History of Laos

--------------------
30-12-1950

Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia became independent states in a French Union.
(MC, 12/30/01)
--------------------
14-4-1953

Viet Minh invaded Laos with 40,00 troops.
(HN, 4/14/98)
--------------------
28-4-1953

French troops evacuated northern Laos.
(HN, 4/28/98)
--------------------
1953 Oct 22

Laos gained full independence from France
(MC, 10/22/01)
--------------------
1954 Sep 8

SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization), a sister organization to NATO, was created under the Manila Pact by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, to stop communist spread in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos). The United States, Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Thailand signed the mutual defense treaty. SEATO dissolved in 1977.
(HNQ, 4/2/01)(http://tinyurl.com/hpawj)
--------------------
29-5-1957

Laos Government of prince Suvanna Phuma resigned.
(SC, 5/29/02)
--------------------
25-8-1957

Prince Suvanna Phuma formed a government in LAOS with the Pathet Lao.
(MC, 8/25/02)
--------------------
9-12-1960

The Laos government fled to Cambodia as the capital city of Vientiane was engulfed in war.
(HN, 12/9/98)
--------------------
18-12-1960

, A rightist government was installed under Prince Boun Oum in Laos as U.S. resumed arms shipments.
(HN, 12/18/98)
--------------------
17-3-1961

The U.S. increased military aid and technicians to Laos.
(HN, 3/17/98)
--------------------
26-3-1961

John F. Kennedy met with British Premier Macmillan, in Washington to discuss increased Communist involvement in Laos.
(HN, 3/25/98)
--------------------
1961

The US CIA began enlisting mountain tribes as guerrillas during the Vietnam War.
(SFC,12/27/97, p.A15)
--------------------
1961-1973

The CIA backed a secret army in Laos to help fight the communist Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese. An estimated 50,000 Hmong civilians died over this period. CIA director William Colby acknowledged the US and Hmong alliance in 1994.
(SFC, 6/14/04, p.A1)
--------------------
12-1-1962

The United States resumed aid to the Laotian regime.
(HN, 1/12/99)
--------------------
6-5-1962

Pathet Lao broke cease fire and conquered Nam Tha Laos.
(MC, 5/6/02)
--------------------
15-5-1962

US marines "arrived" in Laos.
(MC, 5/15/02)
--------------------
23-7-1962

The Geneva Conference on Laos forbade the United States to invade eastern Laos, site of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
(HN, 7/23/98)
--------------------
1963-1974

Dr. Charles Weldon served in Laos as the chief medical officer for USAID. In 1999 Weldon authored "Tragedy in Paradise: A Country doctor at War in Laos."
(SFC, 11/30/02, p.A23)
--------------------
19-4-1964

There was a rightist coup in Laos. Suvanna Phuma remained premier.
(MC, 4/19/02)
--------------------
1964-1973

US warplanes carried out 580,000 bombing missions over Laos and dropped an estimated 2.3 million tons of bombs. In the years that followed over 200 people per year died from bombs that had initially failed to explode. In 2001 filmmaker Jack Silverman produced "Bombies," a documentary on the effect of cluster bombs on civilians [see 1973-1997].
(SFEC,11/2/97, p.A22)(SSFC, 3/30/03, p.D1)(AM, 7/05, p.31)
--------------------
13-1-1965

Two U.S. planes were shot down in Laos while on a combat mission.
(HN, 1/13/99)
--------------------
11-5-1965

The US 10th fighter Bomber F105D was shot down at Xien Khouong, Laos.
(SSFC, 11/9/03, p.D6)
--------------------
1-2-1966

US pilot Dieter Dengler (1939-2001) was shot down in his A-1 Skyraider over Laos. He managed to organize 6 American and Thai prisoners and escaped his captors in July. In 2007 a German documentary by Werner Herzog, “Little Dieter Needs To Fly,” was expanded into a full film. In 2010 Bruce Henderson authored “Hero Found: The Greatest POW Escape of the Vietnam War.”
(SFC, 7/30/10, p.F2)
--------------------
23-2-1967

American troops began the largest offensive of the war, near the Cambodian border. In order to deny the Vietcong cover, and allow men to see through the dense vegetation, herbicides were dumped on the forests near the South Vietnamese borders as well as Cambodia and Laos.
(HN, 2/23/98)
--------------------
13-1-1968

The U.S. reported shifting most air targets from North Vietnam to Laos.
(HN, 1/13/99)
--------------------
1968 Mar 10-1968 Mar 11

The ultra secret facility Lima Site 85 in Phou Phathi, Laos, was manned by USAF personnel and 11 were KIA or MIA as it was overran. The event has been characterized as the largest single day ground loss for the USAF.
(www.cia.gov/csi/studies/95unclass/Linder.html)(http://limasite85.us/)
--------------------
1968

King Savanna Vatthana honored Dr. Charles Weldon (d.2002 at 82) for his work among the Hmong people: "Chevalier in the Order of the Million Elephants and the White parasol."
(SFC, 11/30/02, p.A23)
--------------------
8-3-1970

The Nixon administration disclosed the deaths of 27 Americans in Laos.
(HN, 3/8/98)
--------------------
24-7-1970

Capt. Donald Bloodworth and his pilot were lost on a night reconnaissance mission in a F-4D fighter-bomber. Bloodworth’s remains were returned to the US in 1998.
(SFEC, 2/1/98, p.A14)
--------------------
11-9-1970

In Laos the US Operation Tailwind began with the objectives of reconnaissance, intelligence collection, and a diversion for a larger operation to the north. In 1998 it was reported that the secret raid called Operation Tailwind by a Special Forces unit called the Studies and Observations Group (SOG) used the nerve gas sarin in Laos to kill American armed service members who had defected. A report in 1998 allegedly confirmed that over 100 people were killed including up to 20 American military defectors. Adm. Thomas Moorer (1912-2004), the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time (1970-1974), confirmed in 1998 that nerve gas was used. CNN and Time magazine later recanted the story due to insufficient evidence.
(www.scarface-usmc.org/tailwind.htm)(SFC, 6/8/98, p.A3)(WSJ, 6/26/98, p.W13)(SFC, 7/3/98, p.A1)(SFC, 2/7/04, p.A21)
--------------------
1970

In Laos the introduction of Soviet-made long-range 130mm artillery pieces onto the battlefield allowed the Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese to neutralize to some extent the Royal Lao Army's advantage of air superiority.
(www.onwar.com/aced/data/lima/laos1962.htm)
--------------------
8-2-1971

South Vietnamese ground forces, backed by American air power, began Operation Lam Son 719, a 17,000 man incursion into Laos that ended three weeks later in a disaster.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Lam_Son_719)
--------------------
10-2-1971

Larry Burrows (b.1926), English war photographer, was killed over Laos. Combat photographers Henri Huet of AP, Kent Potter of UPI, Larry Burrows (b.1926) of Life Magazine and Keisaburo Shimamato of Newsweek were killed in a helicopter crash over Laos. In 2003 Richard Pyle and Horst Faas authored "Lost Over Laos: A True Story of Tragedy, Mystery and Friendship."
(WSJ, 5/22/98, p.W12)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Burrows)(SSFC, 3/23/03, p.M5)
--------------------
18-3-1971

U.S. helicopters airlifted 1,000 South Vietnamese soldiers out of Laos.
(HN, 3/18/98)
--------------------
21-3-1971

In Laos South Vietnamese Marines at FSB Delta, south of Route 9, came under intense ground and artillery attacks. During an attempted extraction of the force, seven helicopters were shot down and another 50 were damaged, ending the evacuation attempt.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Lam_Son_719)
--------------------
18-12-1971

North Vietnamese troops captured the Plain of Jars in Laos. Throughout the Vietnam War, the Plain of Jars was a contested area between Lao tribesmen and Vietnam's communist allies, the Pathet Lao. The area was long controlled by the Pathet Lao and a continual effort had been made by the secret CIA-directed force of some 30,000 indigenous tribesmen to strengthen anti-communist strongholds there. The US committed hundreds of millions of dollars to the war effort in Laos. Details of this secret operation were not released until August 1971.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(www.arlingtoncemetery.net/aircrew-04191971.htm)
--------------------
1973-1975

Alan Davidson served as the British ambassador to Laos.
(WSJ, 11/12/99, p.W13)

