NPR People: Michael Sullivan

During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military dropped more bombs on supply routes in Laos than it did on all of Europe during World War II. Laos is paying the price, as the countryside is still riddled with unexploded bombs — many of which look like harmless metal spheres. Bomb disposal units are trying to reclaim the land from tons of unexploded ordnance.

The Mekong River is known as the Cuu Long, or Nine Dragons, in Vietnam, where the waterway splits and flows into the South China Sea. In the Mekong Delta, an economic boom has brought abundance for some, poverty for others, and worries about threats to the river.

Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in Asia. But it hasn't always been that way, and the Mekong River has been key to its periods of prosperity. Recovering from 20th century atrocities, the country now faces a new danger: Development is putting the river and its fish at risk.

On opposite sides of the Mekong River, Laos and Thailand also found themselves in different camps after the communist takeover of Laos in 1975. Legacies of that era still affect the countries today in Southeast Asia's "Golden Triangle," as Thailand thrives and Laos struggles to catch up.

As it winds its way to the South China Sea, the Mekong River runs along Myanmar's remote and often troubled Shan state. The repressive military government in Yangon controls parts of the state, while ethnic militias and warlords rule the others.

The Mekong River, one of the world's longest waterways, has a long and turbulent history. It begins its 3,000-mile journey high on the Tibetan plateau of China's Qinghai province, where its once-nomadic residents try to preserve their culture and traditions against the challenges of modernity.

Prosecutors in the genocide trial of a former Khmer Rouge prison chief demanded a 40-year jail sentence Wednesday for Kaing Guek Eav. They say he is responsible for snuffing out innocent lives and spreading terror across Cambodia. Victims of the Khmer Rouge regime called the requested sentence unacceptable.

Hung Ba Le left Vietnam as a boat person when he was a boy. He returned on Saturday as the commander of a U.S. Navy destroyer. Le is visiting some long-lost relatives while his ship is in Danang, where the first U.S. combat troops came ashore more than 40 years ago.

Two senior U.S. diplomats arrived in Myanmar for talks with that country's leadership and detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. They are the highest-ranking U.S. officials to visit Myanmar — also known as Burma — since 1995 when then U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright visited the country. Tuesday's visit is part of the Obama administration's new policy of engagement with Myanmar's military leadership.

Myanmar's prime minister is among those attending this week's United Nation's General Assembly meeting in New York. His visit comes as the U.S. reviews its policy toward Myanmar — a fact not lost on the country's military leaders. The prime minister is the first senior member of Myanmar's military to attend the annual gathering in 14 years.

The number of refugees crossing into China to escape fighting in Myanmar has slowed. Some 30,000 refugees fled to China while government forces in Myanmar fought rebel militias.

Ten days ago, the only man convicted for the My Lai massacre publicly expressed remorse for what happened there in March 1968. The publicity-shy William Calley told a Kiwanis club lunch there was "not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened. I am very sorry." After his apology, Voice of America expressed interest in having Calley apologize on the air in Vietnam, but few seem interested in hearing it.

Vietnam has some of the most progressive anti-discrimination laws in the world when it comes to people with HIV. So when 15 HIV-positive children from an orphanage in Saigon finally got permission to go to first day of school last week, they hoped for the best. It didn't happen.

There is no doubt Myanmar has a nuclear program. It sent scientists, technicians and army officers to Russia for training in recent years. And Moscow has agreed to supply Myanmar, formerly Burma, with a small nuclear reactor for civilian use. The question is, do the Burmese generals want a nuclear weapon, too?

U.S. Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) is calling for a new U.S. approach to dealing with the military regime in Myanmar. He's spoken with the junta's reclusive leadership and also helped secure the release of an American imprisoned after sneaking into the home of Myanmar's detained opposition leader.