US hits China pipes with tariffs Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:11:39 -0000 The United States imposes high anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese pipes as trade disputes mar the run-up to a bilateral summit. Cambodia tit-for-tat over Thaksin Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:23:41 -0000 Cambodia recalls its ambassador from Thailand in tit-for-tat dispute over sanctuary offer to former Thai PM Thaksin. China hosts anti-piracy meeting Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:04:02 -0000 China hosts an international conference to co-ordinate anti-piracy escorts for cargo vessels in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia. Three hurt in rare Japan shooting Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:22:44 -0000 A gunman in Japan has killed himself after wounding three people in Yokohama, outside Tokyo, police say. Australia raises growth forecasts Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:04:07 -0000 The Reserve Bank of Australia says the country is growing faster than it had expected. Japan hosts Mekong River leaders Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:51:01 -0000 Japan hosts the leaders of five Asian nations that share the Mekong River amid growing Chinese influence in the region.
NYT > Asia Pacific
Reviews Raise Doubt on Training of Afghan Forces By THOM SHANKER and JOHN H. CUSHMAN Jr. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:16:47 -0000 The U.S. program is struggling to help largely illiterate and often corrupt Afghan forces, documents suggest.
NATO Soldiers Missing as Taliban Reports Recovery of Two Bodies By ALISSA J. RUBIN Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:35:20 -0000 As allied forces search for two missing soldiers in Afghanistan a Taliban spokesman said fighters had recovered the bodies of two drowned soldiers.
Thai Border on Guard for Drugs From Myanmar By THOMAS FULLER Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:36:13 -0000 Traffickers from Myanmar’s ethnic minorities use Thailand as their hub for the Pacific region.
L.A. Times - Asia
Obama faces competing demands on Afghanistan strategy Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800 The president must heed domestic pressure that any military buildup be limited while convincing Afghan and Pakistani officials that the U.S. commitment is firm.
As President Obama struggles over a new military strategy for Afghanistan, his advisors are trying to satisfy sharply divergent demands: assuring Americans that any military buildup will be limited while convincing Pakistan and other wary allies that the U.S. presence is substantial and not about to end.
In South Waziristan, hopes that Taliban's exit will bring progress Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:36:00 -0800 Though villagers were not opposed to the militants, many of them fellow Mahsud tribesmen, they welcome the Pakistani offensive, hoping it will end the lawlessness and help bring basic amenities.
The Mahsud tribesmen of South Waziristan don't hate the Taliban. But they hate what having Taliban fighters living among them has done to life in their mud-hut hamlets.
Volunteers hear a silent call for help Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800 They went as temps to work at a Koreatown rehab center for deaf people. When funding dwindled, they stayed on without pay.
None of them know sign language.
UN News Centre - Asia Pacific
Displaced Sri Lankans increasingly returning home from camps - UN Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 About 90,000 Sri Lankans displaced by the conflict between Government forces and Tamil separatists have returned to their homes in the past three months, and the pace of returns has begun to accelerate, the United Nations refugee agency reported today. Little progress in overcoming deadlock in Nepal's peace process, says UN envoy Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 The top United Nations envoy to Nepal today lamented the fact that there has been limited progress in overcoming the political impasse that emerged in the country earlier this year, and little movement on the remaining tasks of the peace process. UN stepping up assistance to latest wave of conflict displaced Pakistanis Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 The United Nations refugee agency said today it is stepping up aid to people uprooted by military operations in the Pakistani region of South Waziristan, while highlighting the ongoing needs of around one million people still displaced from an earlier offensive in the northwest.
NYT > Asia Pacific
Reviews Raise Doubt on Training of Afghan Forces By THOM SHANKER and JOHN H. CUSHMAN Jr. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:16:47 -0000 The U.S. program is struggling to help largely illiterate and often corrupt Afghan forces, documents suggest.
NATO Soldiers Missing as Taliban Reports Recovery of Two Bodies By ALISSA J. RUBIN Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:35:20 -0000 As allied forces search for two missing soldiers in Afghanistan a Taliban spokesman said fighters had recovered the bodies of two drowned soldiers.
Thai Border on Guard for Drugs From Myanmar By THOMAS FULLER Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:36:13 -0000 Traffickers from Myanmar’s ethnic minorities use Thailand as their hub for the Pacific region.
Gunmen in Pakistan Attack Senior Army Officer By SABRINA TAVERNISE and MARK McDONALD Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:50:31 -0000 The drive-by shooting, which left the brigadier and his military driver injured, was the third such attack against senior military officers in 15 days.
U.N. Relocates Foreign Staff in Afghanistan By ALISSA J. RUBIN Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:35:02 -0000 The temporary move after an attack last week was a signal of pressure on U.N. operations in the region.
Chinese Agencies Struggle Over Video Game By MICHAEL WINES Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:36:56 -0000 Two Chinese government agencies are facing off over the right to regulate the popular online game.