Remnants of a guerilla army, which served the pro-American government until it fell in 1975, emerged from years in hiding.

Thousands of jungle warriors hired by the C.I.A. during the Vietnam War live in fear of the Laotian government.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders agree at summit in Philippines to establish free-trade zone by 2015; pledge to intensify their fight against terrorism, protect region’s migrant workers and improve their campaign against HIV/AIDS; also break from tradition of consensus and noninterference and agree to new charter with broad enforcement powers; group fails to find common ground on how to deal with Myanmar, which has come under fire for its poor human rights record

More than 400 North Korean refugees have gone on a hunger strike to protest poor sanitary conditions and delays in their resettlement in South Korea.

American officials said the men planned to attack government buildings in the Laotian capital, Vientiane, and elsewhere.

Many older Hmong-Americans were shocked by the arrest of Vang Pao, who was accused of conspiring to overthrow the government in Laos, because they felt American prosecutors were turning their backs on a war hero.

“Rescue Dawn,” like many of Werner Herzog’s films, thrusts man up against nature, and nature is not a particularly forgiving adversary.

“Rescue Dawn” is a satisfying genre picture that challenges the viewer’s expectations.

Vang Pao, a former Laotian general accused of being the ringleader in a plot to overthrow the communist government of Laos, was freed on bail in Sacramento. Federal Magistrate Dale Drozd ordered Gen. Vang Pao, who is 77 and a leader of Hmongs in the United States, released on a $1.5 million bond after relatives agreed to post four properties in Sacramento, Fresno and Westminster, Calif., as collateral. Several hundred people gathered outside the courthouse cheered as the general walked out. &#8…

The cheap Chinese products that are flooding Asia are met with appreciation by the region’s poorest people.