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Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Satyam seeking new investors, auditor after fraudHYDERABAD, India (AP) _ India's troubled Satyam Computer Services Ltd. said Saturday it will seek new investors and replace its auditors in the wake of a $1 billion fraud scandal. Following a board meeting Saturday, the software services provider said in a statement that it has set up a process to line up potential strategic investors and next week will seek regulatory approval for that process. US, China agenda focus on economy, climate changeBEIJING (AP) _ In a last full day of talks in Asia, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday stressed American and Chinese cooperation on the economy and climate change, with few nods to human rights concerns amid signs of China's crackdown on dissidents. Clinton and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said a regular dialogue between their countries on economic issues would now include terrorism and other security issues. Details will be finalized by President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao at an economic summit in London in April. Pakistan says truce agreed with Taliban in SwatMINGORA, Pakistan (AP) _ Pakistan has agreed to an open-ended cease-fire with Taliban militants in the Swat Valley, government officials said Saturday, extending a truce as the country pursues broader, much-criticized talks aimed at calming a large swathe of its northwestern region bordering Afghanistan. The Taliban leader in Swat, however, said the militants would only decide on whether to halt fighting for good after a 10-day cease-fire announced last Sunday expires _ and that decision hinged on the government taking unspecified "practical steps." US finds 13 civilians died in Afghanistan strikeKABUL (AP) _ An operation the American military at first described as a "precision strike" instead killed 13 Afghan civilians and only three militants, the U.S. said Saturday, three days after sending a general to the site to investigate. Civilian casualties have been a huge source of friction between the U.S. and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has stepped up demands that U.S. and NATO operations kill no civilians and that Afghan soldiers take part in missions to help prevent unwanted deaths. UN official warns of potential Sri Lanka bloodbathCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka _ A top U.N. official condemned a kamikaze rebel attack on Sri Lanka's capital and urged both sides in the nation's civil war to avoid a "final bloodbath." Hours later, suspected Tamil separatists killed eight people in a shooting and stabbing attack. The surprise suicide plane attacks in Colombo late Friday killed four people _ including two rebel pilots _ and embarrassed the government, which only two weeks ago claimed it had effectively grounded the Tamil Tigers' small force of light aircraft by seizing all rebel airstrips. Report: NKorea may be ready to test-fire missileSEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ North Korea could be ready to test-fire a missile within days as satellite imagery has shown increased activity at a missile site over the past 48 hours, a defense weekly said. A significant increase in launch preparations has occurred at the Musudan-ni missile site on the communist country's northeastern coast, said Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., a senior analyst at Jane's Information Group who specializes in North Korean defense and intelligence matters. Pirate abduction in Malacca Strait after long lullKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) _ Armed pirates kidnapped two crew of a Singapore-managed tug and barge in the Malacca Strait, raising fears of renewed insecurity in the busy shipping route, a maritime watchdog said Saturday. It was the first abduction of seafarers after a long lull in kidnap-and-ransom cases that once afflicted the waterway between peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia's Sumatra island, said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur. Burned Australian town gets to work on its ownFLOWERDALE, Australia (AP) _ Outside the town pub where a light rain is instantly sucked up by the fire-scorched earth, the people of Flowerdale are planning a resurrection. The materials are ready for a village of portable homes. The kindergarten children whose school burned are playing at the community center. The hungry get hot meals and cold drinks. Author pardoned for insulting Thai monarchyMELBOURNE, Australia (AP) _ An Australian author who was jailed in Thailand for defaming the country's monarchy in a novel that sold just seven copies returned home Saturday, after he was granted a royal pardon. Harry Nicolaides, 41, exchanged a tearful greeting with his family at Melbourne's airport, and thanked the Australian people for their support. China: villagers beat official over quake reliefBEIJING (AP) _ Farmers in earthquake-devastated southwest China beat a village chief and clashed with police this week after they claimed they were cheated out of quake relief subsidies, state media said. Wednesday's clash in Anxian county _ one of the hardest-hit areas from last May's quake _ left an unspecified number of farmers and police injured and calm was restored after 100 police were brought in, the official Xinhua News Agency said late Friday. Malaysian politician accused of giving away beefKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) _ A prominent member of Malaysia's political opposition denied accusations Saturday that he allegedly used taxpayer money to buy cattle for a Muslim feast and service his private Lexus SUV, his lawyer said. Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, the chief minister of central Selangor state, is being investigated for misuse of public funds, according to the government's anti-graft watchdog. It is the latest political headache to hit Malaysia's opposition alliance over the past month. China shuts chemical plant after water pollutedBEIJING (AP) _ Chinese authorities closed a chemical plant being investigated for contaminating water supplies to 1.5 million people in the country's east, state media said Saturday. Biaoxin Chemical Company caused "massive" tap water pollution in Yancheng, a city in east Jiangsu province, forcing the closure of two out of three tap water plants, the official Xinhua News Agency said. 'Slumdog' kids get ready for a trip to the OscarsMUMBAI, India (AP) _ In the slums where they live, goats pick over piles of trash and men kneel in the street to pray. But the young stars of "Slumdog Millionaire" were cruising Mumbai in an air-conditioned Toyota Friday, doing last-minute shopping and getting advice on the unimaginable: air travel. The slumdog kids had just got the good news _ they were going to the Oscars. Secretary Clinton names special North Korea envoySEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton named a special envoy for North Korea on Friday but warned the communist nation that ties with the United States will not improve unless it stops threatening South Korea. Amid a disturbing rise in belligerent rhetoric from the North toward the South and signs it may be getting ready to test-fire a ballistic missile, she urged Pyongyang to halt "provocative and unhelpful" gestures and rejoin stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament talks. Kyrgyz president signs US base closure billBISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) _ Kyrgyzstan's president signed a bill Friday to close a key U.S. air base used to stage military operations in Afghanistan, the final step before authorities issue a 180-day eviction order. Kurmanbek Bakiyev's signing of the legislation _ which Washington suspects Russia of backing _ will lead to the United States being given 180 days to vacate the Manas air base, a transit point for 15,000 troops and 500 tons of cargo each month to and from Afghanistan. Copyright ? 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |