China has executed the top justice official in the city of Chongqing as part of a crackdown on corruption. Wen Qiang, former director of the Chongqing Municipal Judicial Bureau, was the highest-ranking official charged in connection with the scandal. He was convicted of accepting bribes, rape and shielding criminal gangs. Dozens of officials have been [...]
The Taliban in Afghanistan have told the BBC that there is no question of their entering into any kind of negotiations with Nato forces. It comes after US commanders and the British army chief of staff, Gen David Richards, suggested that it might be useful to talk to the Taliban. The Taliban statement is uncompromising, [...]
US lawmakers have voted to cut almost $4bn (£2.7bn) in aid to the government of Afghanistan, after allegations of corruption. It comes after the Wall Street Journal reported that huge sums of cash had allegedly been flown out of Kabul international airport in recent years. Military operations and humanitarian aid will not be affected by [...]
China and Taiwan have signed a historic trade pact, seen as the most significant agreement since civil war separated the two sides 60 years ago. The Economic Co-operation Framework Agreement (ECFA) removes tariffs on hundreds of products. It could boost bilateral trade that already totals $110bn (£73bn) a year. The deal is seen as the [...]
Hardly a day has gone by this year without news coming from China of mass protests, labor strikes or violent attacks. In a country where strikes and protests are taboo, these are bold, desperate actions by Chinese angry over low wages, land-grabs, abuse from officials, corruption, worsening pollution and other bread-and-butter issues. The Chinese labor [...]
The national census in India is striking a raw nerve in the country with a proposal to add a question it has not asked since British colonial times: What is your caste? Fifteen-year-old Chanda sits outside her handmade hut in a Delhi slum playing a game with the only toys she has, small dusty rocks [...]
Voters in Kyrgyzstan have given clear approval to a new constitution giving parliament more power, officials say. With nearly all the votes counted, the election commission said 90% of voters were in favour of the plan to limit the president’s powers. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he feared the move could fuel extremism. The interim [...]
Kyrgyzstan’s interim government has asked Russia to help quell ethnic fighting in the southern city of Osh, in which 50 people have been killed. “We need the entry of outside armed forces to calm the situation down,” interim leader Roza Otunbayeva said. Buildings are ablaze and gunfire can be heard as fighting between Kyrgyz and [...]
Japan’s new Prime Minister Naoto Kan is due to name his cabinet and be formally sworn in by Emperor Akihito. Mr Kan was elected prime minister by lawmakers on Friday, two days after the abrupt resignation of Yukio Hatoyama. The former PM stepped down amid tensions over a controversial US military base on the island [...]
US President Barack Obama has telephoned Japan’s new leader Naoto Kan to congratulate him and to pledge co-operation, amid tensions over a US military base on the island of Okinawa. Tokyo officials said Mr Kan had promised to make “strenuous efforts” to resolve the issue. Japan’s previous government resigned after failing to implement an election [...]
