NewsTracker Answers for week of July 16, 2012

Q: Hillary Rodham Clinton became the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Laos in more than five decades, gauging whether a place the United States pummeled with bombs during the Vietnam War could evolve into a new foothold of American influence in Asia. Where is Laos on this map?

Circle the area on this map

Q: The U.S. dropped more than 2 million tons of bombs on Laos between 1964 and 1973 in an attempt to stop the movement of enemy troops and weapons during the Vietnam War. Vietnam is . . .

A. North of Laos

B. East of Laos

C. South of Laos

D. West of Laos

B. Laos is bordered by Burma and China to the north, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west. The U.S. dropped about a ton of explosives for each Laotian man, woman and child. That exceeded the amount dropped on Germany and Japan together in World War II, making Laos the most heavily bombed nation per person in history.

Q: Clinton met with Laos' leaders in the capital of . . .

A. Phnom Penh

B. Bangkok

C. Hanoi

D. Vientiane

D. With a population of 754,000, Vientiane also is the largest city in Laos. Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia. Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, and Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam.

Q: Laos has what kind of government?

A. Absolute monarchy

B. Federal republic

C. Communist state

D. Constitutional monarchy

C. The government is run by the Communist Party, and five of the nine members of the Politburo, including the prime minister, Thongsing Thammavong, who met with Clinton, are veterans of the Pathet Lao guerrilla group that supported North Vietnam against the United States during the war.

Q: Wary of China's growing influence, the United States hopes to forge closer ties to Laos as it has recently with Vietnam. Vietnam feels threatened by China's claims to the resource-rich waters off the Vietnamese coast. What is the name of that body of water?

A. South China Sea

B. Bongo Strait

C. Indian Ocean

D. Philippine Sea

A. The South China Sea has become Asia's biggest potential military flashpoint as China's sovereignty claim over a huge, looping area has set it against Vietnam and the Philippines as the three countries race to tap possibly huge oil reserves.