Literature of Laos families: Lao-Tai (Tai-Kadai); Mon-Khmer (Austroasiatic); Hmong-Mien (Miao-Yao), and Sino-Tibetan (primarily Tibeto-Burman). As an inland crossroads of Southeast Asia the political history of Laos has been complicated by frequent warfare and colonial conquests by European and regional rivals. As a result, Laos today has cultural influence from France, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Burma, and Cambodia. Traditionally literature is held high regard in Lao society. Lao literature spans a wide range of genres including religious, philosophy, prose, epic or lyric poetry, histories, traditional law and customs, folklore, astrology, rituals, grammar and lexicography, dramas, romances, comedies, and non-fiction. Lao thematic elements frequently combine the
Cambodia–Malaysia relations as well. Previously in 2012, one Cambodian maid died after been starved to death by her employer. Since 2011, Cambodia has banned its domestic workers from travelling to Malaysia. The issues led to protest and criticism from various human rights groups in Cambodia who demanded the Cambodian government stop sending domestic workers until Malaysia adhered strictly to human rights, although many Cambodians continued to explore job opportunities, mainly as domestic workers, in the hope of earning more money than they could at their home country. Following negotiation between the two countries government, Cambodia lifted the ban for its workers to