--------------------
1973-1997

Some 11,000 Laotians were killed or wounded during this period by left over American bombs.
(SFEC,11/2/97, p.A19)
--------------------
3-6-1974

The last Air America aircraft crossed the border from Laos into Thailand. American forces left Laos and abandoned some 36,000 Laotians hired to battle North Vietnamese troops. The Hmong and Iu Mien were 2 hill tribes hired by the Americans to break codes and rescue downed pilots. Many of the soldiers fled to Thailand where they lived in refugee camps. Some 35,000 Iu Mien later moved to the US.
(SFC,12/27/97, p.A15)(SFEC, 1/24/99, p.A8)(http://tinyurl.com/3mzgcy)
--------------------
5-9-1974

Charles Dean , brother of 2004 presidential candidate Howard Dean, was captured by Pathet Lao. He was executed on or about December 14, 1974. In 2003 his remains were reported found along with Australian companion Neil Sharman.
(SFC, 11/19/03, p.A3)(www.crocuta.net/Dean/Charlie_Dean.htm)
--------------------
27-3-1975

In Laos Communist Pathet Lao launched an attack against Hmong defenders.
(http://countrystudies.us/laos/39.htm)
--------------------
23-8-1975

In Laos Communists took over the administration of Vientiane city.
(http://countrystudies.us/laos/39.htm)
--------------------
3-12-1975

King Savang Vatthana of Laos abdicated his throne and the communist Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR) was established.
(www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2770.htm)
--------------------
1975

About a third of the Hmong people fled Laos.
(SFC, 6/14/04, p.A8)
--------------------
1975-1980

A third of the Hmong people were killed during this period after the US withdrew from Laos.
{Laos, USA}
(SFC, 6/9/96, DB p.2)
--------------------
1975-1986

Souphanouvong (d.1995), a member of the royal family, served as president.
(SFC, 11/10/00, p.D6)
--------------------
3-1-1978

Vietnamese troops were reported to be occupying 400 square miles in Cambodia. North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops were using Laos and Cambodia as staging areas for attacks against allied forces.
(HN, 1/3/02)
--------------------
11-3-1980

In Laos US Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. "Dick" Etchberger (35) used an M-16 and a radio to call in air strikes and single-handedly held off the attackers until helicopters arrived at Lima site 85. After climbing into the chopper behind the others, Etchberger was fatally wounded when enemy fire struck the aircraft. The others in the helicopter made it to safety. In 2010 President Barack Obama posthumously recognized Etchberger for service "beyond the call of duty" by giving him the nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor.
(AP, 9/22/10)
--------------------
24-1-1982

A draft of Air Force history reported that the U.S. secretly sprayed herbicides on Laos during the Vietnam War.
(HN, 1/24/99)
--------------------
1989

Laos opened to foreign tourists for the first time since 1975.
(SFEC, 3/29/98, p.T4)
--------------------
1992

The US restored diplomatic ties with Laos.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laos_%E2%80%93_United_States_relations)

--------------------
1992

The Asian Development Bank began building and improving transport and telecom links between China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
(Econ, 11/8/03, p.42)

--------------------
1992

The Greater Mekong Subregion was created grouping 5 South-East Asian countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam) and 2 Chinese provinces.
(Econ, 2/6/10, p.48)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Mekong_Subregion)
--------------------
1994

The lower Mekong River was spanned for the first time with a bridge between Nong Khai, Thailand and Vientiane, Laos.
(SFC, 5/14/97, p.A22)(Econ, 1/3/04, p.29)
--------------------
1994

Laos signed a bilateral Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with Vietnam.
(AFP, 10/10/06)
--------------------
5-4-1995

The Mekong Agreement created the Mekong River Commission with Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam as members.
(Econ, 1/7/12, p.34)(www.kellnielsen.dk/mekong/agreem.htm)
--------------------
1996

Khamsay Souphanouvong was dropped from the Communist Party’s 49-member central committee.
(SFC, 11/10/00, p.D6)
--------------------
1996

The town of Luang Prabang with its dozens of temples was declared a World Heritage Site.
(SFEC, 3/29/98, p.T5)
--------------------
10-3-1997

