Asia News

KABUL, Afghanistan - The legitimacy of Afghanistan's parliamentary elections is severely threatened by insurgent attacks on candidates and the lack of security provided by the government, an international rights group said Thursday. Full Story »

KABUL, Afghanistan - Hundreds of angry Afghans burned an American flag and chanted "Death to the Christians" on Thursday to protest plans by a small American church to torch copies of the Muslim holy book on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Full Story »

BEIJING (Reuters) - Myanmar's reclusive leader on Thursday reassured Beijing that China is a vital ally and said an upcoming election and planned power transfer to a civilian government would not affect relations. Full Story »

BEIJING (Reuters) - China warned Japan on Thursday that ties would suffer if Tokyo mishandles a dispute over a Chinese boat seized in disputed seas, intensifying a territorial rift that could deepen discord between Asia's top two economies. Full Story »

KABUL (Reuters) - Despite some electoral reforms, detecting graft in Afghanistan's September 18 parliamentary election will be harder than in last year's presidential poll due to the current voting system, a Western observer group said on Thursday. Full Story »

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea celebrated its 62nd anniversary Thursday with odes to supreme leader Kim Jong Il and pilgrimages to his late father's statue amid hints that a political meeting believed aimed at promoting his son as successor is imminent. Full Story »

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - A British journalist held captive by extremists in Pakistan's militant-hit northwest has been released, the British embassy confirmed Thursday. Full Story »

PARACHINAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed 10 people and wounded four in a Pakistani tribal region on the Afghan border Thursday, a government official said, as militants linked to al Qaeda launch a new wave of attacks. Full Story »

BRUSSELS - The European Union presidency said Thursday that Iran's suspension of a stoning sentence against a woman convicted of adultery is not enough and demands it be completely overturned. Full Story »

TOKYO - Japan will damage its relations with China if it decides to prosecute the captain of a Chinese fishing boat that collided with Japanese patrol vessels near disputed islands, Beijing warned Thursday. Full Story »

MANILA, Philippines - Some victims in a botched hostage rescue of a tourist bus in the Philippines may have been hit by police fire, the nation's top law enforcement official said Thursday. Full Story »

SEOUL, South Korea - A news report says South Korean authorities have indicted a Christian activist who made an unapproved visit to North Korea. Full Story »

DONGSHIGU VILLAGE, China - A blind, self-taught activist lawyer who documented forced abortions and other abuses was released from a Chinese prison Thursday and promptly confined in his rural village with limited access to communication, a relative said. Full Story »

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan - A suspected American missile strike killed five alleged militants in northwestern Pakistan early Thursday, an intelligence official said, the fourth such attack on suspected insurgent targets there in 24 hours. Full Story »

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's top prosecutor said Thursday that while President Hamid Karzai backs the work of Western-supported anti-corruption teams, he wants investigations to be led by Afghans and free of interference from international advisers. Full Story »

ISLAMABAD - A British journalist held captive by Islamist militants in northwestern Pakistan since March has been released, the British High Commission in Pakistan said Thursday. Full Story »

NEW DELHI - A bus crowded with Hindu pilgrims veered off the road and crashed into a river in central India, killing at least 21 people, media reported Thursday. Full Story »

BEIJING - A Chinese court has sentenced a top provincial official responsible for rooting out corruption to death for accepting more than $1 million in bribes. Full Story »