Southeast Asian pact exposes rifts [NY Times] Southeast Asian leaders signed a charter here today that was drafted as a watershed document to bind the region together as a European-style economic community but has instead exposed the sharp divisions over Myanmar and other issues among the signatories.Malaysia busts DVD lab in its biggest raid in 2007 [Reuters] Malaysia has raided a laboratory capable of churning out $52 million worth of pirated DVDs a year in......

Yen Falls as BOJ's Fukui Says No Preset Time for Rate Increase [Bloomberg] The yen fell against all 16 of the most-active currencies as Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said there was no set time for raising interest rates.Survey shows Singapore is Asia's most desirable city to live in [Channel News Asia] According to the latest Country Brand Index, Singapore is the top Asian city to live in. It was also ranked third globally......

Hong Kong Triad T-Shirt Gets Fashion Label in Hot Water [Asiaone.com] The arrest of 18 employees of a Hong Kong lifestyle and retail chain over a controversial new line of T-shirts '14K' bearing the name of a well-known triad gang spurred an apology from the store's founder.Pakistan - Besieged Musharraf plays for time [Asia Times] Having opened a can of worms by declaring a state of emergency, Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf is now in......

South Korea starts construction of space centre [Channel News Asia] Asia's space race is heating up with China's latest launch of its first lunar orbiter. And neighbouring South Korea is working hard to catch up.Malaysian police officer denies illegally amassing US$8m in assets [Channel News Asia] The head of Malaysia's Commercial Crimes Investigation Division has denied allegations that he illegally amassed more than US$8 million in assets. India rediscovers East Asia [Asia Times] The visit......

Asia's papers keep newspaper flags flying [Asia Times] With a little help from the Internet, the future of newspapers looks bright in Asia where seven of 10 of the world's best selling dailies are published, with China, India and Japan accounting for more than half. Advertisers, the lifeblood for newspapers, are also smiling.Asian mega-cities to be swallowed up by sea [Asian Offbeat] They include Dhaka, Bangladesh; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Shanghai (gosh!)......

Burma junta holds rally, arrests 4 activists [AP] On Saturday, the Burmese junta organized a mass rally in Rangoon to denounce Western powers and the foreign media, whom the military regime accuses of fomenting the recent protests. Officials said 120,000 people attended the event, some of whom were paid to be there. Among some of the slogans the crowds were made to chant include "Down with BBC! Down with VOA! Down with Radio Free Asia!"Singapore's......

.asia domain names approved [BetaNews] But don't start rushing for the domain names yet as registration will not begin for another six to nine months. As usual, trademark holders will first be awarded rights to domain names. India's success to help halve world poverty [Hindustan Times] Spectacular poverty-cutting gains made by India will help the United Nations meet its goal of halving world poverty by 2015, said Kishore Mabhubhani, a renowned Singaporean public policy specialist......

So in the meanwhile, it's become kind of fashionable to blame Beijing for the mess in "Myanmar". Sure, Russia and India have gotten some of the blame for failing to rein in Burma's ruthless junta. ASEAN has also been put to shame for its impotence in handling Burma, and even Singapore's conservative Straits Times (subscription required) has begun to wonder aloud if it's not the right time to suspend Burma's membership in ASEAN, admitting that......

A crack opens in the Korean wall [Asia Times] The big question on the opening Tuesday of the North-South Korean summit in Pyongyang was whether or not North Korean leader Kim Jong-il would condescend to welcome South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun in person, or whether he would delegate that ceremonial chore to his much lower-ranking No 2. Myanmar's neighbours have little influence: Singapore FM [AFP] Myanmar's neighbours have little influence over internal developments there, said......

Indonesia - ‘Little People’ of Indonesia Seem to Be Distinct Tribe [NY Times] In the continuing debate over the origin of the extinct “little people” of Indonesia, a team of scientists says it has found evidence in three wrist bones that these people were members of a distinct species rather than humans with a physical disorder. Putrajaya, Malaysia - Malaysia lawyers hold rare demonstration for reform [Reuters] About 800 Malaysian lawyers marched on the prime......

Bangkok, Thailand - Backpacker blues on Khaosan Road [Asia Times] For years, Bangkok's venerable Khaosan Road has been a welcome, low-priced respite for the throngs of backpackers crisscrossing Southeast Asia. But changing times are pushing out the street vendors and budget inns in favor of upscale establishments that are also attracting another element - more of Bangkok's notorious sex trade. Ulaanbataar, Mongolia - School represents a slice of North Korea [Eurasianet] There is little that......

From Southern Weekend via the Bokee blogs we learned that the controversial Shanghai high school history textbooks—the very ones that were the subject of a New York Times article last year (Sept. 1, 2006)—have been banned. In that article, Joseph Kahn claimed that China's decades old Marxist template was being abandoned and that class struggle and other mainstays of Marxist theory were being downplayed. Instead, world history and civilization figured more prominently. Bill Gates was......

Seoul, Korea - Police shut down group sex website, arrest participants [Asian Sex Gazette] Korean police have arrested a 42-year-old website operator identified as Kim who they say arranged 20 group sex parties in and around Seoul and collected participation fees. They also booked 53 male members who had group sex and 11 females who prostituted themselves through Kim's website. Tokyo, Japan - Retired Japanese porn star Ai Iijima needs sex [Asian Sex Gazette] Even......