The first Laos Int’l. Juggling Festival was held in Vientiane before a crowd of 40,000 as part of the annual That Luang Festival.
(WSJ, 3/11/97, p.A20)
--------------------
31-5-1997

The 7-member ASEAN alliance, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, met in Kuala Lumpur and agreed to allow Burma to become a member in July. Laos and Cambodia were also admitted. The members were Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam.
(SFEC, 6/1/97, p.D3)
--------------------
23-7-1997

The ASEAN trade bloc admitted Laos and Burma but barred Cambodia.
(SFC, 7/24/97, p.A12)
--------------------
12-8-1997

It was reported that Laos was promoting the development of the $1.44 billion Nam Theun Two Dam. It would alter 2 major tributaries of the Mekong River and flood an area the size of Singapore. The World Bank contributed $130 million to the project, which was expected to begin generating power in 2009. Environmentalists feared severe impact to the Nakai Plateau and some 120,000 people downstream as one river dries up and another swells.
(WSJ, 8/12/97, p.A1)(SFC, 12/17/07, p.A15)
--------------------
27-12-1997

The kip plunged to about half its value since July when the Thai baht was devalued.
(SFC,12/27/97, p.A15)
--------------------
1997

Per capita income was $400.
(SFC, 6/27/00, p.A16)
--------------------
19-4-1999

Michael Vang of Fresno, Ca., and Houa Ly of Appleton, Wi., crossed the Mekong River from Thailand to Laos and have not been seen since.
(SFC, 8/5/00, p.C1)
--------------------
1999

The US estimated that Laos cultivated 154 tons of opium poppy this year.
(SFC, 6/27/00, p.A16)
--------------------

2000 Jan,

Charlie Vang , a Hmong of Minneapolis, disappeared after attempting to cross the Mekong River into Laos.
(SFC, 8/5/00, p.C1)
--------------------
30-3-2000

The Thankyou Very Much restaurant was bombed in Vientiane and 13 people were injured.
(SFEC, 4/9/00, p.T15)
--------------------
4-4-2000

It was reported that the Hmong population in Minnesota reached an estimated 60,000, the largest concentration of Hmong outside Southeast Asia.
(WSJ, 4/4/00, p.B1)
--------------------
2000 Jul,

Some 60 Laotians launched an ill-fated attack at the Chong Mek border post and hoisted the royal flag in hopes of a popular uprising.
(SFC, 12/27/00, p.C4)
--------------------
9-11-2000

A homemade bomb exploded in Vientiane and at least 3 people were injured. Recent bombings and the defection of former finance minister Khamsay Souphanouvong indicated cracks in the communist regime.
(SFC, 11/10/00, p.D6)
--------------------
27-3-2001

Bounnyang Vorachit, the finance minister, was named prime minister as part of a Cabinet shuffle endorsed by parliament.
(SFC, 3/28/01, p.D4)
--------------------
30-8-2002

Floodwaters along the lower stretches of the Mekong have wreaked havoc in Laos, Cambodia (18), Thailand (12) and Vietnam (25), claiming at least 55 lives and leaving thousands homeless across the region.
(AP, 8/30/02)
--------------------
5-1-2003

The Laos government declared this day a national holiday in honor of King Fangum, "the father of Lao unity" and the 650th anniversary of the founding of Lan Xang in1353.
(AP, 1/6/03)
--------------------
6-2-2003

In northern Laos 10 people died in an attack on a main highway.
(AP, 6/27/03)
--------------------
20-4-2003

In northern Laos gunmen opened fire at a bus, killing at least 12 people and injuring 30 others, in an attack officials with the communist government blamed on Hmong rebels.
(AP, 4/21/03)
--------------------
4-6-2003

In Laos 2 European journalists and an American were arrested on murder charges. Belgian photojournalist Thierry Falise and French cameraman Vincent Reynaud were arrested with an American of Hmong origin for allegedly helping "bandits" kill a security official in the remote northeastern village of Khai.
(AP, 6/11/03)
--------------------
7-6-2003

In northern Laos suspected insurgents ambushed a bus, killing six people and wounding 10.
(AP, 6/27/03)
--------------------
30-6-2003

