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Top Asian News at 10:31 a.m. GMT(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) UN raises Pakistan security after hotel bombingISLAMABAD, Pakistan _ The U.N. has declared the Pakistani capital unsafe for the children of its international staff and ordered them out, putting the once tranquil city on par with Kabul and Somalia. Underlining Pakistan's crumbling security situation, a suicide bomber on Thursday failed in an attempt to assassinate a prominent anti-Taliban politician, and troops reportedly killed 27 militants in the restive northwest. US envoy briefs SKorea on NKorean nuclear talksSEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ The chief U.S. envoy at talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament met with his South Korean counterpart Friday after spending three days in the North trying to persuade it to resume dismantling its nuclear program. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill smiled to reporters, but made no comments after arriving at Seoul's Foreign Ministry to brief nuclear envoy Kim Sook on his trip. Pakistan official says country at warISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) _ Pakistan's war against Islamic extremists will go on until the country is "terrorism-free," a senior official said after mounting violence prompted the U.N. to raise its security stance. Pakistan is under intense U.S. pressure to combat militants responsible for rising attacks at home and in neighboring Afghanistan. Philippines finds melamine in Chinese milkMANILA, Philippines (AP) _ Philippine health officials have found melamine in two out of 30 milk products from China that have been tested for the industrial chemical at the center of China's latest food-safety scandal. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III identified the brands Friday as Mengniu and Yili, which have already been found to be contaminated in tests in China. Ex-Khmer Rouge soldiers tried for murder of BritonPHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) _ Five former Khmer Rouge soldiers went on trial Friday for their alleged involvement in the killing of a British mine-clearing expert and his Cambodian colleague 12 years ago. The trial shed light for the first time on the details of the murder of Christopher Howes, who was abducted in March 1996 by the Khmer Rouge along with a group of his Cambodian co-workers while clearing mines near Angkor Wat, the famed 12th century temple complex in the country's northwest. Thai importer will return powdered milk to ChinaBANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ A Thai dairy company plans to return 122 tons of milk powder imported from China because of contamination concerns, highlighting the continued spread of the tainted dairy product crisis. Dutch Mill Group announced the move Thursday even though Thailand's food inspection authorities said they had not found dangerous amounts of the industrial chemical melamine in any foods tested. Parents file lawsuit in China against dairy firmBEIJING (AP) _ The parents of a baby allegedly sickened in China's tainted milk crisis are suing one of the country's biggest dairies in the first known lawsuit stemming from the scandal, a lawyer said Thursday. Although product liability lawsuits have become more common in recent years, the lawyer, Ji Cheng, said he would not know until next week if the court in Henan province would take the case. Sri Lanka bombs rebel political chief's officeCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) _ Sri Lankan air force jets bombed the offices of the Tamil Tigers' political chief Friday as the military pressed forward with its resurgent offensive against the separatist guerrillas, the military said. The attack on Balasingham Nadesan's office in the war-torn north came a day after the air force bombed the offices of the rebels' peace secretariat, the headquarters for its negotiating team in long-defunct peace talks. India's ruling party hails nuclear deal approvalNEW DELHI (AP) _ India's government hailed U.S. congressional approval of a civilian nuclear pact between the two nations calling it a "monumental achievement," as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice prepared to visit New Delhi on Friday to commemorate the accord. The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of overturning a three-decade ban on atomic trade with India, allowing American businesses to begin selling nuclear fuel, technology and reactors in exchange for safeguards and U.N. inspections of India's civilian nuclear plants. Chinese pandas fed chicken soup for healthBEIJING (AP) _ Everyone needs some chicken soup for the soul _ even pandas. The Wuhan Zoo in central China has been feeding its two pandas home-cooked chicken soup twice in a month to reduce stress and give them a nutritional boost, a zoo official said Friday. Vietnam finds tainted milk from ChinaHANOI, Vietnam (AP) _ Vietnam's health ministry has discovered the toxin at the heart of China's tainted milk scandal in 18 products and has ordered importers to recall and destroy them, officials said Friday. Recent tests found the industrial chemical melamine in dairy products and biscuits imported from China, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, according to a statement on the Ministry of Health's Web site. Aussie boy breaks into zoo, feeds animals to crocSYDNEY, Australia (AP) _ A blank-faced 7-year-old boy broke into a popular Outback zoo, fed a string of animals to the resident crocodile and bashed several lizards to death with a rock, the zoo's director said Friday. The boy jumped a security fence at the Alice Springs Reptile Center in central Australia early Wednesday, then went on a 30-minute killing spree, using a rock to slay three lizards, including the zoo's beloved, 20-year-old goanna, which he then fed to "Terry," an 11-foot (3.3 meter), 440-pound (200 kilogram) saltwater crocodile, said zoo director Rex Neindorf. Malaysian couple killed in stop-smoking ritualKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) _ Relatives beat a Malaysian couple to death in a ritual apparently meant to help the man to stop smoking, police said Friday. The couple died of head injuries after being beaten with broomsticks and motorbike helmets during a family gathering at a Kuala Lumpur home Wednesday, said Ku Chin Wah, head of the city's crime investigations department. North Korea demands end to propaganda from SouthSEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ North Korea threatened Thursday to expel South Koreans from two joint projects in the North if leaflets critical of the communist government keep arriving over the border. North Korean officials issued the warning during brief military talks with South Korea inside the Demilitarized Zone, the first government-level contact between the two Koreas in more than eight months. Pakistan: US strikes hurt anti-terror effortISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) _ Pakistan's foreign minister said American military operations in Pakistani territory undermine efforts to fight terrorism, after a suspected U.S. missile strike in the Muslim nation's northwest reportedly killed six people. Meanwhile, in a sign of growing international concern about the militant threat here, Britain said the children of its diplomats in Pakistan have been ordered to leave the country. The decision came in the wake of the deadly Sept. 20 Marriott hotel bombing in Islamabad. Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |