Reports of a possible second North Korean nuclear test jolted Asia today while key powers considered punitive action against the communist nation for its first atomic blast.

A Pentagon employee was ordered to destroy documents that identified Mohamed Atta as a terrorist two years before the 2001 attacks, a congressman has said.

The US military says there were fewer bombings and mortar attacks in the Iraqi city of Mosul in July than any month since October.

Rescuers recovered the bodies of seven Americans and nine Vietnamese who died in a helicopter crash while searching for the remains of US soldiers missing in action from the Vietnam War.