Around Asia: China-Singapore train link, release of South Korean hostages and fresh Myanmar protests

• Selangor, Malaysia - Malaysia Finds Water Basin the Size of Singapore [Bloomberg]
  Malaysia has discovered an underground water basin as big as Singapore, dismissing fears that its most densely populated state Selangor will run out of water in three years, a government minister said.


• Islamabad, Pakistan - Deal reached for release of S. Korean hostages [Washington Post]
  Negotiators in Afghanistan said Tuesday they had reached agreement on a deal that will allow 19 South Korean church volunteers to go free after six weeks in Taliban captivity, apparently ending a hostage crisis that has gripped both nations, officials said.


• Jakarta, Indonesia - Study confirms 2006 human-human spread of bird flu [Reuters]
  A mathematical analysis has confirmed that H5N1 avian influenza spread from person to person in Indonesia in April, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.


• ASEAN needs 2 bln usd for China-Singapore rail link - officials [Forbes]
  About 2 bln usd is required to complete a trans-Mekong Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) rail project connecting Singapore to Kunming city in southwestern China, officials said. The Singapore-Kunming project, which will thread through eight countries near the Mekong River, still has about 550 kilometers (341 miles) of 'missing links',


• Yangon, Myanmar - New protest quashed within minutes [Guardian Unlimited]
  Demonstrators on Tuesday tried to mount a new protest against rising prices, but marched only 30 yards before being beaten and wrestled into waiting trucks by civilians who back Myanmar's military government, witnesses said.


• New Delhi, India - India invites bids on fighter jet deal [AP]
  The Indian government on Tuesday invited six aircraft manufacturers including Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. to bid on a contract for 126 combat planes worth up to $10 billion.

Photo of Kunming Railway Station from Nils Trebing: ASEAN is looking for US$2 billion to fund a new rail project that will start from Kunming, China and pass through 8 Southeast Asian nations to Singapore.