News in Laos

I have Google Alerts set up for both “Vientiane” and “Laos”, so every day I get any news articles relevant to either of them. Usually there are three or four each.

Here’s a sample of the three I got yesterday:

Radio Free Asia: Media Watchdog Says Press Controls on the Increase in Asia

“Myanmar's ranking rose seven notches to 145 in the global index, but Reporters Without Borders said the country's reform process is nonetheless being watched with great interest elsewhere, especially in neighboring countries such as Laos, where the situation of freedom of information has "stagnated alarmingly;" in Cambodia, "where the authorities are on edge;" and in Vietnam, which is "still in the grip of authoritarian single party rule.

The governments and population of these countries are following the development of a new regional model of governance in Burma [Myanmar], a model that is still far from proving itself.

The ranking of Laos fell to 171 from 168 “

http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/press-freedom-02112014182732.html

The Daily Star: Entrepreneurship key in growing jobs, fighting poverty

ACROSS South and Southeast Asia, nations are doing what they can to better prepare their businesses and their citizens to compete in an increasingly interconnected world. The challenges are vast and varied.
From top-ranked Singapore to lowly-ranked Laos, the ease of doing business is all across the board

While Singapore held on to the No. 1 ranking for ease of doing business, Bangladesh was ranked No. 130. That meant doing business in Bangladesh was even more difficult than in Pakistan (110), but easier than in India (134).
Rounding out the “Top 5” for worst in Asia in the World Bank 2014 Doing Business report -- the latest annual assessment of the ease of doing business in economies around the world -- are Timor-Leste (179), Afghanistan (164), Laos (159) and the Marshall Islands (156).

http://www.thedailystar.net/entrepreneurship-key-in-growing-jobs-fighting-poverty-10898

Asia Times: Silence over missing activist in Laos

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/SEA-01-120214.html