A Laotian court sentenced two European journalists and an American pastor to 15 years in jail for the slaying of a village security official. They were released Jul 9.
(AP, 6/30/03)(AP, 7/9/03)
--------------------
16-10-2003

Laos and Thailand signed a pact aimed at stamping out border attacks by unknown militants.
(ST, 10/17/03, p.A13)
--------------------
2003

The Laotian government promised the United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP) to eliminate opium poppy cultivation by 2006.
(SFC, 6/27/00, p.A12)(Econ, 5/1/04, p.44)

--------------------
2003

The Lao government signed a 30-year agreement with a Hong Kong-registered company to set up a 1,640-hectare special economic zone built with expertise from China. The population of the Golden City in Boten peaked at 10,000, but dwindled to 2,000 in 2011 after China’s foreign ministry warned citizens not to gamble there.
(Econ, 5/28/11, p.46)
--------------------
14-6-2004

It was reported that Hmong commanders in Laos acknowledged 21 rebel groups with about 17,000 fighters and family members.
(SFC, 6/14/04, p.A8)
--------------------
16-9-2004

It was reported that mining companies had begun investing into gold and copper operations along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
(WSJ, 9/16/04, p.C1)
--------------------
29-11-2004

The annual ASEAN summit opened in Vientiane, Laos.
(Econ, 11/27/04, p.43)(Econ, 12/4/04, p.42)
--------------------
3-12-2004

US Pres. George W. Bush signed a law extending normal trade relations to Laos.
(AFP, 12/8/04)
--------------------
31-3-2005

The World Bank approved financing support for the controversial $1.2 billion Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos.
(WSJ, 4/1/05, p.A8)
--------------------
4-6-2005

In Laos after decades on the run, 170 women, children and old men of the Hmong ethnic minority, once part of a U.S.-backed secret army fighting communists, emerged from their jungle hideouts to surrender to the government.
(AP, 6/4/05)
--------------------
18-6-2005

The beheaded bodies of a Laotian couple were found in southern Thailand over the weekend and were believed to be the latest victims of Muslim separatist violence.
(AP, 6/19/05)
--------------------
5-7-2005

Thousands of poor ethnic Hmong refugees from Laos were living without shelter in northern Thailand, forced from their homes under a Thai campaign to pressure them to return to their native land. Landlords said the government had set a July 4 deadline for them to evict the some 6,500 refugees from their bamboo shelters.
(AP, 7/6/05)
--------------------
29-7-2005

The ASEAN summit concluded in Vientiane, Laos. Australia agreed to sign a non-aggression pact with the group in exchange for an invitation to another summit, where ASEAN hopes to start work on an East Asian free-trade area.
(Econ, 7/30/05, p.39)
--------------------
28-10-2005

It was reported that the poppy crop in Laos has been reduced 73% over the last 5 years and that the number of opium addicts has shrunk from 63,000 in 1998 to 21,000. The UN drug office said yaaba, an amphetamine produced in illegal factories in Burma, was becoming the drug of choice for young people.
(SFC, 10/28/05, p.A11)
--------------------
18-1-2006

An American couple claiming to be of Lao royal descent were shot dead in northeastern Thailand. Anouwong Sethathirath IV (49) and Oulayvanh Sethathirath (38) were killed at a Buddhist monastery in Nong Khai. The next day Thai police said they might have been targeted by Laos' government on suspicions that they were working against the communist regime.
(AP, 1/19/06)
--------------------
6-4-2006

An attack in Laos killed 26 Hmong civilians, mainly unarmed women and children. In June the US called on communist-ruled Laos to investigate the murder of the Hmong civilians amid allegations that Lao military forces had killed the group.
(AFP, 6/2/06)
--------------------
30-4-2006

Laotians voted for a new parliament in a largely symbolic exercise since all the candidates belonged to the communist party. But in an effort to bring in fresh faces, only about a quarter were incumbents.
(AP, 4/30/06)
--------------------
28-7-2006

The Laos government and UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said an outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 2,000 chicken on a poultry farm. The Xaythani district farm found 155 dead chickens on July 14, and about 2,000 dead birds the following day.
(AFP, 7/28/06)
--------------------
10-10-2006

