Featured stories about Laos
Stories about Laos
Hmong women use TikTok to reveal marriage exploitation in Thailand
“When men actually take us as wife, we have no freedom. It’s just like slavery."
How preserving folktales and legends help raise environment awareness in the Mekong
"By means of stories, the communities search for ways to accommodate and/or resist changes that are taking place in the Mekong river basin."
The CIA's Online Museum Offers a Glimpse of US Military Intervention in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is a region where U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War led to the expansion of the CIA’s paramilitary operations in Laos and Cambodia.
Conservationists in Madagascar Race to Exterminate Troubling Toad
Conservationists seek to eradicate a deadly Asian invader, but finding the necessary funds is proving difficult.
How a Hmong Song Tradition Is Kept Alive in the American Midwest
Kwv txhiaj has its origins in southern China and Southeast Asia, is several centuries old and is kept alive through its singers. One of them calls the US Midwest home.
Seen Southeast Asia From a Bird’s Eye? Try an Astronaut’s Lens
Southeast Asia’s capital cities are among the most photographed and famous destinations in the world. But what do they look like from space?
American Bombs Made It Inaccessible, But Viewing This Historical Site in Laos Is Possible Again Thanks to Drones
"The mysterious plain of jars in Northeastern Laos is still one of the biggest uninvestigated archaeological sites in Southeast Asia."
Speaking Up for the Big Endangered Elephant in the Room
"So many people around the world love elephants but aren’t aware that elephants are in crisis."
Big Brother Mouse and an Elephant: Innovative Ways of Delivering Books in Laos
"At book parties we read aloud, play games, sing songs about books, and give every child a book of their own, usually the first one they ever owned."
Southeast Asian Activists Unite in ‘People’s Walk’ Ahead of Regional Leaders’ Summit
More than 1,000 activists and leaders from various civil society organizations across Southeast Asia declared their position on human rights and growing economic inequality.
Southeast Asia's Tigers Are in Desperate Need of Saving
Forest loss and poaching have led to the decline in the number of wild tigers. Organizations are fighting to bring them back from the brink.
VIDEO: How a Laos Dam Project Could Endanger Communities in Cambodia
EarthRights International has uploaded a video about the threat posed by a mega dam construction in Laos to communities situated along the Mekong River in Cambodia. Laos and Cambodia are neighbors in the Southeast Asian region.
Understanding Southeast Asia in 19 Infographics
Global Voices looks at 19 infographics that help explain the promising future ahead for Southeast Asia, as well as the obstacles to greater regional prosperity.
Video Animation Explains How Principle of “Free Prior and Informed Consent” Can Empower Indigenous Peoples
The Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact has uploaded a video animation explaining the principle of “Free prior and informed consent” or how communities should have the right to decide for the development of their lands.
Laos Joins Southeast Asian Neighbors in Imposing Stricter Internet Controls
The new law will criminalize online criticism of government policies and outlaw "Spreading information that distorts truth or tarnishes the dignity and rights of individuals, sectors, institutions and organizations."
Search and Destroy Mission for the 80 Million “Bombies” in Laos
Al Jazeera's 101 East episode tackles the efforts of women workers in Laos to find and destroy unexploded cluster bombs dropped by the United States during the Vietnam War era. The U.S. dropped 260 million bombs in Laos but about 80 million bomblets did not detonate which posed a continuing...
Sexual Abuse of Children in Tourism in Southeast Asia
The Project Childhood Prevention Pillar, an initiative of the Australian government, has released a study about the prevalence of sexual abuse of children in the Southeast Asian region. It cited social factors such as “poverty and marginalisation, as well as lack of family support, education, opportunity, and protective factors” for...
Interview with Wife of Laos NGO Leader Sombath Somphone Who Went Missing in 2012
Writing for the Southeast Asia Globe, Kearrin Sims interviewed Shui Meng, wife of the disappeared Laotian development worker Sombath Somphone. Sombath, a prominent NGO leader in Laos, went missing in 2012. Various global groups suspect that local state forces have something to do with his mysterious disappearance. In the interview,...
Laos Development NGOs Silent on Human Rights
Writing for The New Mandala, Randall Arnst bemoaned the silence of Laos devleopment NGOs over the disappearance of prominent NGO worker Sombath Somphone: …while UN rights bodies have repeatedly raised concerns, their sister agencies working in development have said virtually nothing. At the bi-lateral level, while diplomats have spoken up,...
Human Rights Situation in Laos
The International Service for Human Rights has prepared a briefing paper on the human rights situation in Laos: Human rights defenders prefer to be known as ‘community workers’ and are afraid of reprisals if they are associated with regional and international human rights organisations. As Laos is scheduled to undergo...
VIDEOS: Vintage Southeast Asia in the British Pathe Archive
Many of the films in the British Pathe collection are valuable resource that could teach us a lot about Southeast Asia's recent past and even the present.
