Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Its population was estimated to be around 6.5 million in 2012. A third (33%) of the country's population lives below the international poverty line which means living on less than U.S. $1.25 per day.

Rolling back the years and still looking incredible at the age of 63, the American actress Sharon Stone goes back to her sеxy seductive ways out on a Dolce and Gabbana shoot out in Venice on August 27, 2021. (Photo by Backgrid USA)

Roxy, a Red Labradoodle, Jaku, a Black and Tan Lurcher, Kobe, a White German Shepherd, Rocky, a Black and Tan German Shepherd, and Busy, an English Springer Spaniel Cross, queue outside an Aldi store in Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Phoot by Lucy Ray/PA Media Assignments)

Britain's Queen Elizabeth, second left, sits next to fashion editor Anna Wintour, third left, and Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council (BFC) as they view Richard Quinn's runway show before presenting him with the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, as she visits London Fashion Week's BFC Show Space in central London, Tuesday, February 20, 2018. (Photo by Yui Mok/Pool photo via AP Photo)

A U.S. President Donald Trump mask is seen for sale in a market in Hong Kong, China on December 23, 2019. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

North Korean bodyguards run along a limousine transporting Kim Jong Un upon his arrival in Dong Dang, Vietnam, February 26, 2019. The second meeting of the US President and the North Korean leader, running from 27 to 28 February 2019, focuses on furthering steps towards achieving peace and complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

American model Emily Ratajkowski pulls down her skirt featuring a bikini imprint showing off her abs in New York City on April 24, 2023. (Photo by Christopher Peterson/Splash News and Pictures)

People cool off as they dance in a swimming pool in an event at a local restaurant during a heatwave on July 2, 2023 in Beijing, China. China's capital city and northern parts of the country have experienced unseasonably high temperatures in the last days, sometimes reaching more than 40 degrees celsius, causing local governments to issue heat warnings. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)