The landscape of Laos is glorious to behold – and its inhabitants radiate inner calm. Ruby Wax travelled there to discover her spiritual side, by way of northern Thailand, a disobedient elephant and a George Clooney lookalike

There are so many movies being produced these days that the premiere of most films hardly merits a second look. But in Laos there is cause for genuine excitement. Thirty-three years after the communist government overthrew the king and seized power, the south-east Asian nation has just produced its first privately funded movie, Good Morning, Luang Prabang.

Ian Gardener had the bright idea of going by bike and boat to the source of the Mekong. Or so he thought

THE PARENTS of a British backpacker, lying critically injured in hospital after being brutally attacked in Australia, were making plans yesterday to fly out to his bedside.

BIOLOGISTS HAVE identified an unknown species of striped rabbit with a red rump in the mountain forests of Laos and Vietnam, an area that has already seen the discovery of a range of previously unrecorded mammals in recent years.

The Trouble With Tigers: The Rise and Fall of South East Asia

PAUL ROBINSON broke Greg Rusedski's mighty serve twice before losing in the men's singles semi-finals at the National Championships two years ago. Yesterday, Robinson advanced to the quarter-finals after deciding that playing in Shropshire was preferable to "sitting around doing nothing in Sweden when I had the week off from coaching".

Competition

AMID THE punditry surrounding the first anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, assertions have been made that the international landmines ban to which she lent her very public support is something of a sham. This was, at least, the view taken by John Sweeney in his documentary, Diana: The Wrong Crusade?, screened on Wednesday on Channel 4, in which the message was clear: don't worry about banning the sale of mines, just try to clear the minefields.

THE United States used deadly nerve gas in top secret operations during the Vietnam War, CNN and Time magazine reported yesterday.

The Independent's photo-history reaches the 1970s. This frank interpretation of the Truman doctrine, photographed in an American position during the invasion of Cambodia, may have been the popular reaction to Communist expansion, but US and South Vietnamese forces were finding it harder than ever to put theory into practice in South East Asia.

This beautiful, tragic country has the distinction of being the most bombed place on earth. It's also difficult to get into, but it's worth the effort, says Gareth Lloyd

Twenty-five years after US raids stopped, unexploded bombs continue to kill and maim

With a new wife and baby, Dirty Harry is ready to come clean. In a frank interview, Clint Eastwood talks about his off-screen demons, his battles with former lover Sondra Locke, and his life in politics