Laos appoints new president, prime minister

Laos’s

National Assembly appointed Communist Party chief Bounnhang Vorachit as the country’s new president and named foreign minister Thongloun Sisoulith as prime minister yesterday. The picks are seen by many analysts as a continuation of the status quo in Laos, where communists have ruled since the end of the Vietnam War. Bounnhang was appointed the Communist Party’s leader in January. The National Assembly completed the process of nomination and voting for both candidates in around an hour. (Reuters)