Local authorities will beef up village security forces to protect wild elephants from poaching in Phou Khaokhouay, or ‘ Buffalo Horn Mountain ', National Protected Area after five elephants were shot dead a few weeks ago.
Villagers said two of the five elephants died in Ban Na in Thaphabath district of Borikhamxay province.
The remainder, including a juvenile, were found in Ban Yangkheua in the same district...more >>
Ban Na, located 82km south of Vientiane , relies heavily on tourism income derived from its pachyderms.
The town boasts an elephant observation tower which has proven popular with visitors wanting to see elephants in their natural environment.
While the motivation for the killing has yet to be proven, officials suspect commercial motives.
Poachers usually kill elephants for their valuable body parts, namely tusks, trunks, teeth and tails.
Deputy Head of Phou Khaokhuay National Protected Area, Mr That Keothone, said authorities were still analysing the bullets for clues.
“We are encouraging people in the 10 villages living nearby the protected area to be our ‘eyes and ears', as well as to report strange sightings or incidents to authorities immediately,” he said.
Yesterday, district authorities met with residents of the 10 villages to discuss preventive measures as well as how to boost villagers' participation in the protection of elephants from poaching.
Head of tour guides at Ban Na, Mr Bounthanom Inthilath, said Thaphabath district's Agriculture, Forestry and Tourism Office had issued a notice barring villagers from interfering with the elephant remains.
“Those who interfere with the dead elephants will be considered to have been associated with the crime,” he said.
“At the meeting we agreed to add extra village security force patrols to protect the conservation area. The reason is because village security men know a lot about the protected area.”
People in Ban Na say the elephants are their most important source of income, and losing them would mean hardship for many.
Mr Bounthanom said the villagers had been earning income from tourists coming to watch wild elephants since the opening of the elephant observation tower in April, 2005.
Villagers benefited from domestic and overseas visitors who spent money on home-stay accommodation, tower entry fees, village tour guides, food and the purchase of hand-made products and souvenirs from the village.
Mr Bounthanom said last year the village earned about 100 million kip from tourists coming to see the elephants.
“More tourists now want to see the elephants, but my concern is that if elephants are scared of poachers, they won't come to the tower and finally no tourists will come here. All of us will be affected,” he said.
It was unclear how many wild elephants there are in Phou Khaokhouay, but Mr Bounthanom said about 40 elephants were reported in 2005.
Meanwhile, officials said one elephant was also reported killed in Phou Phanang National Protected Area. They called for urgent attention from the relevant sectors to address the issue.
Arenowned pop group from the Republic of Korea, Paran, will perform for Lao fans on April 5 at the National Football Stadium in Vientiane to celebrate the first anniversary of Tigo, the brand name of the Millicom Lao Company.
The company was established in 2002 as a joint venture between the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and Millicom International Cellular S.A. It launched a mobile prepaid service on April in 2003.
The five member group, consisting of Cho Jong Hyuk (lead vocalist), Yang Seung Ho, Choi Sung Wook, Lee Soo In and Kim Jae Seob, will entertain the audience with songs from their latest album and Korean style dance moves...more info and photos>>
“We want to give our customers a special present to help us celebrate the first anniversary of our company; Paran is popular in the Republic of Korea and also in Laos ,” said Tigo's Assistant Marketing Manager, Mr Phouniphon Phanthavong
He said the concert will allow customers to meet and greet their favourite singers.
“People who want to attend the concert can purchase tickets through our phone service,” Mr Phouniphon said.
The concert will also feature local artists, including popular rock band The Cells, rappers L.O.G., pop groups Overdance and Modern Dance, and punk–rock bands Punky Doll, Aluna, Sam, Nalin, Jeiy. Newly formed rock group Uluvus will support the international headline act.
The name Paran is an acronym comprising the band members stage names, and means ‘big bang'. The group of five boys, aged between 15 and 23, trained in singing and dancing for two years before recording and releasing their debut album in 2005.
The song First Love , written by Von Tea Yong, was a hit on radio and TV in Korea .
In 2006, the group released their second album, under the guidance of Gary Hass, who has produced an album for the band Usher. Korean artists Kim Tea Woo, G.O.D. and PJ also featured on Paran's album.
All of the band members can speak English and Japanese fluently, so they are promoting themselves to overseas markets. Their latest album is popular in several Asian countries.
Indee Records, the most popular music industry in Laos, officially released their new artist, Nalin Daravong, to the public on 11th December 2007.
Young talented Narin, 19, is now studying at the faculty of Economic, National University of Laos. She loves singing and has been singing since she was very young for many occations. The most outstanding of her performance was during the "Close up music contest award 2006" where she had to compete with more than 100 contestants and she was the winner in that time.
Her first single album entitled "Wao Bar Bar" or "Why Do You Say That?" draws inspiration from modern punk, 90s alterna-pop, 50s rock and the music of the Caribbean. The song composers for this album was Lao producer "Mee Sourinthone" in collaboration with versatile Indee artists such as Aluna, Silvia, Tou and the Cells.
