of ……

Rising inflation in Laos is undermining the country’s attraction as a low-cost manufacturing base, a report said on Thursday, although investment figures remain solid.
External investors, particularly Japanese, are put off by inflation and rising labour costs, the state-run Vientiane Times said.
“Many companies are facing difficulties recruiting workers due to the fact they are not willing to offer …..

The US$1 million reward to dismantle the transnational wildlife trafficking syndicate, known as the Xaysavang Network, was underscored at a press conference of foreign diplomats held in Vientiane last Thursday.
The “linchpin”, Lao national Mr Vixay Keosavang, the director of Xaysavang Trading Export Import Company Limited, was recently seen in Laos.
US Ambassador to Laos Daniel Clune said Mr Vixay is still in Laos. “We offered the reward in November and we are in the process of gathering information that we received in response to that reward,” he added.
Attending the conference, German Ambassador to Laos Robert von Rimscha cited a major German news organisation, Der Spiegel, which claims it has access to Mr Vixay and that ……

The Meteorology and Hydrology Department has issued a warning urging the public to rug up and keep warm to protect their health as temperatures are set to drop even lower across the country.
China’s cold snap is still gaining strength and will be passing over all parts of the country in the next few days.
The department’s Weather Forecasting and Aeronautical Meteorology Division has predicted temperatures will plummet to between 0 and 2 degrees Celsius in northern and central parts of Laos today, with fog coverage over large ….

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Exasperated officials in Laos said Friday they lack the equipment and manpower to locate the fuselage and more than 20 bodies still unaccounted for two days after a plane crashed and disappeared into the Mekong River.
International experts arrived from France and Thailand to help with forensics and locating the flight data recorder, which could help explain why the virtually new Lao Airlines ATR-72 turboprop crashed.
Heavy rain forced a suspension Friday of the search for bodies and the ….

The Pizza Company, one of the most popular fast food franchise restaurants in Thailand, has opened the company’s second restaurant in Phonesinuan village, Vientiane.
The restaurant has been well received among domestic and foreign consumers in Laos, as more people develop a taste for international food. In the past, large numbers of people crossed the border to Thailand to eat at restaurants serving Western style food.