Laos

Laos is important to China, but it is indispensable to Vietnam and its long-term security.

The report is just the latest case of alleged human trafficking to have emerged in the Mekong region over the past year.

The country's four largest meth seizures on record have come over the past 15 months – striking evidence of the scale of the recent Mekong drug production boom.

The decision by the Fitch ratings agency testifies to the depth and unpredictability of the country's current economic crisis.

The country's travails could deepen China's influence and destabilize the longstanding alliance between Hanoi and Vientiane.

Ordinary people are struggling to keep pace with precipitous increases in the price of petrol, cooking oil, and other basic necessities.

Debt, wealth inequality, and corruption will keep the country poor.

Since he took the reins last year, the country's economy has entered a downward economic spiral with no clear end in sight.

A candid report in a sedate state-run newspaper hints at the seriousness of the country’s economic problems.

Mounting foreign liabilities and thin foreign exchange reserves have left the nation of 7 million acutely vulnerable to global financial shocks.

A plummeting currency, dwindling foreign reserves, and a spike in global oil prices have led to shortages across the country.

The Phou Ngoy dam is one of nine hydropower projects that the Lao government is planning on the mainstream of the Mekong River.