Inflation in Laos reached new highs every month since May for 2022 so far

December 15, 2022 - While December's inflation rate won't be released until next month, as of this writing, the Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment's Statistics Bureau reported that for the month of November, Laos saw its highest inflation yet at 38.46%, a 23-year high.

Newly formed Lao Gymnastics Federation joins the Asian Gymnastics Union

Image Credit: Lao Gymnastics Federation on Facebook, 2022

December 14, 2022 - In what appears to be a newly formed sporting body of perhaps only a year old, the Lao Gymnastics Federation (LGF) has  appeared on the international scene along with its Facebook and Instagram pages.

Strait Times: Take a train ride on USD$6B Laos-China railway

Source:  Strait Times

France24: Between Laos and China, a thriving border

Source: France24

Legendary war photographer Tim Page dies

Source:  Southeast Asia Globe, August 26, 2022

The Globe remembers Tim Page, whose raw images of the Vietnam War propelled a lifetime of engagement with Southeast Asia and commitment to honouring photojournalists and victims of conflict

(Monument man: Tim Page in Phnom Penh earlier this year. Photo: Sam Jam)

Tim Page lived the bravado of war correspondence since the day he escaped Laos on his 250cc motorbike, delivering photos of a failed 1965 coup attempt.

United Press International then dispatched the self-taught, 21-year-old British photographer, to Saigon to document America’s impending years of carnage in Vietnam. He had stumbled into photography after leaving home in England to travel across Asia at 17, but his raw, intimate images of conflict reached the pages of Time, Life and the world’s top media for the rest of the decade, contributing to a shift in public opinion against the war.  

7th International Conference on Lao Studies

The conference returns!  Since its last incarnation in 2019, this year's conference will see most of its segments being presented online with limited tickets being sold for in-person attendance.  To learn more, be sure to check out the links below.

Asia Times: Will Laos be sanction for embracing Russia?

By:  Asia Times, July 27, 2022

The Lao government claims neutrality over the Ukraine war but its actions have left some to question its impartiality as diplomatic pressure builds on Southeast Asian nations to line up with the US and West against Russia.