Vietnam's communist party chief Nong Duc Manh arrived in Laos at the start of a four-day visit in a country where Vietnam still exerts considerable influence.
(AFP, 10/10/06)
--------------------
14-10-2006

Thailand's military-installed premier Surayud Chulanont visited Vientiane on the first stop of a weekend tour aimed at reassuring neighbors Laos and Cambodia that Bangkok won't pull any more surprises.
(AFP, 10/14/06)
--------------------
10-11-2006

Asian nations reached their first international agreement to implement what has been dubbed the "Iron Silk Road." Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Laos, Russia, South Korea, Turkey and seven other nations agreed to meet at least every two years to identify vital rail routes, coordinate standards and financing and plan upgrades and expansions, among other measures. The UN first conceived the Trans-Asian Railway Network in 1960.
(AP, 11/10/06)
--------------------
13-12-2006

In Laos more than 400 members of the Hmong hill tribe minority, on the run for decades from the communist government, surrendered to the authorities there.
(AP, 12/13/06)

--------------------

13-12-2006

Two Laotian-American men were shot to death at a bus station in northeastern Thailand after returning from a trip to Laos. Thai police said they suspect a political connection to the killings.
(AP, 12/14/06)
--------------------

16-3-2007

Laos confirmed its second human death from bird flu, a woman who died earlier this month, after results from a lab used by the World Health Organization (WHO).
(AP, 3/16/07)
--------------------
16-5-2007

Japanese officials said the landlocked nation of Laos has agreed to join the International Whaling Commission at Japan's request and is highly likely to support Tokyo's high-profile pro-whaling campaign.
(AP, 5/16/07)
--------------------
4-6-2007

In California 9 Hmong leaders, Gen. Vang Pao, a former Laotian military general, and Harrison Jack, a former officer in the California National Guard, were arrested during a sweep by more than 200 federal, state and local agents for their alleged plot, hatched last winter, to overthrow the communist government of Laos. They were charged with violating the US federal Neutrality Act. In 2009 federal prosecutors in Sacramento, Ca., dismissed charges against Vang Pao.
(AP, 6/5/07)(SFC, 5/12/09, p.A5)(SFC, 9/19/09, p.A1)
--------------------
9-6-2007

The Philippines and Laos, during a visit of Laotian PM Bouasone Bouphavanh, signed an agreement hoping to boost the minuscule trade between them and encourage their first investment links.
(AFP, 6/9/07)

--------------------
9-6-2007

Thailand deported 163 ethnic Hmong asylum-seekers to Laos who authorities said had entered the country illegally in recent years trying to reach a large refugee camp.
(AP, 6/9/07)
--------------------
6-8-2007

PM Surayud Chulanont said Thailand will return some 8,000 ethnic Hmong refugees to Laos despite their claims that they face persecution in their homeland.
(AP, 8/6/07)
--------------------
2007

Transparency Int’l. ranked Laos, population around 6 million, as one of the most corrupt countries in the world ranking it 168 out of 179 surveyed nations, with No. 1 being the least corrupt.
(SFC, 12/17/07, p.A15)
--------------------
2008 Aug

Samantha Orobator (20), a British citizen, was arrested in Laos and charged with trying to smuggle 1.5 pounds (680 grams) of heroin in her luggage. In 2009 a government spokesman said she will not face the death penalty because the law bans executing expectant convicts.
(AP, 5/5/09)
--------------------
3-6-2009

A court in Laos found Samantha Orobator (20), a pregnant British woman, guilty of trafficking heroin and sentenced her to life in prison. Under a pact signed last month by Laos and Britain that still needs ratification, Orobator could be extradited to serve her time in Britain. On Aug 6 Orobator returned to Britain to serve the remainder of her sentence, just weeks before she was due to give birth.
(AP, 6/3/09)(AP, 8/6/09)
--------------------
18-6-2009

A study by an environmental group said pollution in the Mekong River is putting the rare Irrawaddy dolphin in danger of disappearing from Cambodia and Laos.
(AP, 6/18/09)
--------------------
25-9-2009

An environmental group said a gecko with leopard-like spots on its body and a fanged frog that eats birds are among 163 new species discovered last year in the Mekong River region of Southeast Asia, which included Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
(AP, 9/25/09)
--------------------
6-11-2009

