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Drug Policy In Laos
In 1994, Laos was the world's third largest producer of opium, primarily in the northern provinces. Narcotics trafficking in Laos is difficult to control because of the remoteness of many border areas, their attendant lack of communications, and the scarcity of resources, all of which make stationing officials at many of the border crossings difficult. Several counternarcotics policy initiatives have been undertaken. History During the late 1980s, narcotics control became an important United States concern, because Laos is a major producer of opium and marijuana. In 1987, Laos began to cooperate with the United States in drug control efforts when it requested assistance in providing a viable crop alternative to opium farmers. Increased efforts on counternarcotics cooperation have been evident since January 1990 when a memorandum of understanding on the Bilateral Cooperation of Narcotics Issues was signed. This agreement focused on ways for the United States to provide antinarcot ...
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Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. The country has a population of approximately eight million. Its Capital city, capital and most populous city is Vientiane. The country is characterized by mountainous terrain, Buddhist temples, including the UNESCO's World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang, and French colonial architecture. The country traces its historic and cultural identity to Lan Xang, a kingdom which existed from the 13th to 18th centuries. Through its location, the kingdom was a hub for overland trade. In 1707, Lan Xang split into three kingdoms: Kingdom of Luang Phrabang, Luang Prabang, Kingdom of Vientiane, Vientiane, and Kingdom of Champasak, Champasak. In 1893, these kingdoms were unified under French protection as part of French Indochina. Laos was und ...
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Vietnam War POW/MIA Issue
The Vietnam War POW/MIA issue concerns the fate of United States servicemen who were reported as missing in action (MIA) during the Vietnam War and associated theaters of operation in Southeast Asia. Following the Paris Peace Accords of 1973, 591 U.S. prisoners of war (POWs) were returned during Operation Homecoming. Many of those missing were airmen who were shot down over North Vietnam or Laos. Investigations of these incidents have involved determining whether the men involved survived being shot down; if they did not, the U.S. government made efforts to recover their remains. Progress in resolving these cases was slow until the mid-1980s, when relations between the United States and Vietnam began to improve and more cooperative efforts were undertaken. Normalization of the U.S. relations with Vietnam in the mid-1990s was a culmination of this process. Considerable speculation and investigation have been devoted to a hypothesis that a significant number of missing U.S. servic ...
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CIA Drug Trafficking Allegations
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been accused of involvement in the illegal drug trade. Several works on the subject have received significant attention, including those written by historian Alfred W. McCoy, professor and diplomat Peter Dale Scott, journalists Gary Webb and Alexander Cockburn, and writer Larry Collins. These claims have led to investigations by the federal government of the United States, including hearings and reports by the House of Representatives, Senate, Department of Justice, and the CIA's Inspector General. Their investigations have generally noted that there is no clear evidence CIA itself had ever directly engaged in drug trafficking, although there may have been instances of the organization being indirectly complicit in the activities of others. Background According to Tim Weiner, the Central Intelligence Agency "has been accused of forming alliances of convenience with drug traffickers around the world in the name of anti-Communism" si ...
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Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)
The Golden Triangle is a large, mountainous region of approximately in northeastern Myanmar, northwestern Thailand and northern Laos, centered on the confluence of the Ruak River, Ruak and Mekong rivers. The name "Golden Triangle" was coined by Marshall Green, a U.S. State Department official, in 1971 in a press conference on the opium trade. Today, the Thai side of the river confluence, Sop Ruak, has become a tourist attraction, with the House of Opium Museum, a Hall of Opium, a Golden Triangle Park, and no opium cultivation. The Golden Triangle has been one of the largest opium-producing areas of the world since the 1950s. Most of the world's heroin came from the Golden Triangle until the early 21st century when opium production in Afghanistan increased. Myanmar was the world's second-largest source of opium after Afghanistan up to 2022, producing some 25% of the world's opium, forming part of the Golden Triangle. While opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar had declined year-on- ...
