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Gold Diggers Stuck Behind a 50cm Gap
Seven villagers have been trapped inside a flooded cave in Xaisomboun province since May 19 after flash flooding blocked the exit while they were searching for gold. There has been no contact with them since. An eighth member of the group managed to swim out through rising water and raised the alarm. Rescuers, including Thai cave diver Kengkard Bongkawong and Finnish specialist Mikko Paasi, both veterans of the 2018 Tham Luang operation, have pushed about a hundred meters into the flooded passages and believe the seven are sheltering on an elevated ledge about 30 meters further in, where airflow is continuous. The last physical obstacle is a gap 50 centimeters wide that’s been clogged with sediment. "The route is not complicated but the problem is the space," Kengkard told reporters. Four surface shafts above the cave system are also being look into as a backup route. Authorities had repeatedly warned villagers that the cave was unsafe.
Read more: CNA (air shafts), Straits Times (gold and hunting), The National (meters remaining), Sydney Morning Herald (rescue volunteer leader)
Battle-Tested in Ukraine, Teaching in Vientiane
Russia's Eastern Military District has arrived in Laos to run special units of the Lao People's Army through the Typhoon-2026 training course, with the joint Laros-2026 exercises to follow. The Russian Defense Ministry said the welcoming ceremony unfolded "in an atmosphere of friendship and mutual respect." Lao troops also got a look at some of the latest Russian hardware that the ministry said has been "tested in real combat conditions" in Ukraine.
Read more: Anadolu Agency
Phu My Plants Its Flag on the Bolaven
PVFCCo, Vietnam's state fertilizer giant, spent a few days last week running technical workshops in Attapeu and Sekong's Bolaven Plateau, tying together fertilizer sales with soil evaluations, cultivation seminars, and demonstration plots. Sugarcane fields at TTC Attapeu's Station No. 1 using the full PVFCCo package were able to muster 75 tons of output per hectare last year, and that’s the highest average yield in the region, according to the company. The fields currently in production will stay on PVFCCo's nutrition program through this year. It’s another foothold for Vietnamese agribusiness on a plateau that’s increasingly being farmed by Lao neighbors.
Read more: The Investor
Princess Aiko Returns to Laos in Tokyo
Laos Festival 2026, in its 14th edition, ran May 23 and 24 in Tokyo, bringing thousands of celebrants to two days of traditional dance, food, and handicrafts. The headliner was Princess Aiko, however, who attended for the first time since her November 2025 trip to Vientiane, which was itself her first official overseas visit as an adult imperial. The gesture is an indication of how seriously Tokyo is about investing in Laos as a soft-power foothold. Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane went to Tokyo from Vientiane for the opening, meeting on the sidelines with Shinako Tsuchiya of the Japan-Laos Parliamentary Friendship Association and Susumu Takahashi of the Saitama-Laos Friendship Association.
Read more: The Star, Travel and Tour World
That's all for this week, thanks for reading. Your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back- hit reply and tell us what you think.
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