The U.S. State Department is urging Laos to investigate allegations that the Laotian military may have massacred children of the country's Hmong ethnic minority.A department spokesman (Adam Ereli) says the United States is taking the reports seriously and has consistently urged Laos to respect the human rights of its citizens. Laos has denied the massacre reports.
In another development, Laos has handed over to U.S. authorities the remains of at least two American soldiers killed in Laos during the Vietnam War. U.S. Ambassador to Laos Patricia Haslach and Lao Deputy Foreign Minister Phongsavath Boupha attended a formal repatriation ceremony Monday in southern Savannakhet province.
A senior North Korean official is dismissing claims that Pyongyang is preparing for a missile test. North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon told reporters at the United Nations that reports that North Korea is getting ready to launch a ballistic missile is, in his words, "only rumor and guess."
The U.S. military in Iraq says coalition forces struck a building in Fallujah early today (Tuesday) where militants loyal to wanted terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were meeting. Officials say an unknown number of militants were killed in the precision strike, after intelligence confirmed that terrorists at the site were planning attacks.
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