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Top Asian News at 5:30 a.m. GMT
(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) 3 Chinese ships to leave Friday for SomaliaBEIJING (AP) _ The Defense Ministry said three warships plan to depart Friday on a mission to protect Chinese vessels and crews from pirate attacks in waters off Somalia, in what will be China's first major naval operation abroad. The two destroyers and a supply ship will depart from the island province of Hainan in southern China, ministry spokesman Huang Xueping said at a news conference Tuesday.
China earthquake parents sue over school collapseBEIJING (AP) _ A court in southwestern China has rejected a lawsuit filed by a group of parents seeking compensation for the deaths of their children when their classrooms crumbled during a devastating earthquake in May, one of the parents said Tuesday. The court's move is a sign of the authorities' extreme sensitivity to any protests by parents demanding investigations into alleged corruption and shoddy construction, a flash point for government critics after the 7.9-magnitude quake killed nearly 70,000 people in Sichuan province, including many students.
China pandas eat breakfast before flight to TaiwanCHENGDU, China (AP) _ A pair of pandas in China set off Tuesday on their long-awaited goodwill journey to their new home in Taiwan after a breakfast of carrots and steamed corn buns and a teary farewell from their keeper, state media reported. Four-year-old "Tuan Tuan" and "Yuan Yuan" left their breeding base in Ya'an in southwest China's Sichuan province in the morning to make their way to the airport in the provincial capital of Chengdu, 75 miles (120 kilometers) away, after a brief send-off ceremony, Xinhua News Agency said.
Bout will remain in custody in ThailandBANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ A Thai court Tuesday delayed the extradition hearing of a Russian businessman dubbed the "Merchant of Death" and wanted in the U.S. over arms smuggling allegations, after two key witnesses failed to show up. The postponement until March 6 was the latest setback in a court process that stretches back to March of this year when Viktor Bout _ accused of conspiring to arm Colombian rebels _ was nabbed at a Bangkok luxury hotel in a U.S. sting operation.
Report: US asks SKorea to move troops to AfghanSEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ The United States has asked South Korea if it could reassign the troops that it is pulling out of Iraq to Afghanistan, a news report said Tuesday, but U.S. and South Korean officials denied that the request was made. Such a redeployment request could signal that Washington will intensify its demand for its Asian ally to contribute troops for the war in Afghanistan, the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper said in its report.
Fiji holds off NZ diplomat expulsionWELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) _ Fiji's military leader accused New Zealand and Australia on Tuesday of trying to bully him into restoring democracy, but his government rescinded a threat to expel a senior New Zealand diplomat. The tough talk between Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who ousted Fiji's elected government in a 2006 coup, and the South Pacific's two regional powers is the latest deterioration in relations between the sides.
Gunmen in Philippines fire on UN truck, killing 1MANILA, Philippines (AP) _ Gunmen in the southern Philippines opened fire on a U.N. truck carrying rice to thousands of people displaced by fighting between government troops and Muslim rebels, killing one aid worker, U.N. officials said Tuesday. The truck was ambushed Sunday evening in Calanogas township in Lanao del Sur province, where government troops have been battling Muslim rebels since tensions flared in August, said Stephen Anderson, the World Food Program representative in Manila.
Thai king calls for peace after political turmoilBANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ Thailand's revered monarch has urged the new government to make peace its priority, breaking months of silence about the political turmoil that shut down Bangkok's airports and sparked deadly violence in the streets. The ailing 81-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej spoke slowly and with a hoarse voice Monday as he presided over a swearing-in ceremony for the Cabinet, unveiled two days earlier and led by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Suspected US missiles kill 8 in northwest PakistanDERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) _ Suspected U.S. missile strikes killed eight people in northwest Pakistan, where al-Qaida and Taliban leaders are believed hiding, officials and witnesses said. The identities of those killed in the two attacks Monday _ the latest in a stepped up American campaign in the lawless region close to the Afghan border _ were not immediately known.
Targeted Mumbai hotels open with tighter securityMUMBAI, India (AP) _ The blood has been mopped up, the grenade-scarred marble replaced, the bullet holes covered over. But the reopening Sunday of parts of the iconic Taj Mahal hotel _ less than a month after militants stormed the building, spraying staff and guests with gunfire and grenades _ comes with more than just a new plaster and paint job. There are new security measures and officials promise a new type of luxury hotel: an "invisible fortress" that can protect guests as well as pamper them.
Sri Lanka says 67 killed in northern fightingCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) _ Sri Lankan troops launched a major attack Monday against Tamil rebel fortifications, sparking clashes that killed 57 insurgents and 10 soldiers, the military said. The Tamil Tigers said more than 100 soldiers were killed. Government forces have seized a large area of rebel-held territory in recent months and backed the Tigers into small areas in the lush jungles of the island nation's northeast.
Afghan leader presses US military for answersKABUL, Afghanistan (AP) _ President Hamid Karzai pressed America's top military leader Monday on the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan as it prepares to pour up to 30,000 more forces into the country. Karzai asked Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, what kinds of operations the newly deployed troops would carry out and said the Afghan government should be consulted about those operations.
Report: SKorea seeks talks with North to fix tiesSEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ South Korean media reported Monday that Seoul is seeking secret contacts with the North to defuse escalating tensions on the peninsula. But officials in the South denied they were pursuing talks. The Yonhap news agency said the two Koreas have held secret talks and Pyongyang expressed a strong willingness to improve ties, which have sunk to their lowest point in years.
Australian group: No word from Tibetan stafferBEIJING (AP) _ An Australian medical group working to stop the spread of HIV in Tibet said Monday it had not heard from one of its staffers there since deadly riots broke out in March. A recent Chinese media report said Wangdu, a project officer for the Burnet Institute's Center for International Health, had been sentenced to life in prison for spying and instigating the riots. But the institute said it had no information other than the media report.
Brother of SKorean ex-president indictedSEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ The brother of a former South Korean president was indicted for bribery Monday for allegedly accepting millions of dollars to help a securities firm sell assets to a state-supervised bank, prosecutors said. Roh Gun-pyeong _ the brother of former President Roh Moo-hyun _ was charged with taking about 3 billion won ($2.3 million) in return for helping Sejong Capital sell a subsidiary to the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation in 2006, senior prosecutor Park Yong-seok told reporters.
Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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