Mekong Energy Watch: Satellite imagery suggests construction has quietly started on Laos’ upstream Pak Beng hydropower dam, a 912MW project tied to Laos’ push to become the “Battery of Southeast Asia,” with expected annual output of 4,775GWh and major village and ecosystem trade-offs. Pandemic Readiness: The Lao government, FAO and UNICEF launched ALERT-LAO with a US$17.59M Pandemic Fund grant to strengthen disease surveillance, lab capacity, One Health workforce training, and early-warning systems across all 18 provinces. Cybercrime Crackdown: OpenAI says it disrupted a Southeast Asia-linked scam network that used ChatGPT to create fake identities, translate and tailor messages, and run “Ping, Zing, Sting” style fraud operations, after threat intelligence from WhatsApp. Digital Finance Signals: Guangdong’s free trade zone draft proposes expanding cross-border digital yuan pilots and fintech trials, following earlier e-CNY cross-border payments via CBETS. Biodiversity & Research: A new study warns 74% of surveyed Asian oak species lack living backups in botanical collections, including extremely rare trees in Laos and the region. Skills for Women: Sookmyung Women’s University trained 110 women from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam in digital skills, employment and entrepreneurship through a blended learning program.