Some people in the southern provinces may face rice shortages next year as flooding destroyed thousands hectares of rice in Champassak province this wet season.
Two weeks of flooding in eight districts of Champassak may destroy most of the more than 18,000 hectares of rice, the provincial disaster management committee reported.
Farmers in the province may not be able to replant their rice crops if the floodwaters in many areas remain high going into next month, Mr Khamtaeng Tiengvoravong told Vientiane Times last week.
The heavy rain in central and southern Laos on the weekend caused the water level of the Mekong River and the level of the floodwaters to rise, he said.
The provincial authorities believe that if the floodwaters recede before September, farmers will be able to replant some 7,000 hectares of farmland.
Most of the farmland is located in Khong, Mounlapamok, Champassak, Phonthong and Sanasomboun districts, but these areas are still under water, said Mr Khamptaeng.
The agriculture and forestry sector has already prepared about 50 tonnes of rice seed to help affected farmers replant, and farmers have provided an additional 60 tonnes.
It has been more than 15 years since the province experienced such widespread flooding. The last time that it was faced with such crises was in 1992 and 1995, but the floodwaters receded after only a few days, he explained.
The most important thing right now is to get assistance from the public, he added.
Two weeks ago, the province encouraged donations from companies, shops and individuals in each district to purchase drinking water and dry food, but they require more for the relief efforts.
T he province must also repair more than 20 irrigation systems so that it can expand the number of fields for dry season rice, Mr Khampaeng said.
The rice grown in Champassak is important because it also supplies Xekong, Saravan and Attapeu provinces.
However, heavy rain in central Laos on the weekend caused the water level of the Mekong River to rise in many places. The water level of Pakxe district actually dropped to 11.89 metres on Saturday and 11.80m yesterday but is expected to rise again to 11.89m today, according to the Meteorology and Hydrology Department.
The level of the Mekong in Savannakhet province rose from 10.56m on Saturday to 10.73m yesterday but is expected to drop to 10.87m today. In Thakhek district of Khammuan province, the Mekong reached 12.50m yesterday and is expected to increase to 12.75m today.
The level of the river in Pakxan district of Borikhamxay province rose from 12.82m on Saturday to 13.27m yesterday, while in Vientiane the level of the Mekong increased from 9.18m to 9.38m and is expected to rise to 9.50m today.
Libyan rebels say final moment has come forTripoli battle(Xinhua)09:33, August 21, 2011 BENGHAZI/TRIPOLI, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Libyan rebels claimed Sunday the finalmoment has come for the battle of Tripoli to topple Muammar Gaddafi, amid mediareports of revolts in the capital against the Libyan leader.
Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice-chairman of the Benghazi-based rebel National TransitionalCouncil (NTC), said "the zero hour has started" and rebels in Tripoli have risen up incoordination with the NTC.
According to al Jazeera, sustained automatic gun fire and a series of explosions rangout in Tripoli overnight, and the fighting inside the city triggered celebrations amongsome rebels and speculation Gaddafi's 41-year rule was sliding towards end.
But Gaddafi's officials insisted early Sunday the revolts had been crushed, a few hoursafter it began.
In an audio recording aired by the Libyan state TV, the Libyan leader said the rebelsdon't represent Libya, calling them "traitors."
Gaddafi's spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, told state press that a small number of rebelforces infiltrated the capital but have been dealt with and the city is safe.
He also said the West's attack on his forces was meant to take Libya's oil.
Meanwhile, Libyan rebels announced they are launching a ground attack on Tripoli incoordination with NATO airstrikes, hours after they captured the key city of Zawiya,some 50 km west of Tripoli.
Senior Chinese official proposes enhancedChina-Laos ties(Xinhua)10:37, August 20, 2011 Zhou Yongkang (L), a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Political and Legal Affairs, meets with Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong (R), in Vientiane, Laos, Aug. 19, 2011. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)
VIENTIANE, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Visiting senior Chinese official Zhou Yongkang laid outa package of measures here Friday to promote China-Laos relations.
In talks with Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, Zhou noted the China-Laosrelationship had entered a new phase of development since the two nationsestablished their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in 2009.
The total volume of bilateral trade exceeded 1 billion U.S. dollars last year, markingyear-on-year growth of more than 40 percent, and China had become the largestforeign investor in Laos, said Zhou, a member of the Standing Committee of thePolitical Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.
China was ready to work with the Lao side to build on the traditional friendship andfurther boost bilateral cooperation to continue propelling the China-Laos relationsforward, he said.
The Chinese guest proposed the two sides should first map out a mid- to long-termplan to guide the overall development of their cooperation and pursue commondevelopment.
Meanwhile, the two neighboring countries needed to expand cooperation in such areasas infrastructure construction, border crossing construction and poverty reduction,Zhou said.
In addition, the two sides should encourage their enterprises to invest in each other'scountry and improve their investment environments, said the senior Chinese official,who also called for more efforts to deepen bilateral people-to-people exchanges.
The two sides, he said, also needed to cooperate more deeply and effectively insecurity, law enforcement, drug control and border management to contribute to thepolitical security and social stability of the two countries.
Thongsing extended a warm welcome to Zhou and the CPC delegation he led andthanked China for its immeasurable selfless aid and support for Laos.
China was a strategic friend of the Lao people, and Laos was willing to join China infurther boosting their friendly relations.
On Thursday, Zhou met Lao Vice President Bounnang Vorachit and the two attendedthe signing ceremony for about a dozen bilateral cooperation agreements.
The CPC delegation arrived here Thursday afternoon after rounding off a visit toNepal, the first leg of Zhou's ongoing five-nation Asian tour, which will also take him toCambodia, Tajikistan and Mongolia.
