Laos, U.S. to Further Cooperation Against Drugs

   HANOI (May 12) XINHUA - Laos and the United States will 
further  their cooperation in fighting against drugs by 
signing two agreements  in this field, the Pathet Lao News 
Agency reported Tuesday.
   Under one of the agreements, Laos' narcotics control 
project will be  expanded to new areas of Houaphanh 
province, where the two countries  have been working 
together since 1989 in an effort to eliminate opium  
cultivation.
   The U.S. government will provide about 1.64 million U.S. 
dollars for  this new project, according to a press release 
issued by the American  Embassy Monday.
   Under the otherd agreement, the U.S. government will 
provide 380,000  dollars as funds for the existing counter 
narcotics units in Laos as  well as for the creation of new 
ones, said the report.
   Soubanh Sritthirath, Lao Deputy Foreign Minister and 
Chairman of the  Lao National Commission for Drug Control 
and Supervision, and U.S.  Ambassador to the country Wendy 
Chamberlin signed the two agreements  Monday in Vientiane, 
the capital of Laos.
   

Thailand Plans Direct Flight Route to U.S.  

   BANGKOK (May 11) XINHUA - Thais traveling to the United 
States will  be able to enjoy a much shorter flight in the 
future as the country is  planning a direct route via the 
North Pole.
   Monday's Bangkok Post said the International Civil 
Aviation  Organization (ICAO) has agreed on the direct 
route between Thailand and  the United States.
   The new route passes over Laos, Myanmar, China, 
Mongolia, Russia and  the North Pole and will take only 12 
hours. The current route over  India takes 22 to 23 hours.
   The Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Co. (AeroThai), which 
proposed the  route and incorporated it into the flight 
route development plan of  ICAO members, said it has yet to 
seek approval from the countries en  route to install air 
traffic control equipment.
   AeroThai expects to introduce the new route to airlines 
within two  years.