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Top Asian News at 12:30 a.m. GMT
(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Magnitude 7.0 quake rocks northern Japan, no tsunami, injuries, damage reportedTOKYO (AP) _ A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked northern Japan early Saturday, swaying buildings and forcing authorities to close highways and stop high-speed trains. There were no immediate reports of injuries or significant damage. Authorities said two nuclear power plants in the area were not damaged and continued to operate normally, national broadcaster NHK reported. There was no danger of tsunami.
Militants attack Afghan prison, kill police, free hundreds of inmatesKANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) _ Taliban militants attacked the main prison in southern Afghanistan late Friday, exploding a truck bomb at the gate in a multi-pronged assault that killed police officers and freed hundreds of insurgent prisoners, officials said. A Taliban spokesman said 30 insurgents on motorbikes and two suicide bombers attacked the prison. Qari Yousef Ahmadi also claimed that hundreds of Taliban prisoners were freed in the assault.
AP Exclusive: Against great odds, Philippine al-Qaida-linked militants survive, attackMANILA, Philippines (AP) _ U.S. spy planes watch their jungle strongholds and Filipino assault troops keep them on the run. Combat casualties and arrests have eroded their numbers. But Abu Sayyaf militants have survived years-long American-backed military assaults and remain a threat, reflecting the dilemma of defeating terrorism.
Protesters rally in Pakistani capital for judges ousted by MusharrafISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) _ Tens of thousands of protesters swarmed into Pakistan's capital Friday for a raucous, sweat-soaked rally led by lawyers demanding the reinstatement of judges and the ouster of President Pervez Musharraf. The gathering, one of the largest ever in Islamabad, threatened to widen a rift within the governing coalition. But some analysts said it could prod the partners to find a way to restore the justices and hasten the exit of the unpopular U.S.-backed president.
Taiwan, China sign formal agreement on charter flights, tourismBEIJING (AP) _ Taiwan and China agreed Friday to a landmark deal to expand charter flights and tourism, ending a 59-year break in transport links between the political rivals. The pact, signed in Beijing during their first formal talks since 1999, comes one day after the two sides reached consensus on establishing permanent representative offices.
US seismologist says massive quake in China could not have been predictedBEIJING (AP) _ Last month's massive earthquake in central China likely couldn't have been predicted, a leading U.S. seismologist said Friday. Walter Mooney, the U.S. Geological Survey's top expert on seismic conditions in China, said very few earthquakes register with foreshocks beforehand that could warn monitors. There are simply no reliable ways to predict earthquakes in the short-term, even in high-risk areas, Mooney said.
UN official says Myanmar urgently needs fuel so tillers can prepare for planting riceYANGON, Myanmar (AP) _ Myanmar is in urgent need of diesel fuel to make sure that tilling machines _ brought in to replace water buffalos killed by Cyclone Nargis _ can be used to help plant rice in the storm-devastated Irrawaddy delta, a senior U.N. official said Friday. The call by Noeleen Heyzer, U.N. under-secretary-general and head of the world body's headquarters for Asia, came as Myanmar's state-controlled press said that relief aid from the United States could not be trusted.
Protesters denounce Malaysian government for hiking fuel pricesKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) _ More than 1,000 opposition supporters marched through Malaysia's largest city Friday in the biggest public show of anger over the government's decision to dramatically raise fuel prices. Riot police fanned out in downtown Kuala Lumpur, setting up roadblocks and foiling the demonstrators' plan to walk from a popular mosque to the nearby Petronas Twin Towers, the headquarters of national oil company Petronas.
Malaysia's prime minister says deal struck with deputy on when to hand powerKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) _ Malaysia's leader announced Friday he has struck a deal on when to hand power to his deputy, as pressure for him to resign intensified from public anger over rising fuel prices. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi refused to reveal exactly when he will let his deputy, Najib Razak, succeed him, though he has repeatedly insisted he would remain in office beyond the end of 2008.
Indonesia's new bird flu policy on reporting deaths leads to confusion, angerBITUNG, Indonesia (AP) _ Ali Usman's wife died of bird flu 10 days ago, but the government has yet to notify next-of-kin about the cause. He searches for answers in newspapers, which until last month reported aggressively on deaths linked to the virus, but finds nothing. That's because the health ministry has stopped publicizing bird flu fatalities immediately, part of a campaign to shift focus instead to successes in battling the disease in the hardest hit nation. From now on, deaths will be announced in clusters, perhaps just a few times a year.
US-led force says it killed 17 militants in southern AfghanistanKABUL, Afghanistan (AP) _ U.S.-led coalition forces called in airstrikes to back up ground troops in two Afghan provinces, killing more than 17 militants and a female civilian. Separately, Afghan police said a Romanian soldier died in a Taliban rocket attack on the country's main highway. NATO confirmed the death of one of its soldiers, but declined to release the nationality.
Japan-North Korea deal raises hopes for progress on abductions, nuclear weaponsTOKYO (AP) _ Japan will drop some of its sanctions against North Korea in exchange for a probe into abductions of Japanese citizens, the two countries said Friday, signaling progress on an emotional standoff that has hindered efforts to get Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons. The deal, brokered during two days of bilateral talks this week in Beijing, won a reversal of Pyongyang's long-standing position that its kidnappings of Japanese during the 1970s and 80s were already resolved. Tokyo has long demanded a full investigation into what it says are unsolved cases.
Prominent Chinese Internet dissident Huang Qi reported missing, possibly detainedCHENGDU, China (AP) _ A Chinese dissident who posted essays on the Internet that criticized communist authorities has disappeared and may have been abducted by the security services, an advocacy group said Friday. Huang Qi, founder of the human rights Web site 64Tianwang, was forced to get into a car by three unknown men on Tuesday evening in the southwestern city of Chengdu, Reporters Without Borders said Friday.
South Korean protests continue as trade minister heads to US to defuse beef crisisSEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ Thousands of South Koreans kept up their protests Friday against the government's plan to resume U.S. beef imports, while the country's trade minister departed for Washington in an attempt to appease demonstrators' demands. Meanwhile, truckers went on strike to protest rising fuel prices in a fresh challenge for President Lee Myung-bak's young government.
8 arrested in alleged US$454 million fraud in Hong KongHONG KONG (AP) _ Police raided more than a dozen locations and made eight arrests across Hong Kong as part of a 3.55 billion Hong Kong dollar (US$454 million) fraud probe, authorities said Friday. Police raided 13 locations in the territory Thursday, police spokeswoman Josephine Cheng said.
Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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