Burger King employee Rumi Sekine shows the Kuro Diamond burger, right, and the Kuro Pearl burger at its Shibuya restaurant in Tokyo Tuesday, September 16, 2014. The international hamburger chain in Japan will launch the two new “kuro burger”, or “black burger” menus that sport buns, cheese and sauce all in black color, starting on Friday, Sept. 19, for a limited period. The buns and cheese are darkened with bamboo charcoal while the beef patties made with black-pepper are topped with the garlic sauce using squid ink. (Photo by Koji Sasahara/AP Photo)

A woman takes her souvenir picture with a white fox in front of ice sculptures illuminated by coloured lights during the opening day of the 31st Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in the northern city of Harbin, Heilongjiang province, January 5, 2015. The annual Ice and Snow Festival, organized by China National Tourism Administration and local governments, kicked off on Monday in Harbin, one of the coldest cities in China. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A BASE jumper is pictured against the skyline shrouded in a thick haze during the Kuala Lumpur Tower International Jump in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 02 October 2015. More than 100 BASE jumpers take part in this extreme sport event, which enters its 15th year. The haze hovering over Malaysia is caused by the ongoing plantation and forest fires in the nearby Indonesian provinces of Sumatra and Kalimantan. (Photo by Fazry Ismail/EPA)

Space Shuttle Discovery is towed from the shuttle landing facility to the orbiter processing facility at Kennedy Space Center on April 20, 2010 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Discovery's landing attempts at KSC were scrubbed yesterday due to unacceptable weather conditions. Discovery is returning from a successful mission to the International Space Station. (Photo by Matt Stroshane/Getty Images). CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – APRIL 20 2010

People walk throw the Damascus gate during the Jerusalem Festival of Lights on June 15, 2011 at Jerusalem's Old City, Israel. The festival opened on Wednesday night and will run for a week in the Old City of Jerusalem, hosting Israeli and international artists and creators who will display their installations throughout the week. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Model Amanda Kaspor of Highland, Michigan poses with the CT&T e-Zone Plus electric car is displayed during the press preview for the world automotive media North American International Auto Show at the Cobo Center January 12, 2010 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Bryan Mitchell/Getty Images)

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.