• UN chief calls on North Korea to return to talks

  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Sunday said he was concerned over North Korea's latest short-range missile launches and called on Pyongyang to return to the six-party talks on its controversial nuclear programme. The communist regime broke off talks with South Korea, China, the US, Japan and Russia on its nuclear programme in 2009, after the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning ...

• Pakistani toll in Siachen avalanche rises to 128

  The death toll in an avalanche in the Siachen glacier region last year has risen to 128, following the recovery of three more bodies, the Pakistani military said. The bodies of three soldiers were recovered from Gayari sector of Siachen Saturday, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. On April 7, 2012, at least 140 soldiers of the 6 Northern Light Infantry Battalion and a few civilians ...

• Sarabjit death probe Pakistani official may visit India

  A one-man inquiry tribunal comprising Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi of Lahore High Court may visit India to complete the judicial inquiry into the death of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh, a media report said. Sarabjit Singh, an Indian on death row in Pakistan, died May 2 after a group of Pakistani prisoners attacked him April 26 Kot Lakhpat Jail. Sarabjit was on death row since 1990 ...

• Deadly rains affect 200000 in China

  Continuous rainfall has claimed one life and affecting some 200,000 people in southwest China, authorities said Sunday. The rains started Thursday and had battered 14 counties in Guangxi region, Xinhua reported. The downpour damaged or destroyed 561 houses and ruined 12,120 hectares of crops, resulting in direct economic losses of about $24 ...

• Japan clarifies report on North Korean missile launches

  While confirming North Korea's missile launches Saturday, the Japanese government clarified none of the missiles landed in its territorial waters, Xinhua reported. South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, citing its country's defence ministry, had reported that North Korea launched three short-range guided missiles into the Sea of Japan. The ministry had detected two missiles being launched in the ...

• Sectarian Violence Kills 11 in Iraq

  It was a violent day in Iraq Saturday with at least 11 people killed and 10 policemen kidnapped as hatred simmers between the ruling Shi'ite majority and the Sunni minority. Gunmen broke into the home of an anti-terrorism policeman in the Baghdad suburb of Rasheed, killing him, his wife, and two children. Another security officer was killed elsewhere in Rasheed. Police say gunmen killed ...

• Pope Church Must Help Poorest Not Dissect Theology

  VATICAN CITY Pope Francis shared personal moments with 200,000 people on Saturday, telling them he sometimes nods off while praying at the end of a long day and that it "breaks my heartrdquo; that the death of a homeless person is not news. Francis, who has made straight talk and simplicity a hallmark of his papacy, made his unscripted comments in answers to questions by four people at ...

• Top Pakistani Politician Gunned Down in Karachi

  A top Pakistani politician has been shot and killed in Karachi. Police say Zahra Shahid Hussain was shot twice in the head Saturday during an attempted street robbery outside her home. She died on the way to the hospital. A spokesman for Hussain's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, calls her killing an act of terrorism. Hussain was a senior vice president of PTI, which ...

• Philippine Workers in Taiwan Feel Backlash

  MANILA -- Advocates for Philippine migrant workers say they are concerned about the effects of a hiring freeze Taiwan's government has put in place against the Philippines. The move came less than a week after a Philippine Coast Guard crew admitted shooting at a Taiwanese vessel, killing a fisherman. Statistics from ...

• German minister calls EU move on China solar grave mistake

  Reuters © Germany's Vice Chancellor and Free Democratic Party (FDP) Chairman Philipp Roesler attends the second day of an extraordinary FDP Party meeting in Nuremberg May 5, 2013. REUTERS/Kai ...

• China Just Endorsed Construction Of Its Biggest Hydropower Dam Yet

  reported on Wednesday that China’s environmental ministry has okayed the construction of a new hydroelectric dam on the Dadu River in the Sichuan province, which when completed will be the country’s largest. China’s energy mix was 9.4 percent renewable as of 2011, and the Sichuan project is part of the country’s effort to boost itself to 15 percent by 2020. Hydroelectric ...

• Santiago Harassment of Filipinos in Taiwan may warrant MECO abolition

  Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines -- Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago warned on Sunday that injuries sustained by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Taiwanese attackers could be considered "an act of aggression" that could serve as basis for the fold-up of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taipei. "The 87,000 overseas ...

• North Korea fires projectile into waters off eastern coast

  SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea fired a projectile into waters off its eastern coast Sunday, a day after launching three short-range missiles in the same area, officials said. North Korea routinely test-launches short-range missiles. But the latest launches came during a period of tentative diplomacy aimed at easing recent tension, including near-daily threats by North Korea to attack ...

• Luc Bessons EuropaCorp Chinas Fundamental to Co-Produce Transporter Films

  PHOTOS: Star-Studded Jury Lands in Cannes EuropaCorp and Fundamental will co-finance, produce and distribute the next three installments in the Transporter franchise (parts 4, 5 and 6). The projects will be budgeted from $30 million to $40 million; at least one of the films will likely shoot in China. No word yet on whether Jason Statham is staying on as the franchise's star. The ...

• Japan film makes splash at Cannes

  The politics of immigration in Japan involve anxieties about national identity and worries about crime. Looking at other countries with large numbers of immigrants, the Japanese government has said ';no thanks.'; There are, however, strong economic reasons for Japan to let down the drawbridges. ...

• Harry Potters Quidditch invented after Rowling had tiffwith her boyfriend

  J K Rowling had with her boyfriend, in a Manchester hotel room, resulted in the idea that led to creation of the most gripping sport in 'wizarding world'. Quidditch - the sport which is one of the most famous elements of ...

• Defending champion China on winning start at Sudirman Cup

  China started their defending journey by sweeping India 5-0 at the 13th Sudirman Cup world team badminton championships on Sunday in Kuala Lumpur.Looking forward to winning a historical five-in-a-row Sudirman Cup, China opened with Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei's victory over Tarun Kona/Ashwini Ponnappa in mixed doubles event at 21-10, 21-13. The Chinese pair ranked third in the world while their ...

• Bloomberg snooping scandal alerts China on data security

  /enpproperty--> BEIJING - The recent snooping scandal involving global financial information and news provider Bloomberg LP has sounded an alarm for the Chinese financial industry and its heavy reliance on foreign data services. Bloomberg LP announced on Friday the appointment of former IBM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Samuel J. Palmisano as an independent adviser regarding privacy ...

• Twins recruited to help promote science for Royal Institute of Australia

  MEET Sara and Sanja Krneta - the identical twins recruited by the RiAus Science Exchange to help peak their peers' interest in science as an area of study. The Year 12 Australian Science and Mathematics School students, who came to Adelaide as Bosnian refugees in 2001, are producing a series of online videos to promote science as fun and exciting. "What we've found is that children ...

• Turner from the Tate The Making of a Master exhibition breaks South Australia Art gallery records

  AN exhibition of works by one of Britain's greatest artists has broken the Art Gallery of South Australia's attendance record for paid exhibitions staged in the past 25 years. The gallery's communications manager, Marika Lucas-Edwards, said yesterday that Turner from the Tate: The Making of a Master had eclipsed the previous record-holder, Egyptian Antiquities from the Louvre, which ...

• Boracay hotels resorts hit by Taiwan tourist cancellations

  Boracay Photo by Don Lejano/INQUIRER.net ILOILO CITY, Philippines -- Hotels and resorts on Boracay Island have been reeling from the cancellation of bookings of Taiwanese tourists amid the diplomatic row following the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by Filipino coast guards, according to travel operators. Henry Chusuey, chair of the Boracay Foundation Inc. (BFI), said several resorts catering ...

• Australia coach Robbie Deans announces squad to face Lions – video

  despite being left out of the initial Wallabies squad . Deans included three uncapped players in his squad to face the Lions on their Australia tour, but said it was not the end for players who hadn't been named as there are still six more places to be ...

• Tajik president arrives for China visit

  Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon arrived in Beijing on Sunday afternoon, kicking off his China visit.During his stay in China, Rakhmon is scheduled to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and meet with top Chinese legislator Zhang Dejiang and Vice Premier Zhang ...

• US lottery winner scoops $590.5-million jackpot

  WASHINGTON: One ticket-holder won a record Powerball lottery jackpot of more than $590 million, organizers said today, ending a days-long American quest for a life-changing payout. The winning numbers -- 10, 13, 14, 22, 52 and a Powerball of 11 -- were drawn just before 11:00 pm eastern time (0300 GMT Sunday) and the winning ticket was sold in Florida, according to the competition's ...

• US begins probe into commuter train crashMore than 60 people were hospitalized on Friday night after an eastbound commuter train derailed and collided with a westbound passenger train on an adjacent track.

  Federal investigators on Saturday searched for the cause of a rush-hour train crash in Connecticut that injured dozens of people commuting home from New York City, three of them critically. More than 60 people were hospitalized on Friday night after an eastbound commuter train derailed and collided with a westbound passenger train on an adjacent track near the Connecticut suburb of Fairfield. ...

• Syrian Town of Qusair Under Fire

  Qusair has been under fire for weeks as government troops seek to re-capture it with airstrikes and shelling. The town is strategically important because it links the capital, Damascus, with the coast. Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he will not step down before next year's elections. Mr. Assad's comments were published Saturday in the Argentine newspaper ...

• Indian Chinese Leaders Meet to Strengthen Ties

  China says placing India first on the itinerary of new Premiere Li Keqiang demonstrates the importance Beijing places on the relationship between the two countries. The Chinese premier and his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, are expected to address how to smooth over a lingering border dispute - a root cause of their trust deficit. The Chinese leader's visit comes ...

• Sarabjits murder Pak judge may visit India

  Justice Naqvi of the Lahore high court is investigating the death of Sarabjit who died on May 2 following a brutal assault by prisoners on April 26 within Kot Lakhpat Jail ...

• Japan PM vows to seek talks with North Korea over kidnapping

  Shinzo Abe made the comment after a surprise visit to North Korea by one of his advisers last week has irritated the United States and South Korea as a possible damper to their efforts to forge a united front against Pyongyang. "I want to pursue negotiations or dialogue" with North Korea, he told reporters in Fukuoka, southern Japan, according to Japanese media. "I will definitely ...

• North Korea Launches Short-Range Missile Again – Report

  TOKYO, May 19 (RIA Novosti) – North Korea launched on Sunday another short-range missile, a day after firing three short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan, Yonhap news agency reported, referring to South Korea’ Defense Ministry. The missile was reportedly launched in the second half of the day from North Korea’s eastern coast and fell into the Sea of Japan. There were no ...

• North Korea trying to improve its missiles accuracy say experts

  Although it's a usual practice for North Korea to test its missiles, but the latest series of three short-range guided missiles fired by it into its eastern waters has left the South Korea worried.In March, North Korea launched what appeared to be two KN-02 missiles off its east coast. Experts believe the country is trying to improve the range and accuracy of its arsenal.North Korea ...

• Afghanistans Karzai seeks Indian military aid amid tensions with Pakistan

  KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai plans to discuss potential arms deals with Indian officials during a trip to New Delhi this week, officials said, at a time when tensions are running high on Afghanistan's disputed border with ...

• Boat with 150 capsizes off Myanmar UN

  This file photo shows Rohingya people, pictured on a fishing boat on November 7, 2012.(Photo:Agencies) A boat carrying up to 150 Rohingya Muslims fleeing a cyclone has capsized off Myanmar's coast, the UN said on Tuesday, as the storm threatened to strike flood-prone Rakhine State over coming days. The boat went missing on Monday night after it left Pauktaw township, a spokeswoman for the ...

• Japanese PMs advisor arrives in DPRK -- local media

  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's advisor Isao Iijima arrived in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), reported Japan's Kyodo News Agency Tuesday. Kyodo said that the purpose of Iijima's visit to the DPRK is ...

• North Korea tests another missile South

  NORTH Korea has test-fired a short-range missile off its east coast, its fourth in two days, a Seoul official says. The guided missile was fired into the East Sea (Sea of Japan) on Sunday afternoon, a defence ministry spokesman said without elaborating. On Saturday the communist state fired three short-range missiles off the east coast, apparently as part of a military drill, at a time when ...

• Karachi Residents Re-Do Last Weeks Election

  Pakistani politician and former cricket star Imran Kahn has blamed the killing of a top member of his political party on a rival party, as voters in Karachi re-vote a parliamentary election originally held last ...

• Video China turns to age-old solution for rural elderly

  A new scheme rolling out in Chinese villages enlists 'young elderly' people to care for the very elderly left behind as young workers rush to the big cities. Max Duncan ...

• Aussie trio solid in Japan

  Brendan Jones, Paul Sheehan and Scott Strange have recorded top-15 finishes at the PGA Championship Nissin Cupnoodles Cup on Sunday.The trio finished tied for 15th at two over at the Sobu Country Club Sohbu Course near Tokyo, with Jones and Strange the best of the group on the final day with even-par 71s while Sheehan shot two over.South Korea's Kim Hyung-Sung claimed the Japan Golf Tour ...

• Closer ties between China India to add extra glamour to BRICS

  Only weeks after Chinese President Xi Jinping had a much-publicized meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Durban on the sidelines of a BRICS summit, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is heading for New Delhi on Sunday on the first leg of his maiden tour abroad. Such a short time interval in top-level contacts between the two Asian giants gives the impression the Chinese dragon and the ...

• Cannes QED China’s Huayi Brothers Form Co-Production Partnership

  CANNES, France – Chinese film studio Huayi Brothers has signed a strategic co-production and distribution agreement with QED International. The new partners will first work together on the release ...

• China growth to halve

  Beijing-based economist Michael Pettis has carved out through his "China Financial Markets" blog a distinct position with his commentaries on the Chinese economy, notably with his consideration of the difficulties it faces with its necessary rebalancing towards a more consumption-based model. Asia Times Online here draws the attention of Pettis' latest insightful analysis to a ...

• Oxbow Wins Preakness Orb Finishes 4th

  Oxbow, ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens and trained by veteran trainer Wayne Lukas, Saturday led the Preakness in Baltimore, Maryland from start to finish. Oxbow was the surprise winner with 15-to-1 odds. Itsmyluckyday finished second and Mylute was third. Kentucky Derby champion and favorite Orb finished fourth in the Preakness -- the second jewel in horse racing's Triple ...

• One Winning Ticket in Largest US Powerball Drawing Ever

  Millions of people across the U.S. have been waiting anxiously to hear the results of a record U.S. Powerball lottery drawing late Saturday worth $590.5 ...

• UN concerned over North Korea missile test

  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has voiced concern over North Korea's launch of short-range missiles. He urged North Korea to refrain from further launches and return to stalled nuclear talks with world powers. Mr Ban, who spoke to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti during a visit to Moscow, called North Korea's launch of three short-range missiles from its east coast yesterday a ...

• Support rate for Japans Abe down to 70.9 pct

  Support rate for the Cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has edged down almost 2 percent to 70.9 percent, compared with 72.1 percent in the previous poll last month, according to a Kyodo News survey showed on Sunday.It was the fourth time that the Cabinet approval rating has surpassed 70 percent in the monthly surveys since Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) took power in ...

More Asia Pacific News