Guardian: Vietnam urged Laos to halt construction of a $3.5bn (2.2bn) hydropower dam on Mekong River pending further study, environmental activists said on Friday. Cambodia, downriver from the Xayaburi dam, accused Laos of failing to consult on the project, activists said. The Mekong River commission (MRC), made up of member states Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, held a three-day meeting in northern Laos to discuss river development projects. The dam in northern Laos, the first of 11 planned for the...