Asia News

MANILA (AFP) - At least 400,000 squatters blocking key drainage channels of a giant lake on the edge of the Philippine capital need to be uprooted to fix Manila's flooding crisis, a government official said Thursday. Full Story »

KABUL (AFP) - A suicide car bomb exploded near the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul on Thursday, killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 80, witnesses and officials said. Full Story »

KOLKATA (AFP) - A newborn baby has escaped unhurt after being delivered in the toilet of a moving Indian train and then falling onto the tracks, reports said Thursday. Full Story »

KABUL - A powerful car bomb exploded in the busy center of Afghanistan's capital early Thursday, killing at least seven civilians, destroying vehicles and blowing off the walls of shops, officials said. Full Story »

TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese high court on Thursday acquitted the creator of a popular file-sharing software program of copyright violations, overturning an earlier conviction. Full Story »

TOKYO - A powerful typhoon tore through Japan's main island Thursday, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights, peeling off roofs and cutting electricity to hundreds of thousands before turning back toward the sea. Two men died and dozens were injured. Full Story »

JAKARTA (AFP) - Prosecutors on Thursday charged Indonesia's former anti-corruption tsar with murder and called for the death penalty for allegedly masterminding the killing of a rival in a love triangle. Full Story »

TOKYO (AFP) - A powerful typhoon slammed into Japan's main island on Thursday, leaving at least two people dead as violent winds damaged homes, uprooted trees and prompted fears of landslides. Full Story »

NEW DELHI (AFP) - Delegates from countries that will compete at next year's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi inspected venues and facilities Thursday, as concerns mount over the city's troubled preparations. Full Story »

PORT VILA (AFP) - A series of huge earthquakes triggered a tsunami alert over much of the South Pacific on Thursday, sending panicked residents fleeing just days after giant waves killed 184 in the region. Full Story »

JAKARTA, Indonesia - The chief of Indonesia's anti-corruption commission went on trial Thursday charged with masterminding the murder of the head of a state-owned company. Full Story »

ADELAIDE, Australia - An Australian variety show host has apologized for a skit in which singers parodying the Jackson Five performed in blackface. Full Story »

SEOUL, South Korea - U.N. sanctions on North Korea should remain in place even if the communist nation comes back to international nuclear disarmament talks, South Korea's foreign minister said Thursday. Full Story »

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines - Muslim militants with ties to al-Qaida planted a bomb that wounded two civilians in the southern Philippines and in a separate attack shelled a runway near where U.S. counterterrorism troops are based, officials said Thursday. Full Story »

TOKYO - A powerful typhoon slammed into Japan on Thursday, damaging buildings and roads, halting train service and canceling hundreds of flights as it swept across the country. One man died and dozens were reported injured. Full Story »

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's powerful military rejected U.S. attempts to link billions of dollars in foreign aid to increased monitoring of its anti-terror efforts, complicating American attempts to strike al-Qaida and Taliban fighters on the Afghan border. Full Story »

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Two powerful earthquakes rocked the South Pacific near the Vanuatu archipelago Thursday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, triggering a regional tsunami alert. Full Story »

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A magnitude 7.8 earthquake has struck off Vanuatu and a tsunami alert has been issued. Full Story »