Radio Free Asia
Chinese-Owned Factory in Laos Causes Health Scare, Foul Smells in Nearby Villages
A Chinese-owned factory in Laos that recently started operations is causing noise and air pollution that affect the health of nearby residents in the country’s Bolikhamxay province.The factory, which produces packing foam for use in transporting bananas, is made up of one building situated on ...
RFA’s Lao Service
Lao Dam Resettlement Village Out of Water Due to Drought
More than 100 Lao families who were moved to a resettlement village four years ago to make way for construction of the Nam Tha 1 Dam hydropower project in Luang Namtha province have run out of water amid a worsening drought, local sources say.Water sources ...
RFA’s Lao Service
Lao Woman Gets Five Years for Criticizing Government on Facebook
Authorities in Laos last week sentenced a woman to five years in prison for criticizing the government on Facebook.Houayheuang Xayabouly, 30, also known by her nickname Mouay, was arrested Sept. 12 after she voiced her concern about the government response to flooding in the country’s ...
RFA’s Lao Service
Lao Woman Sentenced to 15 Years for Trafficking Four Girls to China
Authorities in Laos have sentenced a woman to 15 years in prison for trafficking four Lao girls to China in 2018, RFA has learned.Identified as Mrs. Duangchanh, the woman met the girls in Luang Namtha city, Luang Namtha province in January 2018. She told them ...
RFA’s Lao Service
Stakeholders Question Farness of MRC’s Impact Assessment for Laos’ Luangprabang Dam
Stakeholders are concerned about the legitimacy of the multinational approval process for Laos’ Luangprabang hydropower project, after recommendations to lower the environmental impact were raised, but few were accepted during a meeting of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) last week in Vientiane.The meeting was held ...
RFA’s Lao Service
Group of Four Lao Young Women Trafficked to China Rescued, Separate Group of Four Remain Missing after Three Years
Authorities in Laos’ southwestern Champassak province have rescued four young Lao women and girls who were trafficked to China, while another group of four females from another part of the country remain missing, sources told RFA’s Lao Service recently.The teenagers and young women, now aged ...
RFA’s Lao Service
Laos’s Controversial Xayaburi Dam on Mekong River Begins Operations
The Xayaburi dam, the first of five planned large Mekong river mainstream dams in Laos, officially began operations Tuesday, setting in motion the first major cog in the country’s ambitious but controversial plan to become the “battery of Southeast Asia.”The dam, which began construction in ...
RFA’s Lao Service
Village Fishermen Near Laos’ Don Sahong Dam Report Smaller Catches
Villagers near Don Sahong Dam, a major dam on the Mekong River in Laos, have reported smaller fish catches as it nears completion.The dam, slated to conduct its final testing phase by early next month, will be operational by the end of the year.Don Sahong ...
RFA’s Lao and Vietnamese Services
Chinese Elephant Plan in Lao Capital Angers Wildlife Advocates
A Chinese-owned firm drew fire from animal conservation activists when it brought in 10 elephants from the north of the country to entertain tourists in a special economic zone in the Lao capital Vientiane during Visit Laos-China Year 2019.The year-long promotional campaign officially encourages tourism ...
RFA’s Lao Service
S Korea Criticized for Failing to Protect Children’s Rights over Laos Dam Collapse
South Korea has been criticized for failing to protect children’s rights after a dam collapse in Laos caused dozens of deaths last year. The United Nations has advised the country to “closely look into” its overseas projects for possible violations of such rights.The United Nations ...