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Crime In Laos
Crime is present in various forms in Laos. By location Vang Vieng The US State Department warns that Vang Vieng is a location in Laos of high risk for tourists in relation to risks of rape and robbery. Many restaurants in the Vang Vieng area offer menu items, particularly “pizzas,” “shakes,” or “teas,” that may contain unknown substances or opiates. These products are often advertised as “happy” or “special” items. These unknown substances or opiates can be dangerous, causing serious illness or even death. South Korea in March 2016 followed thUS anAustraliain issuing a travel warning against trips to Laos’ central province of Xaisomboun, as well as traveling on Route 13 that stretches from Kasi to Phou Khoun, part of the road connection between Vientiane and Luang Prabang. The warning followed a number of recent shootings that involved and killed Chinese nationals working in Laos. Crime by type Theft and petty crime Petty crime, which includes snatch ...
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Time (magazine)
''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published Weekly newspaper, weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on March 3, 1923, and for many years it was run by its influential co-founder, Henry Luce. A European edition (''Time Europe'', formerly known as ''Time Atlantic'') is published in London and also covers the Middle East, Africa, and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition (''Time Asia'') is based in Hong Kong. The South Pacific edition, which covers Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, is based in Sydney. Since 2018, ''Time'' has been owned by Salesforce founder Marc Benioff, who acquired it from Meredith Corporation. Benioff currently publishes the magazine through the company Time USA, LLC. History 20th century ''Time'' has been based in New York City since its first issue published on March 3, 1923 ...
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Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, fourth-most populous city in the European Union and the List of cities proper by population density, 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2022. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of the world's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, culture, Fashion capital, fashion, and gastronomy. Because of its leading role in the French art, arts and Science and technology in France, sciences and its early adoption of extensive street lighting, Paris became known as the City of Light in the 19th century. The City of Paris is the centre of the Île-de-France region, or Paris Region, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 inhabitants in January 2023, or ...
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National Assembly Of Laos
The National Assembly (NA; ) or formally the National Assembly of the Lao People's Democratic Republic () is the highest power organisation of Laos. It is the only branch of government in Laos, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs are subservient to it. The National Assembly meets in Vientiane. Laos is a one-party state, with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party as the sole legal party in the country. Most of the National Assembly's actions rubber stamp (politics), rubber stamp the party's decisions. Efforts have been made to increase the capacity of its members, aiming to strengthen their legislative, oversight, and representational capacities. History The National Assembly was established by the Lao Constitution of 1991. Elections were held in 2021. The Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) took 158 seats in the enlarged 164-member National Assembly while the 6 remaining seats went to independents. In 2017, construction started on a new National Asse ...
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Vang Pao
Vang Pao ( RPA: ''Vaj Pov'' , Lao: ວັງປາວ; 8 December 1929 – 6 January 2011) was a Major general in the Royal Lao Army and later a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States. Early life Vang, an ethnic Hmong, was born on 8 December 1929, in the Hmong village Nonghet, located in Central Xiangkhuang Province, in the northeastern region of Laos, where his father, Neng Chu Vang, was a county leader. Vang began his early life as a farmer until Japanese forces invaded and occupied French Indochina in World War II. His father sent him away to school from the age of 10 to 15 before he launched his military career, joining the French military to protect fellow Hmong during the Japanese invasion. While taking an entrance examination, the captain who was the proctor realized that Vang knew almost no written French. The captain dictated the answers to Vang so he could join the army. Anne Fadiman, author of '' The Spirit Catches You and You Fal ...
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United States Department Of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United States, foreign policy and foreign relations of the United States, relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nations, its primary duties are advising the U.S. president on international relations, administering List of diplomatic missions of the United States, diplomatic missions, negotiating international treaties and agreements, protecting citizens abroad and representing the U.S. at the United Nations. The department is headquartered in the Harry S Truman Building, a few blocks from the White House, in the Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C., Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C.; "Foggy Bottom" is thus sometimes used as a metonym. Established in 1789 as the first administrative arm of the U.S. executive branch, th ...
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Opium
Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is processed chemically to produce heroin and other synthetic opioids for medicinal use and for the illegal drug trade. Opium's main psychoactive alkaloids, primarily morphine, act on μ-opioid receptors, causing analgesia and addiction with long-term use leading to tolerance, dependence, and increased cancer risk. The latex also contains the closely related opiates codeine and thebaine, and non-analgesic alkaloids such as papaverine and noscapine. The traditional, labor-intensive method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ("score") the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off and dehydrated. The English word for opium is loan word, borrowed fro ...
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