Japan pledged $5.5 billion in aid over 3 years for Southeast Asia's 5 Mekong River nations (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam), seeking to deepen ties with the region amid growing influence from China.
(AFP, 11/6/09)
--------------------
27-12-2009

Human rights groups warned that the Thai government's planned expulsion of 4,000 ethnic Hmong to Laos could turn violent.
(AP, 12/27/09)
--------------------
28-12-2009

Thailand sent army troops with shields and batons to evict more than 4,000 ethnic Hmong asylum-seekers and send them back to Laos despite strong objections from the US and rights groups who fear they will face persecution.
(AP, 12/28/09)
--------------------
1-1-2010

A free-trade agreement between China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) came into effect. The 6 richest members scrapped tariffs on 90% of goods. The 4 poorest (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar) will not need to cut tariffs to the same level until 2015.
(SSFC, 1/3/10, p.A4)(Econ, 1/9/10, p.44)
--------------------
3-3-2010

In Laos senior officials from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam met in Luang Prabang to discuss the Mekong River. The Mekong River Commission in a draft report said severe drought has dropped the river to its lowest level in nearly 20 years, halting some cargo traffic and boat tours on the waterway, the lifeblood for 65 million people in six countries.
(AP, 3/3/10)
--------------------
12-3-2010

It was reported that over 10% of the Buddha statues in Luang Prabang, Laos, had gone missing. Authorities suspected theft rings had stolen some 120 for resale.
(SFC, 3/12/10, p.A2)
--------------------
25-3-2010

China agreed to share water level data at 2 dams to ease pressure from nations downstream, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
(SFC, 4/6/10, p.A3)
--------------------
2010 Mar

The Laotian government arrested an Uighur family: Memet Eli Rozi, his wife Gulbahar Sadiq, and their five children. They were later deported back to China.
(AP, 12/28/10)
--------------------
21-11-2010

A global tiger summit meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, approved a wide-ranging program with the goal of doubling the world's tiger population in the wild by 2022 backed by governments of the 13 countries that still have tiger populations: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam and Russia. Experts wild tigers could become extinct in 12 years if countries where they still roam fail to take quick action to protect their habitats and step up the fight against poaching.
(AP, 11/21/10)
--------------------
2010 Dec

Laos said China would build a $7 billion high-speed railway from the border to its capital, Vientiane. Construction was due to begin in april, 2011.
(Econ, 1/22/11, p.49)
--------------------
7-1-2011

Former Laotian general Vang Pao (81), died in a Californian hospital. He once commanded a CIA-backed "secret army" of Hmong guerrillas during the Vietnam War. He fled to the United States in 1975 after communists ousted Laos' royal rulers, and was credited with helping negotiate the resettlement in America of tens of thousands of fellow Hmong. In 2007 Vang Pao was arrested in California along with eight others on conspiracy charges after authorities allegedly "interrupted a plot to overthrow the government of Laos by force and violence" according to the justice department. The charges were dropped in 2009.
(AFP, 1/7/11)
--------------------
11-1-2011

Laos opened its first stock exchange.
(Econ, 1/15/11, p.46)
--------------------
19-4-2011

Laos announced that it would defer a decision on erecting the $3.5 billion Xayaburi dam, the first dam on the lower Mekong River in the face of opposition from neighboring countries. In Dec the Mekong River Commission (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam) members called for further studies.
(SFC, 4/20/11, p.A2)(Econ, 1/7/12, p.34)
--------------------
30-4-2011

Laos held legislative elections that are expected to sweep in a younger generation of lawmakers but preserve the political status quo. 190 candidates contested 132 seats in the National Assembly.
(AP, 4/30/11)(SSFC, 5/1/11, p.A6)
--------------------
31-10-2011

China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand signed a regional security agreement pledging to share intelligence and to engage in joint patrols along a stretch of the Mekong between China and the Golden Triangle.
(Econ, 11/19/11, p.45)
--------------------
21-3-2012

Laos said it is ending gambling in the former casino enclave of Boten on the Chinese border because of worries about crime. The decision will not affect another casino in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, which is on the border between Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.
(AFP, 3/21/12)
--------------------
15-3-2012