Indian Ocean / Malacca Straits - Five-power naval exercise gives China the jitters [New Zealand Herald] Are the warships from the United States, India, Japan, Australia and Singapore that are exercising together this week off the east coast of India harbingers of a new military alliance in Asia to contain China? Singapore - Pair of seats on inaugural A380 flight go for $100,000 [USA Today] Singapore Airlines, the first carrier in the world to fly......

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......

Tokyo, Japan - China Airlines apologises for inferno horror [Channel News Asia] The head of China Airlines on Tuesday handed out apologies and cash to passengers who barely escaped a blaze that destroyed one of the Taiwanese carrier's planes on a runway in Okinawa, Japan. Amman, Jordan - Interpol issues arrest warrant for Saddam's daughter [BBC] Interpol has issued an arrest warrant for Raghad Hussein, the eldest daughter of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Meanwhile,......

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Student comes under fire for rap video of Malaysia's national anthem An ethnic Chinese Malaysian student has enraged ministers and the man in the street alike with his allegedly seditious rap video of the Malaysian anthem. In the video, he raps about racial discrimination against the Chinese, corrupt cops and indolent civil servants, most of whom are Malay. He does so against the Malaysian flag, with the Negaraku melody playing in......

Pyongyang, North Korea - Two Koreas to hold first summit in seven years South Korea's President Roh Moo-Hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il will meet in Pyongyang from August 28-30 -- their first summit in seven years to promote lasting peace on the peninsula, divided for 60 years by minefields and barbed wire. Kabul, Afghanistan - Taliban offer women hostages for female Afghan prisoners The Taliban said Tuesday they were willing to swap women......

Kabul, Afghanistan - Second South Korean hostage killed The second hostage among a group of 23 South Koreans to be kidnapped by the Taliban has been shot to death, and the bullet-ridden body of 29 year old Sim Sungmin has been found by Afghan police. Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, has said that the militants would "kill more hostages if the Afghanistan government does not release prisoners by noon on Wednesday". Mumbai, India......

Kabul, Afghanistan - Taliban militia kidnap 23 South Korean Christians Taliban gunmen have threatened to kill a group of 23 South Korean Christians on a relief mission unless Seoul pulls out its 200 troops from Afghanistan. Already, the pastor of the group has been shot and tossed on the highway to Kandahar. Latest news from the AP suggest some of the hostages have been released. Reverend Park Eun-jo of the Saemmul Presbyterian Church has apologized......

Tokyo, Japan - 6.7 earthquake hits Japan and shuts nuclear plant The world's largest nuclear power plant by output capacity remained closed Tuesday, after seismometers indicated the magnitude 6.7 earthquake that hit northwestern Japan Monday produced shocks that exceeded the reactors' design strength. The quake, which occurred shortly after 10 a.m. Tokyo time Monday, caused nine deaths, more than 900 injuries and widespread damage Pyongyang, North Korea - DPRK shuts nuclear reactor U.N. inspectors on......

Kathmandu, Nepal - Living goddess loses status A 10-year-old Nepalese girl was stripped of her title as a living goddess because she traveled overseas to promote a documentary about the centuries-old tradition, an official said Tuesday. Singapore - Longer-term worry is talent: SM Goh Singapore's current property bubble is a short-term phenomenon that is not a cause for worry, said Singapore's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, neither is rising costs as it will mean......

Tamil Nadu, India - Officials in southern India are investigating claims that a couple, who are both doctors, let their 15-year-old son perform surgery to get into Guinness World Records as the world's youngest surgeon. Iwo Jima, Japan - Clint Eastwood's pair of films about the famous battle on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima have spurred former residents to change the name of the island to Iwo To. Islamabad, Pakistan - In response to......

Southeast Asia - Southeast Asian nations are battling a surge in dengue cases, amid signs that climate change could make 2007 the worst year on record for a disease that often gets less attention than some higher-profile health risks. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Malaysia's top civil court has rejected the appeal of Muslim convert Lina Joy to be recognized as a Christian in a landmark case that has been seen as a litmus test......

Kaesong, North Korea: The managers of this capitalist enclave in communist North Korea are appealing for the world's support, saying their experiment in free markets can pave the way for regional peace. Kaesong supporters are aiming for the city to emulate Shenzhen, the special economic zone bordering Hong Kong, which kick-started China's economic boom, and say this will narrow the huge economic gap between North and South Korea with the help of foreign support. Liupanshui,......

Singapore - Singapore will host a round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship, making it the home of Asia's first street circuit (the only other street circuits are in Monaco and Valencia). More exciting is the fact that this will be the first night-time event in Formula One history! Dili, Timor Leste - Asia-Pacific's newest and poorest nation turns five, and the success of the country's recent presidential election, won resoundingly by Nobel......

Guangdong, China - 25 year old Chinese woman Yang Huiyan is now Asia's richest woman and China's richest person after her father transfers his shares to her and the company debuts on the Hong Kong stock exchange. At $9 billion, Yang is richer than George Soros, Steve Jobs of Apple and Rupert Murdoch of News Corp. But sorry guys, she is already married!Singapore - Founding father of modern Singapore Lee Kuan Yew, acknowledging the view......

Pyongyang, North Korea: The DPRK has celebrated the birthday of its "Eternal President", the late Kim Il Sung, with a mass games involving thousands of performers clad in colourful costumes, while the rest of the world sweats over its missed disarmament deadline.Tokyo, Japan: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said Tokyo feels responsible for forcing women to work in brothels during World War II, in contrast to earlier remarks last month that there was no proof......