Laos in Briefs: US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Charles pledged, on a recent visit to Laos, to expand bilateral cooperation in the area of counter-narcotics to help Laos reach its goal of making the country opium free by the end of 2005. Meanwhile, WHO says the majority of Lao people are still at risk of contracting malaria. And Japan is deciding ways to inject over a billion US dollars into the development of the Greater Mekong Subregion, which includes Laos.