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Top Asian News at 6:00 p.m. GMT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Officials: US missiles kill 4 in NW PakistanPESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) _ A suspected U.S. missile strike killed four alleged insurgents Monday in a militant stronghold near the Afghan border, Pakistani intelligence officials said. The two officials said a pair of missiles hit a vehicle close to Mir Ali town in North Waziristan. Afghans try to revive key projects hit by attacksKABUL, Afghanistan (AP) _ Afghanistan's president ordered increased security Monday for workers building roads, dams, electricity lines and telecommunications systems in an attempt to revive key projects stalled by insurgent attacks that have killed or kidnapped dozens of laborers. The U.S. and other international allies have poured billions into Afghanistan for infrastructure projects that also include mining and irrigation. The projects are one of the pillars of the counterinsurgency strategy and are aimed at sapping support for the Taliban. Symbol of inter-Korean detente nearing its demiseSEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ Pyongyang's vow Monday to scrap all South Korean property at a joint mountain resort could end what was once a rare haven for curious southern tourists within North Korea. For a decade, visitors from the South came in droves to Diamond Mountain, essentially a modern South Korean resort an hour's drive into the North, where they could play golf, relax in hot springs and soak up the folklore of the beautiful mountain. Criticism grows against Indian anti-graft activistNEW DELHI (AP) _ Criticism mounted Monday against an Indian activist's hunger strike, with public figures saying it threatens democracy and verges on demagoguery, even as thousands crowded his protest demanding stronger anti-corruption legislation. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh _ whose government has been beset by scandal _ appeared to dismiss Anna Hazare's demands, saying "there is no magic wand that can solve the problem in one stroke." Areas near Japan nuke plant to remain off-limitsTOKYO (AP) _ Some residents evacuated from around Japan's stricken nuclear power plant may not to be able to return to their homes for "a long time" due to projections that high radiation levels will linger, a top government official said Monday. The government is considering providing additional support for the evacuees, including long-term housing rather than prefabricated temporary homes that the government currently is building, Cabinet members said over the weekend. Biden names horse, praises Mongolia's democracyULAN BATOR, Mongolia (AP) _ U.S. Vice President Joe Biden tried his hand at archery, watched a wrestling match and named a horse during a brief visit Monday in Mongolia, which he called a shining example of democratic development. Biden praised Mongolia for successfully carrying out presidential and parliamentary elections after making a peaceful transition to democracy in the early 1990s. The small, landlocked country had been a Soviet satellite for decades. Myanmar's president calls for easing tensionsNAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) _ Myanmar's new president told Parliament on Monday that his government is trying to ease tensions with opposition parties and seek better relations with the country's numerous ethnic groups. In his first speech to Parliament, President Thein Sein did not mention that he had met on Friday with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released from seven years of house arrest in November. Suu Kyi told reporters that she was "happy and satisfied" with the talks. 40 Indian pilgrims die as vehicle falls into pondLUCKNOW, India (AP) _ A flatbed trailer carrying pilgrims to a Hindu temple overturned and fell into a roadside pond in northern India, killing at least 40 people Monday, police said. At least 12 people were injured in the accident in Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh state, police official Brij Lal said. HK hostages' kin still wait for Philippine apologyMANILA, Philippines (AP) _ A year after eight Hong Kong hostages were killed during a botched rescue attempt in Manila, the Philippine justice secretary promised victims' relatives Monday she will relay their demands to the country's president for compensation and an apology. The relatives and a survivor flew to the Philippines for the anniversary of the Aug. 23 hijacking of a tourist bus and made tearful pleas to the government. Anwar's testimony becomes tirade at Malaysia trialKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) _ Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim refused to let prosecutors question him at his sodomy trial Monday, instead delivering a long courtroom tirade accusing the judge and government of conspiring to send him "into political oblivion." Anwar had been expected to begin testifying at the trial, but he struck a defiant note by reading for more than an hour from a prepared text that maintained his government rivals fabricated the charge that he sodomized a 26-year-old male former aide. Prime Minister Najib Razak and other officials have denied any plot. AP ENTERPRISE: Sand for sale; environment ravagedKOH KONG, Cambodia (AP) _ Round a bend in Cambodia's Tatai River and the virtual silence of a tropical idyll turns suddenly into an industrial nightmare. Lush jungle hills give way to a flotilla of dredgers operating 24 hours a day, scooping up sand and piling it onto ocean-bound barges. The churned-up waters and fuel discharges, villagers say, have decimated the fish so vital to their livelihoods. Riverbanks are beginning to collapse, and the din and pollution are killing a promising ecotourism industry. BBC reporter alleged torture by Tajik authoritiesDUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AP) _ The lawyer for a BBC reporter on trial in Tajikistan for allegedly belonging to a banned radical Islamic group said Monday that her client was tortured shortly after his detention in June. Fayzinisso Vokhidova said that security services officers beat up veteran BBC Central Asia service journalist Uronboi Usmonov and stubbed out cigarettes on his wrists. Tainted vinegar suspected in 11 deaths in ChinaBEIJING (AP) _ Vinegar tainted with antifreeze is suspected of killing 11 people and sickening 120 after a communal Ramadan meal in China's far western region of Xinjiang. Investigators suspect the victims consumed vinegar that was put in two plastic barrels that had previously been used to store toxic antifreeze, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Monday. Filipino maid challenges HK rule denying residencyHONG KONG (AP) _ A Filipino woman is challenging a legal provision denying permanent residency to the hundreds of thousands of foreign maids in Hong Kong in a landmark court case that sees them fighting for equal treatment with the city's other foreign residents. A Hong Kong High Court judge started hearing arguments Monday in a judicial review launched by Evangeline Banao Vallejos, a longtime foreign domestic helper. Australia convoy of 100s demanding new electionsCANBERRA, Australia (AP) _ Trucks blasting their horns as well as camper vans and SUVs festooned with anti-government banners converged on Australia's Parliament House on Monday in a protest calling for new elections. Police estimated 350 vehicles _ mostly trucks _ in at least three slow-moving convoys motored through the center of the national capital and past Parliament and Prime Minister Julia Gillard's nearby official residence. (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |