Asia

Taliban attack kills 22 people in Afghanistan

Monday, 15 August 2011

Taliban suicide bombers killed at least 22 people in a bold attack on a Governor's compound in central Afghanistan during a security meeting yesterday, officials said, with gun battles and several blasts heard before the assault was put down.

Afghanistan: British soldier killed on foot patrol

Monday, 15 August 2011

A British soldier has been killed by an explosion in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said.

'Corruption' politician returns to Indonesia from Colombia

Monday, 15 August 2011

An Indonesian politician has returned after three months as a fugitive to face corruption charges in a case that has riveted the nation and tested its shaky reputation for fighting corruption.

Chinese protesters force plant shutdown

Monday, 15 August 2011

Authorities in north-eastern China ordered a petrochemical plant to be shut down immediately yesterday after thousands of people demonstrated to demand the relocation of the factory, which is at the centre of a toxic-spill scare.

Two detained as bomb blast kills 12 in Pakistan

Monday, 15 August 2011

A bomb attached to a timer ripped through a two-story hotel in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province yesterday, reducing the building to rubble and killing 12 people, police said.

Hundreds rally in Nepal for sexual rights

Sunday, 14 August 2011

Hundreds of gay, lesbian, transgender people marched with supporters in a southern Nepal town today to demand equal rights under a new constitution the country is in the process of writing.

Aung San Suu Kyi puts her newfound freedom to the test

Sunday, 14 August 2011

The Burmese democracy leader today defies warnings to make her first political appearance outside Rangoon since her release.

Bullet trains recalled in China after fatal crash

Saturday, 13 August 2011

China's second-biggest train maker will recall 54 bullet trains used on the new showcase Beijing-Shanghai line for safety reasons, the firm said yesterday, dealing a fresh blow to China's scandal-plagued railways.

Soldier who killed unarmed youth will hang

Saturday, 13 August 2011

A Pakistani soldier who shot and killed an unarmed youth as he begged for mercy was sentenced to be hanged yesterday.

Rural panic sets in over 'grease devils'

Saturday, 13 August 2011

Panic over night-time assaults blamed on "grease devils" has gripped rural Sri Lanka, leading to the deaths of at least three people this week, prompting women to stay indoors and men to arm themselves, police and local media said.

Rights group warns Cambodia to stop supplying domestic maids

Saturday, 13 August 2011

A Malaysian workers' rights group has urged Cambodia to stop supplying housemaids to Malaysia, claiming many are abused and made to work like slaves because of inadequate protection.

Suu Kyi's party urged to register

Saturday, 13 August 2011

Burma's government urged the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to officially register her National League for Democracy as a party yesterday, a step that would imply its acceptance of the government's legitimacy and also allow it legally to take part in politics.

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Outrage at Wenzhou disaster pushes China to suspend bullet train project

Friday, 12 August 2011

Clifford Coonan: Railways Minister promises nationwide safety inspection and reductions in top speeds.

Afghanistan blast pushes Nato toll to eight

Friday, 12 August 2011

Another Nato service member has died in Afghanistan, bringing the total killed in the past two days of fighting to eight, officials said today.

Fighter pilot says sorry to daughter of man he shot down

Friday, 12 August 2011

Andrew Buncombe: A moving message of condolence and regret has been delivered over a notorious incident that played out at the height of Indo-Pakistan hostilities almost 50 years ago.

The birth of hope for Afghanistan's mothers

Friday, 12 August 2011

Terri Judd: The number of women dying in childbirth every year is 10 times higher than the civilians killed in the conflict. But a new clinic is offering a brighter future.

Missing stamp dealer praises 'democratic' North Korea

Friday, 12 August 2011

David McNeill: The mystery over a Dutch stamp dealer who went missing while travelling in North Korea deepened this week after he appeared in a state-run newspaper praising the country's democratic traditions.

Bali bombing suspect extradited for trial

Friday, 12 August 2011

A key suspect in the 2002 Bali bombings in which 202 people died was escorted home to Indonesia under tight security to stand trial yesterday, six months after he was captured in the same north-western Pakistani town where Osama bin Laden was killed.

How Ai Weiwei lost his voice

Thursday, 11 August 2011

Clifford Coonan: The dissident Chinese artist, recently released from jail, gives the impression of having had the fight knocked out of him.

Koreas trade artillery fire near disputed border island

Thursday, 11 August 2011

David McNeill: The two Koreas have faced off again near their disputed maritime border, the first exchange of fire since last November when the lethal shelling of a South Korean island briefly brought the Cold War enemies to the brink of war.

Tehran street named after American activist

Thursday, 11 August 2011

Tehran's municipal council has named a street after an American activist who was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in 2003.

Five Nato troops killed in Afghanistan blast

Thursday, 11 August 2011

Five Nato service members have been killed in a roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan.

First Chinese aircraft carrier begins maiden voyage

Thursday, 11 August 2011

China's first aircraft carrier swept through fog-shrouded waters yesterday to open sea trials that underscore concerns about the country's growing military strength.

US kills Taliban who hit Chinook

Thursday, 11 August 2011

International forces have killed the Taliban insurgents responsible for shooting down a US helicopter and killing 38 US and Afghan soldiers over the weekend, the US military said, but they are still seeking the insurgent leader they were going after in Saturday's mission.

Taiwan's main opposition claims Beijing hacked its HQ

Wednesday, 10 August 2011

Taiwan's main opposition Democratic Progressive Party said yesterday that its headquarters had been targeted for six months by hackers working for Beijing.