Asia

Local election officials in Osh prepare ballot boxes for today's constitutional vote in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan on alert ahead of vote on new constitution

Ballot intended to bring Central Asian country, torn by ethnic violence, closer to democracy

Inside Asia

Britons hurt as Thai tourist boats collide new

Sunday, 27 June 2010

Police say 42 passengers have been injured and two are missing after two boats carrying Thai and foreign tourists collided in the Gulf of Thailand on the way to a popular island beach party.

Abortion hotline in Pakistan faces violent opposition

Sunday, 27 June 2010

Islamic groups and politicians condemn the hotline as 'colonial' and warn organisers they risk reprisals

Senior Taliban commander killed

Saturday, 26 June 2010

A senior Taliban commander disguised as a woman was killed by Afghan and international forces today after he opened fire with a pistol and tried to throw a grenade south of the capital Kabul.

Kyrgyz investigators exhume bodies of riot victims

Saturday, 26 June 2010

Investigators in southern Kyrgyzstan began exhuming the bodies of those killed during rampages against the Uzbek minority as tensions rose ahead of tomorrow's constitutional referendum.

Right-wing Japanese protesters banned from film of dolphin cull

Saturday, 26 June 2010

A Japanese court has issued a rare ban against demonstrators who have hounded screenings of an Oscar-winning documentary exposing the country's infamous annual dolphin cull.

India seeks a symbol for the rupee to underline its economic power

Saturday, 26 June 2010

In a move that underscores India's increasing global economic ambitions, the authorities are poised to reveal the results of competition to design a symbol for the national currency, the rupee, and in doing so, emulate the pound, the euro, the dollar and the yen.

North Korea party to pick new leadership

Saturday, 26 June 2010

North Korea's ruling communist party has called a rare meeting to elect a new leadership team, in a move analysts said could set in motion succession plans for ailing leader Kim Jong-il's youngest son.

Hello Kitty's canine cousin Rebecca Bonbon is latest Japanese craze in the making

Saturday, 26 June 2010

Meet Rebecca Bonbon. She's not from around here, but chances are you'll be seeing a lot more of her in the near future. Rebecca was born in Paris but has lived most of her life in New York (it's a long story), and if your paths have never crossed, it simply means that you haven't been hanging out in the right circles.

On The Road: A close encounter in Borneo in our very own 'year of the turtle'

Saturday, 26 June 2010

I've come to rest on the rocky reef slope, the terrain a mish-mash of coral rubble and stones, sand and seaweed. I've stopped, and settled – usually it's a travesty to sit on the reef but there is no coral to damage. Instead, I have taken a space beside a truly enormous green turtle.

Websites to face anti-Islam checks

Saturday, 26 June 2010

Pakistan will start monitoring seven major websites, including Google, Yahoo and Amazon, for sacrilegious content, while blocking links to 17 lesser-known sites it deems offensive to Muslims, including pages within YouTube.

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