TRAVEL An Australian man missing for 11 days in the jungle of Khammuan province in Laos has been found alive, but is in a critical condition. Tourism sources say he was advised not to walk upstream of the waterfall but may have gone anyway. August 19 2008 http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24207940-29277,00.html

TOURISM The fast growing tourism destinations of Cambodia ( www.tourismindochina.com/history-cambodia.htm ), Laos and Vietnam have published a 148-page guide book showing where and how to enjoy responsible tourism activities in the three countries. August 14 2008 http://www.pr-inside.com/cambodia-laos-and-vietnam-publish-responsible-r755255.htm

TRAVEL Kunming to Laos by bus. Not too difficult these days, took the trip yesterday and it was cheap and fairly quick. August 11 2008 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1648865

TOURISM Lao's first casino is to be opened on the border with Thailand in Savannakhet. The complex will include a casino, a five-star hotel with 160 rooms, restaurants, an amusement park, an aqua-park and a traditional spa service centre. August 2 2008 http://www.huliq.com/65623/laos-open-first-casino-complex

TRAVEL The three of us flew to Luang Prabang , Laos for some hard-core outdoor adventuring including bike riding through villages on unpaved roads, trekking through jungle and playing in waterfalls. July 26 2008 http://nuckolsandwich.blogspot.com/2008/07/greetings-from-laos.html

SOCIAL Amnesty International calls for an investigation on the imprisonment of Hmong journalists researching the plight of the Hmong hiding in the jungles of Laos. July 17 2008 http://www.unpo.org/content/view/8413/110/

TRAVEL On my first day in Laos, I found myself sitting in an ancient Buddha cave. It was not something I often get the opportunity to do but, as a Westerner travelling to a place like Laos, it was just the sort of thing I could really enjoy. July 17 2008 http://www.mysinchew.com/node/13256?tid=14

SOCIAL In the remote area of Laos, de-mining team made up entirely of women… is working hard to help clear unexploded bombs. Let's see how they do it. Video by NTDTV July 11 2008 http://laovoices.com/2008/07/11/all-women-team-clears-wartime-bombs-in-laos/

CULTURE Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain's first episode of his Travel Channel show No Reservations featured none other than my dear, treasured Laos. Sure, he took five seasons to get there, but it was a transcendent episode worth watching. July 10 2008 http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/blogs/80days/2008/07/my-beloved-laos.html?mbid=rss_80days

TRAVEL Parts of Laos have transformed since I was last there in 1997. The once dusty capital, Vientiane, dons new interlocking brick sidewalks, wifi cafes and groomed public parks. The town of Vang Vieng, known for its beautiful jagged limestone hills... has apparently become a backpackers' haven - and is even now trying to reverse that and attract a more well-heeled visitor. July 3 2008 Sixmonths2008's Weblog - http://sixmonths2008.wordpress.com

TOURISM Ban Vat Nong, Luang Prabang, Laos L'elephant is a super stylish bistro in the heart of Luang Prabang - the ancient royal capital of Laos. Set in a beautiful high-ceilinged colonial building, the restaurant is run by French expats. June 27 2008 http://daily.chictoday.com/2008/06/27/haute-cuisine-in-laos/

SOCIAL About 3,000 ethnic Hmong refugees people are refusing pressure from the Thai government to return home to Laos after a mass breakout last weekend from a detention centre in northern Thailand. Two thousand more have reportedly agreed to return to Laos, some saying they had been offered $500 per family from the Laos government - the equivalent of half a year's wage. June 24 2008http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2008/06/20086237276114825.html

AGRICULTURE Soaring prices for foodstuffs such as rice [are putting pressure on poor consumers and farmers]. WRS's Vincent Landon has been in Laos where 85 per cent of the population are reckoned to be subsistence rice farmers and has this report. June 16 2008 http://www.worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/rice-farmers-battle-to-sustain-yields.shtml?10998

ENVIRONMENT Laos and Thailand have agreed to build three dams on their shared Mekong stretch to divert water for all-year use in both countries. May 26 2008.

