International Business News - Asia/Pacific http://www.ibtimes.com/subsection/politicsnpolicy/asiapacific.htm All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif A series of clashes, airstrikes and bomb blasts left 10 militants and four civilians killed in Afghanistan, officials said Saturday. A roadside blast hit a vehicle in the eastern Paktia province, leaving three civilians dead early Saturday, said government spokesman Ghamai Mohammadi. 118005 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/10-militants-4-afghans-in-violence.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 06:25:26 EDT Pakistani lawyers met Saturday to decide whether to mount street protests against the government after its failure to reinstate judges ousted by President Pervez Musharraf. 118042 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/pakistan-lawyers-mull-street-protests.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 06:22:00 EDT Thousands of Chinese earthquake victims fled areas near the epicenter Saturday, fearful of potential floods from a river blocked by landslides. Soldiers carried older people out of Beichuan town _ one of the areas hit hardest by the magnitude 7.9 quake Monday _ while survivors cradled babies on a road jammed with vehicles and people. The death toll jumped to near 29,000. 117987 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48082-china-earthquake.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/trapped-survivors-freed-after-nearly-100-hours.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/trapped-survivors-freed-after-nearly-100-hours.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 06:17:50 EDT In a sign of warming relations, China has invited the head of Taiwan's incoming ruling party to visit the mainland, where he is to meet with President Hu Jintao. 118019 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48070-aptopix-china-earthquake.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/report-china-invites-taiwan-party-head-to-visit.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/report-china-invites-taiwan-party-head-to-visit.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 06:06:10 EDT North Korea is offering China $100,000 to help earthquake survivors. The North's Korean Central News Agency said Saturday the country made the offer to China's government, which is scrambling to cope with the aftermath of Monday's magnitude 7.9 quake. It did not elaborate. 118039 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48069-china-earthquake.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/north-korea-offers-aid-for-quake-victims.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/north-korea-offers-aid-for-quake-victims.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 06:00:00 EDT Sri Lankan air force jets bombed an air strip used by Tamil Tiger rebels, while 16 insurgents were killed in ground clashes in the north, the military said Saturday. 118038 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/sri-lankan-military-bombs-rebel-air-strip.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 05:53:00 EDT A Chinese government spokesman says the confirmed death toll in this week's massive earthquake has risen to almost 29,000. Cabinet spokesman Guo Weimin gave the figure Saturday at a news conference. The government has already said it expects the eventual death toll to surpass 50,000. 118030 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48060-aptopix-china-earthquake.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/govt-spokesman-death-toll-in-china-quake-almost-29k.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/govt-spokesman-death-toll-in-china-quake-almost-29k.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 05:45:37 EDT The army says six rebels have been killed in a gunbattle between security forces and suspected Islamic militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Indian army spokesman Lt. Col. Anil Kumar Mathur said the rebels were killed Saturday after army and police jointly cordoned off the forest area of Lurgam village following a tip off that militants were hiding there. 118031 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48038-india-kashmir-security.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/6-rebels-killed-in-gunbattle-in-indian-kashmir.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/6-rebels-killed-in-gunbattle-in-indian-kashmir.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 05:43:59 EDT A French navy ship carrying 1,000 tons of food idled near Myanmar's coast Saturday, awaiting permission from the uncooperative ruling military regime to dock in the cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy delta. 118000 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48037-myanmar.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/death-toll-from-myanmar-cyclone-nearly-doubles.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/death-toll-from-myanmar-cyclone-nearly-doubles.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 05:39:55 EDT China's nuclear safety agency had ordered staffers to be prepared for an environmental emergency the day after a massive earthquake jolted a region that includes several key atomic sites. 118013 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48018-china-earthquake.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/us-monitoring-chinas-nuclear-sites-after-quake.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/us-monitoring-chinas-nuclear-sites-after-quake.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 05:31:33 EDT Robert Mondavi, the vintner who built his career and helped an iconic Northern California industry blossom by insisting that Napa Valley wines can compete with the best in the world, died in the valley Friday. He was 94. 117983 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/calif-wine-patriarch-robert-mondavi-dies-at-94.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 04:15:44 EDT North Korea welcomed on Saturday a U.S. offer of food aid, saying the assistance would help alleviate shortages and improve relations between the two countries. 118025 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/north-korea-welcomes-us-food-aid-offer.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 03:53:49 EDT Thousands of earthquake victims are fleeing a Chinese village near the epicenter of the earthquake due to worries of potential flooding. Witnesses say there were conflicting reports on whether a dam had burst near Beichuan in the north of the Sichuan province or whether a lake had overflowed. 118020 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/47952-china-earthquake.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/thousands-flee-near-epicenter-on-flood-worries.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/thousands-flee-near-epicenter-on-flood-worries.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 03:52:19 EDT The popular hero of China's earthquake rescue effort isn't a strapping firefighter or a seasoned cop _ it's the country's bespectacled premier who's been clambering over piles of rubble to rally victims in the hardest-hit areas. 118011 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/47951-china-earthquake.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/chinas-premier-is-hero-of-quake-rescue-effort.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/chinas-premier-is-hero-of-quake-rescue-effort.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 03:47:54 EDT Tibet's holiest Buddhist temple reopened Friday, state-run media reported, two months after a violent uprising in Tibetan areas throughout China led the government to close off several of the region's most important monasteries. 117993 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/tibets-holiest-temple-reopens-after-unrest-in-china.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 03:39:22 EDT Chinese state news agency says that soldiers have dug out a 52-year-old man who was buried in ruins for 117 hours after a massive earthquake hit China. 118012 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/chinese-news-agency-says-man-saved-after-117-hours.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 03:12:49 EDT France criticized Myanmar's military junta on Friday for refusing to allow a French Navy ship with 1,500 tons of aid for victims of Cyclone Nargis to deliver food and medicine with small boats and helicopters. 117996 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/47904-myanmar.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/france-criticizes-myanmar-for-barring-aid-ship.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/france-criticizes-myanmar-for-barring-aid-ship.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 02:38:54 EDT Chinese state news agency says that German tourist has been rescued after being buried for 114 hours in earthquake rubble. The official Xinhua News Agency said the tourist was saved in Wenchuan, the epicenter of Monday's massive earthquake. 117980 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/47896-china-earthquake.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/chinese-news-agency-says-german-saved-after-114-hours.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/chinese-news-agency-says-german-saved-after-114-hours.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 02:26:25 EDT A standoff between the Japanese and South Korean coast guards ended peacefully after a joint investigation found that a Korean fishing boat did not violate Japanese waters, an official said Saturday. 117989 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/south-korea-japan-end-sea-confrontation.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 02:15:07 EDT China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China's largest oil and gas producer, announced on Friday that the company will set up the chairman and president separately, and created the post of vice chairman. It also said that the current Chairman and CEO Jiang Jiemin will continue as the chairman, while Zhou Jiping was committed as the president and the vice chairman. 117986 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/cnpc-installs-president-and-vice-chairman.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 02:12:54 EDT