RSS Breaking News - Asia

S. Korean airlines Korean Air and Asiana ban shark fin as cargo

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 15:54:00 GMT

June 20, 2013 3:54 PM

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea's two largest airlines, Korean Air and Asiana, said Thursday they had both decided to ban shark fin from their cargo flights as part of a growing global campaign against the Asian delicacy.

India's military steps up rescue on monsoon toll fears

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 15:52:00 GMT

June 20, 2013 3:52 PM

DEHRADUN, India (AFP) - India's military stepped up efforts on Thursday to reach villages and towns cut off by flash floods and landslides in the country's north as officials warned at least 1,000 people may have been killed.

Taleban offers to free US soldier in exchange for their senior operatives

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 15:43:00 GMT

June 20, 2013 3:43 PM

ISLAMABAD (AP) - The Afghan Taleban say they are ready to hand over a US soldier held captive since 2009 in exchange for five of their senior operatives being held at the Guantanamo Bay prison.

South Korea adopts tougher penalties for sex offenders

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 15:26:00 GMT

June 20, 2013 3:26 PM

SEOUL (AP) - South Korea says it's taking tougher action against sex offenders by allowing plaintiffs other than the direct targets of sexual violence to press charges of rape or sexual harassment.

India sets up elaborate system to tap phone calls, e-mail

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 15:24:00 GMT

June 20, 2013 3:24 PM

NEW DELHI (REUTERS) - India has launched a wide-ranging surveillance programme that will give its security agencies and even income tax officials the ability to tap directly into e-mails and phone calls without oversight by courts or parliament, several sources said.

Mongolia confronts smog with launch of first wind farm

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 15:17:00 GMT

June 20, 2013 3:17 PM

ULAN BATOR (AFP) - Mongolia on Thursday opened its first wind farm, a landmark US$122 million (S$154 million) project that aims to shift the country's reliance on coal and tackle the pollution choking its capital Ulan Bator.

China astronaut conducts lesson from space

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 14:41:00 GMT

June 20, 2013 2:41 PM

BEIJING (AFP) - A Chinese astronaut orbiting more than 300 kilometres above the Earth's surface delivered a video class to children across the country on Thursday, state television showed in a live broadcast.

Tibetan nun dies in self-immolation attempt: Reports

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 14:09:00 GMT

June 20, 2013 2:09 PM

BEIJING (AFP) - A Tibetan nun who last week set fire to herself in protest at Chinese rule has died, a US-based broadcaster and rights group said.

1 killed, 5 injured in helicopter crash in Nepal

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 11:56:00 GMT

June 20, 2013 11:56 AM

KATHMANDU (AP) - A helicopter has crashed in remote northwestern Nepal, killing one passenger and injuring five other people on board.

China jails 11 for extremist crimes in Muslim west

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 11:55:00 GMT

June 20, 2013 11:55 AM

BEIJING (AP) - China says it has sentenced 11 people for inciting religious extremism and related crimes in the northwestern Muslim region of Xinjiang.

Death toll could rise in monsoon floods, says India PM

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 10:19:00 GMT

June 20, 2013 10:19 AM

LUCKNOW, India (AP) - Monsoon flooding that has stranded thousands of people and caused landslides in northern India has killed almost 120 people, and the prime minister said the toll could rise substantially.

Japan's Abe: fully prepared to restart talks with China

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 06:01:00 GMT

June 20, 2013 6:01 AM

LONDON (REUTERS) - Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sought on Wednesday to repair some of the damage a row over disputed islands has done to its relationship with China, and said his country needed to prove his stimulus drive would not end in a debt crisis.

Japan formally approves new nuclear safety requirements

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 01:09:00 GMT

June 20, 2013 1:09 AM

TOKYO (AP) - Japan's nuclear watchdog formally approved a set of new safety requirements for atomic power plants on Wednesday, paving the way for the reopening of facilities shut down since the Fukushima disaster in a move critics charged was too hasty.

UN's Ban meets China's Xi for talks on North Korea, Syria

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:24:00 GMT

June 19, 2013 11:24 PM

BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese president Xi Jinping and UN chief Ban Ki Moon on Wednesday discussed the Korean peninsula and Syria, state media reported, as Mr Ban's visit to Beijing was overshadowed by a deadly attack on a UN compound in Somalia.

Pakistani girl killed in Kashmir border firing: Officials

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:03:00 GMT

June 19, 2013 10:03 PM

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - A Pakistani girl was killed on Wednesday when Indian troops opened fire across the de facto border that divides disputed Kashmir between the two nuclear-armed rivals, officials said.

North Korea says is willing to return to nuclear talks

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:41:00 GMT

June 19, 2013 9:41 PM

BEIJING (REUTERS) - North Korea is willing to resolve the dispute over its nuclear programme peacefully through talks, including returning to stalled six-party talks process, China's Foreign Ministry cited a senior North Korean diplomat as saying on Wednesday.

Iraq suicide bomber kills 5 ahead of provincial vote

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:22:00 GMT

June 19, 2013 7:22 PM

MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) - A suicide bomb attack in north Iraq on Wednesday killed the leader of a local political party and four relatives, officials said, on the eve of provincial elections his bloc was to participate in.

China completes Internet, phone monitoring scheme for Tibet

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:52:00 GMT

June 19, 2013 6:52 PM

BEIJING (REUTERS) - China has completed a monitoring scheme in restive Tibet that requires all telephone and internet users to register under their real names, state media said on Wednesday, as part of a campaign to crack down on what officials describe as rumours.

22 dead, 18 missing in monsoon floods in Nepal

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:56:00 GMT

June 19, 2013 5:56 PM

KATHMANDU (AFP) - At least 22 people have been killed in landslides and floods triggered by heavy monsoon rain in remote parts of Nepal, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.

China arrests man who planned Tiananmen protest: Wife

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:47:00 GMT

June 19, 2013 5:47 PM

BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese authorities have arrested a man who planned to protest on the 24th anniversary of the Tiananmen square crackdown on a charge of "inciting state subversion," his wife and an advocacy group said on Wednesday.

China executes official for child rapes after online uproar

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:30:00 GMT

June 19, 2013 4:30 PM

BEIJING (REUTERS) - Authorities in central China executed a former Communist Party official for raping 11 underage girls, state media said on Wednesday, following an online uproar about the latest case of abuse of power.

S. Korea to buy European missiles after US refusal

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:01:00 GMT

June 19, 2013 4:01 PM

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea will buy European bunker-busting missiles as the United States refused to sell the same kind of weapons to the country, the state procurement agency said on Wednesday.

Activists targeting dog meat festival in south China

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:56:00 GMT

June 19, 2013 3:56 PM

BEIJING (AFP) - A festival dedicated to dog meat in southern China has been targeted by protesting animal lovers, who have won a minor concession from local officials, an activist said on Wednesday.

Japan's Amari says cabinet may be reshuffled late this year

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:34:00 GMT

June 19, 2013 3:34 PM

TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japanese Economics Minister Akira Amari said on Wednesday there may be a cabinet reshuffle late this year, at the same that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party makes top changes.

Japan ruling party exec apologises for Fukushima disaster gaffe

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:15:00 GMT

June 19, 2013 3:15 PM

TOKYO (REUTERS) - The policy chief of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party apologised on Wednesday and withdrew remarks that appeared to make light of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, adding it was up to the premier whether she would keep her job.