POLITICAL Given the current 7,000-strong Hmong hunger strike in Thailand and relentless military attacks by the Laos regime, we applaud the recent US Senate letter, signed by eight Senators, urging Secretary Rice to rapidly intervene ... May 21 2008 http://media-newswire.com/release_1067016.html

TOURISM Luang Prabang was probably the best place I've ever been to! We both decided we wanted to live there...in a shack with a couple of hammocks, between the waterfall and the town centre... May 17 2008 http://garvie.travellerspoint.com/17/

ECONOMY Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia launched an economic cooperation and development association, aiming to strengthen the economic and investment ties with each other. May 7 2008 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/07/content_8121787.htm

ENVIRONMENT The rice fields that blanketed the remote mountain village of Chaleunsouk, Laos, for generations are gone. In their place rise neat rows of young rubber trees — their sap destined for China ... As Beijing scrambles to feed its galloping economy, it has already scoured the world for mining and logging concessions. Now it is turning to crops to feed its people and industries. May 5 2008 http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hn-ddOd_HXW8plAiOUaXrOEyjFGAD90EVHK80

CULTURE Lao pop music is gaining ground with new acts ... and the first movie is being shot. May 2 2008 Video: http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-us&vid=d36324c6-98ef-4031-9a3d-f75c88d51aa8&fg=rss&from=34

TOURISM Hidden deep inside the jungle-covered carst mountains of northern Laos lies a secret cave city where revolutionary leaders survived nearly a decade of US bombing during the Vietnam war. Now, over 30 years since the conflict ended, the communist country has opened up the remote wartime hideaway to tourism, hoping to bring development to this explosives-littered and dirt-poor part of the country. April 28 2008 http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jfGX9jtcVfFoD3vz5pfJCTtPie0g

SOCIAL The Hmong are a minority people facing annihilation eking out an existence in the mountainous northern region of Laos and in refugee camps in Thailand. For those who live on the run, constantly in fear for their own and their families' lives, the lifestyle is one of forced primitivism; a hunter-gatherer subsistence where they are the hunted. April 24 2007 http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=6511

TOURISM With more than 1.6 million visitors in 2007 alone, Laos is no longer a country where tourists go just to see the pagodas. The country is now allowing tourists to go inside forbidden caves that once served as secret shelters. April 23 2008 http://www.cctv.com/program/cultureexpress/20080423/102751.shtml

ECONOMY Deputy PM Nguyen Sinh Hung has approved the proposal of the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) group to invest in four hydro-power plant projects in Laos. April 17 2008 http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/business/170408/business_de.htm

SOCIAL Previously secret U.S. Air Force official histories of the Vietnam war published today by the National Security Archive disclose for the first time that Central Intelligence Agency contract employees had a direct role in combat air attacks when they flew Laotian government aircraft on strike missions and that the Air Force actively considered nuclear weapons options during the 1959 Laos crisis. April 14 2008 http://top-secret-at.blogspot.com/2008/04/fighting-war-in-southeast-asia-1961.html

POLITICAL The Internet has become an effective tool of communication. It is through the web that the indigenous people in the forests of Laos and Vietnam are letting the world know about their persecution by their respective governments. April 14 2008 http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=132464

SOCIAL Eight months pregnant, Peng Souvanthon stands in the windy, sun-drenched hills of Laos instructing other women as they remove unexploded bombs from a war that ended more than three decades ago. Peng, 25, leads the first all-women UXO team. April 11 2008 http://uk.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUKHAN7725120080411

ECONOMY After decades of isolation, Communist-led Laos is enjoying an economic boom fuelled in part by surging demand for its abundant commodity - land. Laos will be ASEAN's orchard in a couple of years, according to one observer. April 10 2008 http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCASP28905020080410

