Ex-USC professor on FBI most-wanted list captured in Mexico

Middle East Times - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

A former University of Southern California professor on the FBI's most-wanted list for alleged sex crimes involving children was caught in Mexico, the FBI said. Bill Lewis, FBI assistant director in charge, said 64-year-old Walter Lee Williams was arrested Tuesday by Mexican authorities, The Los Angeles Times reported. The FBI said authorities have identified at least 10 of the alleged ...

China seeks shared development pragmatic cooperation with ASEAN FM

People's Daily - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

China strives for shared development and pragmatic cooperation with ASEAN countries to promote peace, stability and prosperity in East Asia, said Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at the ASEAN Plus China Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Bali, Indonesia Thursday.Yang said this year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN dialogue relationship and in the past ...

China seeks win-win development with Asia

People's Daily - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Residents in Hekou in southwest China can still recall its former days as a quiet, anonymous town that attracted few visitors from neighboring Vietnam for business or sightseeing.But major changes have hit the town in Yunnan province. With two roads and one rail line linking it with Vietnam, Hekou has become a bustling hub for Vietnamese visitors buying bargain ...

Activists targeting China dog meat festival

West Australian - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

BEIJING (AFP) - A festival dedicated to dog meat in southern China has been targeted by protesting animal lovers, who have won a minor concession from local officials, an activist said on Wednesday.The annual festival, scheduled to take place on Friday in Guangxi province, sees dogs packed into cages before being killed, skinned and cooked -- but has met with increasing opposition from ...

Haze update Indonesia to use rain-making technology to stop fires

The Straits Times - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

An Indonesian firefighter extinguishes a fire near a forest area of Pekanbaru in Riau province located in Sumatra island on Wednesday, June 19, 2013. Indonesia plans to use weather changing technology to try to unleash torrents of rain and extinguish raging fires on Sumatra island that have cloaked neighbouring Singapore in thick haze, an official said on Wednesday. -- PHOTO: ...

Points to ponder on gold Asian demand and QE tapering

Mine Web - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

Asian gold demand, and that from China in particular, is of far more importance than markets credit - and QE tapering may not be negative for gold, at least in the medium to long ...

Ministries Partners and Experts to Meet at AfDB Africa-Asia Knowledge Exchange on Universal Health Coverage

ADBG - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

The African Development Bank is organizing is a dialogue forum between African and Asian countries on achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Lusaka, Zambia on June 25-28, ...

Video Corporate Asia perks up but for how long

The Globe and Mail - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

The latest Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asia Business Sentiment Survey shows firms growing more optimistic. But with China looking shaky and costs set to rise, the celebrations may be ...

ASEAN China eye more cooperation in search rescue in South China Sea

Global Times - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

Some 40 representatives from ASEAN and China Wednesday attended a workshop on strengthening ASEAN- China cooperation in search and rescue of persons and vessels in distress in the South China Sea.Addressing the workshop, Pham Quang Vinh, Vietnamese deputy minister of foreign affairs, said the workshop is a part of the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China ...

22 dead in monsoon floods in Nepal

Channel News Asia - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

At least 22 people have been killed in landslides and floods triggered by heavy monsoon rain in remote parts of Nepal, a government spokesman said ...

UNs Ban meets Chinas Xi for talks

Channel News Asia - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met Chinese president Xi Jinping for talks on Wednesday, with North Korea and Syria expected to dominate ...

SE Asia Stocks-Flat to weaker ahead of Fed Indonesia off high

Reuters - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

BANGKOK, June 19 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets ended mostly weaker to flat on Wednesday as investors trimmed positions in the emerging region ahead of the results of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting. Share markets rose in early trade as the recently oversold region extended a rebound this week. But trading volume of all six Southeast Asian bourses dropped below a monthly ...

Japan finds highly toxic substance in Fukushima groundwater

Times of India - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

Testing of groundwater outside the turbine building of reactor No. 2 had shown the level of strontium-90 had increased by more than 100 times between December 2012 and May this year. (Reuters ...

Nigella Lawson’s husband admits to throat grab

Times of India - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

husband Charles Saatchi admitted assault and accepted a police caution after published photos showed him grasping her throat at a restaurant last ...

PHL eyes working with USASEAN on genetically modifiedcrop...

Check Biotech - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

In his remarks during the agriculture and food security conference for the ASEAN diplomatic community in Washington DC, Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr. said the Philippines is willing to share the knowledge and experience it has obtained in the 10 years it has implemented its science-based regulatory system for products of modern biotechnology and also learn from the experiences of the US and ...

India monsoon floods leave 120 dead

West Australian - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

DEHRADUN, India (AFP) - Military helicopters dropped emergency supplies Wednesday to thousands of tourists and pilgrims stranded by flash floods that tore through towns and temples in northern India, killing at least 120 people, officials said.Thousands of people have already been evacuated after floods and landslides caused by early monsoon rains forged a path of devastation through two tourist ...

Two Thai monks arrested in child sex scandal Police

The Straits Times - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

BANGKOK (AFP) - Thai police said on Wednesday they had arrested two monks for procuring a 14-year-old boy to perform sexual acts with an abbot, in the latest scandal to shake the kingdom's Buddhist clergy. The pair, who deny any knowledge of the alleged abuse, could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted, Police Colonel Wirachon Bunthawi said from the northern city of Chiang Mai. ...

Group decries Sri Lankas proposed media code

San Diego Union-Tribune - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -; An international rights group says a media code proposed by Sri Lanka's government could have a severe and chilling effect on free speech in the ...

Asian Stocks Fall On Uncertainty Over Fed Policy

RTT News - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

Asian stocks fell broadly on Wednesday as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the outcome of the two-day policy meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve. With Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke scheduled to hold a press conference shortly after the meeting, investors wait to hear what he has to say about possible tapering of bond purchases and the future course of Fed policy. Japanese shares bucked ...

UN US ask Filipinos not to leave Golan Heights

Miami Herald - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines' top diplomat says U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry have appealed to Manila not to withdraw more than 300 Filipino peacekeepers from the Golan Heights to avoid "maximum volatility" in the restive Middle East region.Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said Wednesday the diplomats made the appeal to ...

Afghanistan suspends peace talks after US-Taliban move as Hamid Karzai protests at being left out of initial negotiations

The Independent - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

Afghan peace talks could be derailed before they even begin after president Hamid Karzai halted talks with the US on a new security deal to protest at being left out of initial negotiations with the Taliban aimed at ending the 12-year ...

Musical spectacular to open first-ever Asia Pacific Special Olympics

China Daily - Wednesday 19th June, 2013

Asia Pacific Games in December, with well-known Australian performers to take the stage in a two-hour spectacular of music, dance, theatre, lights and fireworks. Details of the gala event, planned for Dec 1, 2013 at the 30,000-seater Hunter Stadium in Newcastle were released on Wednesday. Aussie singers Anthony Callea, Marcia Hines and Marina Prior are among the line-up of entertainers, which ...