Asia News

Kuala Lumpur, Nov 25 (IANS) A Malaysian woman is fighting to establish that she is a Hindu, denying a claim by the government's social welfare department that she converted to Islam in 1983.

Hong Kong, Nov 25 (DPA) Airbus said Wednesday it was investigating a series of mystery toilet blockages on Cathay Pacific planes which forced one passenger jet to make an unscheduled landing in India.

Hong Kong, Nov 25 (DPA) Four billion fewer plastic bags a year are being thrown out with the rubbish by Hong Kong people as the city's environmental consciousness grows, officials said Wednesday.

Kuala Lumpur, Nov 25 (DPA) More than 16,000 Malaysians have evacuated their homes as flood waters continued to rise following incessant rainfall in six states, news reports said Wednesday.

New Zealand's revised emissions trading plan is set to become law after parliament on Wednesday approved details of the scheme.

REUTERS - New Zealand's amended emissions trading scheme passed into law on Wednesday after months of debate.

Manila, Nov 25 (DPA) The Philippine government on Wednesday rejected mounting calls for the immediate arrest of members of a prominent political family allegedly behind the massacre of 46 people.

Washington, Nov.25 (ANI): US President Barack Obama has said that Pakistan must ensure that it deals with terrorists operating on and from its soil in an effective manner, thereby wholeheartedly extending his administration's support to India's diplomatic efforts in convincing and cajoling authorities in Islamabad to act with decisiveness against the perpetrators of 26/11.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd edged closer to securing his carbon trade plan on Wednesday after a hostile Senate rejected delaying a vote and the opposition hosed down an internal revolt over the scheme.

China will demand next month's Copenhagen climate summit culminates in a real deal, Xinhua news agency quoted a Chinese negotiator as saying, but appears to have accepted that a legally binding agreement must wait until 2010.

The World Bank will start a trust fund to boost agriculture in poor countries with an initial $1.5 billion, its president Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday, warning of the risk of another food price crisis.

U.S. President Barack Obama vowed on Tuesday to "finish the job" of an unpopular and costly eight-year war in Afghanistan, and officials said he could announce an increase of around 30,000 troops next week.

Opposition parties and the Jewish community criticized a visit by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Venezuela, citing worries over his denial of the Holocaust, human rights violations and Iran's nuclear program.

A group against bringing the self-professed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks to trial in a U.S. civilian court will hold a rally in New York demanding Washington reconsider its decision, the group said on Tuesday.

A popular newspaper critical of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, banned for one day for publishing a photograph of a temple of the banned Baha'i faith, can publish again on Wednesday, media reported on Tuesday.

Iran's police chief warned opposition supporters on Tuesday against using Students Day commemorations on Dec. 7 to stage more street protests.

Iran could consider sending its low-enriched uranium abroad, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, apparently softening its opposition to a U.N. plan aimed at keeping a check on its nuclear ambitions.

Washington, Nov 25 (ANI): With just two weeks before the start of the Copenhagen summit, US President Barack Omaba said that he and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have reaffirmed that an agreement in the summit should be comprehensive and cover all the issues under negotiations.

Six world powers have drafted a resolution at the UN nuclear watchdog urging Iran to clarify the purpose of its previously secret uranium enrichment site and confirm it has no more hidden atomic work, diplomats said.

Washington, Nov 24 (ANI): President Barack Obama has accepted Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's invitation to visit India, and promised to come next year.