ENVIRONMENT As the reservoir of the Nam Theun 2 hydroelectric project in Laos begins to fill, it will come under increasing public scrutiny and, if history is a guide, increasingly polarized judgment. April 9 2007 http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE /EXTERNAL/ NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21719515~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html

POLITICAL A high-rise Chinatown that is to go up by Laos' laid-back capital has ignited fears that this nation's giant northern neighbour is moving to engulf this nation. April 6 2008 http://canadianpress.google.com/article /ALeqM5hzuZfFgmzkfDHWsyCNc8CJ30kqwQ

SOCIAL Things seem… normal. It's hard to believe Sephon (Laos) is in the middle of the most bombed province of the most bombed country on earth. Secret bombs, silent suffering, a world radio broadcast. http://www.worldradio.ch/wrs/news/special/laos /preventing-another-laos.shtml?10572

TRANSPORT Laos inaugurated a new highway that will allow a north-south land route connecting Singapore to Beijing to operate year-round, the Asian Development Bank said. April 1 2008 http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/01/asia/AS-TRV-Asia-Highway.php

TOURISM Are tourists spoiling Luang Prabang? A prince of the former royal capital struggling to preserve his town's cultural legacy, protests: "For many tourists, coming to Luang Prabang is like going on safari, but our monks are not monkeys or buffaloes." March 29 2008 http://csr-asia.com/index.php?id=11456 Additional report: A former UNESCO expert and resident, Francis Engelmann, says: "We have saved Luang Prabang's buildings, but we have lost its soul." http://canadianpress.google.com /article/ALeqM5i2G7mymBbzeEHygEGZ0kgUsynHPg

SOCIAL Laos has seen steady remarkable improvements in various spheres, especially economy and infrastructure since the adoption of its renovation policy in 1986. March 29 2008 http://www.macaudailytimesnews.com/index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=9093&Itemid=32

ENVIRONMENT Vietnam is siphoning off huge quantities of illegally logged timber from neighboring Laos and turning it into furniture for consumers in the United States and Europe, an environmental group said Wednesday. March 19 2008 http://www.pr-inside.com/forests-of-laos-felled-for-furniture-r493019.htm

ANIMALS Environmentalists are sounding the alarm on the fate of the Laotian wild elephant. Lost habitat and hours of grueling work are pushing birth rates down, and, if the trend continues, could drive the prized pachyderms to extinction in 50 years. March 18 2008 http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7010366992

ANIMALS Once so famous for its elephant herds that it was called Prathet Lane Xane, or Land of a Million Elephants, Laos is thought to have only 700 left in the wild. March 17 2008 http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jxwEibRx_bCTjg27W4KtVIqdOzVgD8VELCCG0

TOURISM Visitors to northern Laos, for example, can stay at the Boat Landing Guest House , an eco-lodge certified by Green Globe, a company that rigorously evaluates a hotel's environmental practices. March 10 2008 http://www.forbes.com/travel/2008/03/10/travel-eco-asia-forbeslife-cx_rr_0310travel.html

SPORT Vietnam will help Laos successfully organise the 25th SEA Games – Southeast Asia's largest sporting event which will take place in Laos next year. March 5 2008 http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/news/050308/domestic_v.htm

SOCIAL Efforts to ease the social and environmental impact of a controversial dam in Communist Laos are behind schedule only months before its massive reservoir is flooded, an environmental group says. February 27 2008 http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSBKK1047520080227

TRAVEL It was bound to be a trip on which they could expect the unexpected. Eleven motorcycles, 17 days and nearly 9,000km. The trip, to Laos and back, was sponsored by Singha Beer... February 24 2008 http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/guide/story/0,4136,157187,00.html

TRANSPORT Lao Airlines -the flag carrier of Laos- today unveiled the purchase of a new ATR 72-500. February 21 2008 http://www.arabianbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_pressreleases&view=detail&pr_id=12779&Itemid=77&ln=en

ANIMALS China and Laos reached an agreement to protect wild endangered Asian Elephants that live along the border between the two countries. February 14 2007 http://www.china.org.cn/english/environment/242711.htm

TOURISM A Laos adventure of two backpackers , starting with the Gibbon Experience and the World Heritage site of Luang Prabang. February 14 2008. Lao Voices - http://laovoices.com

HEALTH Malaria is widespread in Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and up to half of all anti-malarial drug artesunate tablets in these regions are thought to be counterfeit. February 13 2007 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/scientists-trace-fake-antimalaria-pills-to-dealer-in-southern-china-781539.html

SOCIAL The World Peace Committee of Indonesia has agreed to present the World Peace Gong to Laos as a country of peace, security and political stability for a long period of time. January 26 2008 http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_world.php?id=310355

HEALTH Laos' government has urged all provinces to prevent an outbreak of cholera similar to the one in southern Xekong province last month, which has so far killed three people and affected 364 others, Lao newspaper Vientiane Times reported Thursday. january 24 2008 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/24/content_7489625.htm

ENVIRONMENT Originating in Tibet's Tanggula Mountains, the Mekong runs through Laos, Burma, Thailand and Cambodia before joining the South China Sea in Vietnam and has several physical characteristics that have traditionally hindered development. January 20 2008 http://nationmultimedia.com/2008/01/20/lifestyle/lifestyle_30062656.php

ECONOMY Japan has pledged US$20million in aid to Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand but sent away empty-handed the foreign minister of junta-ruled Burma that cracked down on democracy protests, killing 31 including Japanese news photographer Kenji Nagai. January 17 2008 http://peacemakers.ca.etherwork.net/bulletins/?p=1270

HISTORY The Laos national museum features everything from dinosaur bones and sandstone sculptures of the Hindu god Shiva to machine guns and black and white photos of guerrillas fighting US-backed troops... January 11 2008 thisisby.us - newest posts - http://www.thisisby.us

ANIMALS Two Vietnamese were arrested for animal trafficking after two live tigers were found sedated in the back seat of a car and four dead cats were found frozen in a home. About 100 tigers live along Vietnam's borders with Laos and Cambodia, down from thousands before the end of the war. January 9 2008 http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jn1mV1UuhiRFGMai5j32mQUo2MhwD8U2B7780

HEALTH A major diarrhea outbreak caused by a cholera virus in the Laos southern Xekong province has, since December 25, affected 254 local people, killing at least three. January 8 2008

TOURISM After the Pathet Lao took over Laos in 1975 they evacuated this town, and most others along the Thai border. An eerie silence was laid along one side of the Mekong for many years ... now kayaking is just one of the elements in this beautiful landscape. December 7 2008 paddle & air - http://mekongwaters.wordpress.com

TRANSPORT Viet Nam and Laos have agreed to start preliminary work on a railway linking the two countries. January 4 2008 http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=05ECO040108

TRAVEL Well after nearly a month, we've finally dragged ourselves across the Laos/Cambodia border, away from the place that I have come to view as my travellers 'heaven'. So what can I say about Laos...? January 2 2008 Travellerspoint Travel Blogs - http://www.travellerspoint.com/blogs.cfm

SOCIAL Cheap Chinese products are flooding China's southern neighbours and consumers in Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia are laying out the welcome mat. The products are transforming the lives of some of the poorest people in Asia. December 26 2007 http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/26/europe/laos.php

TRAVEL Sure why not and Laos is the perfect place since even their main highway throughout the country is only a two lane paved road. Plus the cross streets are dirt. It was just the excuse we were looking for to rent a dirt bike and head off... December 24 2007 http://realtravel.com/vientiane-journals-j6239393.html

TOURISM Lao is the official language of Laos, but if you've picked up a bit of Thai, feel free to use it here because many understand it (the languages are quite similar). French and English are also commonly used. December 22 2007 http://kiplingandclark.blogspot.com/2007/12/interesting-facts-about-laos.html

TRANSPORT Thailand's cabinet Tuesday approved a $40-million project to build a third bridge across the Mekong River to neighboring Laos. It will open in 2011. December 18 2007 http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_ article.php?article_id=107607

SOCIAL Four decades after the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency hired thousands of jungle warriors to fight communists in Laos, veterans are isolated, hungry and periodically hunted. December 16 2007 http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/16/asia/laos.php

ENTERTAINMENT Radio stations playing hip-hop and rap songs by Laos groups and in the local language are filling the airwaves in cities such as Vientiane, Savannakhet and Pakse, where nightclub DJs spin these tunes to a packed house. December 13 2007 http://chlim01.blogspot.com/2007/12/laos-goes-hip-hop.html

SOCIAL Laos, one of the most heavily bombed countries in the world, is accelerating the clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO). December 13 2007 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/13/content_7242921.htm

TOURISM I'm heading off to do some cycling in Laos over the Christmas holiday ...I have no idea what to expect ... but this is my route. December 11 2007 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/Vientiane/blog-226832.html

SOCIAL Thailand is to assist Laos to prepare an electronic education curriculum for higher secondary students aimed at upgrading the educational system. December 8 2007 http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/2007/dec/08/thailand_ help_laos_electronic_teaching_curriculum.html

TOURISM We were more shaken than stirred by the time we reached the ,'All Laos Elephant Camp. We walked to the waiting area where four elephants stood munching huge chunks of bamboo. December 7 2007 http://nualawillis.blogspot.com/2007/12/laos-friday-7th-december.html

TRAVEL What's on your travel itinerary in the new year? From a new luxury hotel in Laos (where you can take in the view of ancient temples from a chaise lounge by the infinity pool) to the waterfront night clubs of Hvar ... December 7 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/ref/travel/20071209_WHERE_GRAPHIC.html?hp

ENVIRONMENT Laos has agreed to a major land concession to Chinese investors to develop a Suzhou-style “model city” on the outskirts of Vientiane. December 5 2007 http://www.rfa.org/english/news/2007/12/05/lao_china/. See also http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=6692

TRANSPORT Thailand has agreed the construction of the third Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge across the Mekong - this one connecting north-east Thailand's Nakhon Phanom and the Lao province of Khammoune. The existing bridges link Laos's Savannakhet with Thailand's Mukdahan province, and the Thai province of Nong Khai and the Laos capital of Vientiane. December 5 2007

HEALTH HIV infections and AIDS deaths seem to be increasing in Laos, mainly due to small-scale HIV/AIDS campaigns which did not reach communities in remote areas, coupled with the increasing number of high-risk entertainment venues. December 3 2007 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/03/content_7192584.htm

ENVIRONMENT Despite good government intentions, timber companies have exploited natural resources in Laos and reduced forest cover from 47% to 35% in 25 years. December 2 2007 http://laobumpkin.blogspot.com/2007/12/two-ways-to-steal-land-and-timber-in.html

TOURISM We arrived in Vieng Phouka [north-west Laos] somewhat surprised and perhaps slightly apprehensive. The town was like something out of a movie. November 29 2207 http://www.lenbellemore.com/blog/?p=36

ENVIRONMENTAL The seemingly doomed 20 square kilometers of That Luang wetlands, that embrace Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, are a source of joy for the eye and for the belly. November 29 2007 http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=6692

ENVIRONMENTAL As Laos plans to turn itself into the "battery" of Southeast Asia through hydropower, environmental groups warned Tuesday that a nearly decade-old dam had harmed tens of thousands of villagers. November 27 2207 http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gOrR2zskCXtCkn-XYQetucORb3dA

SOCIAL He is a shy boy, wincing from the stabbing pain of jagged shrapnel in his leg, a casualty of a war that ended 25 years before he was born. November 23 2007 http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071123/NATION/711230329/1020

FRONT