Pakistan’s chairman of IAEA, Ansar Parvez (right) Pakistan became the new chair of the UN nuclear watchdog’s governing body on Monday, despite being outside a global anti-nuclear arms pact. Western diplomats have suggested they do not see the choice as ideal because like India, North Korea and Israel, Pakistan has shunned the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that is at the heart of the International... 

Cambodia’s main opposition party leader was convicted in absentia Thursday and sentenced to 10 years in prison for a politically sensitive comment about a border dispute, in what critics said was another example of the government’s intimidation of its opponents. Sam Rainsy, who is living in exile in Paris, was convicted of spreading false information about a border dispute with Vietnam.... 

Chinese hold anti-Japan protests over boat incident on sensitive political anniversary. Protesters in several cities across China marked a politically sensitive anniversary Saturday with anti-Japan chants and banners, as authorities tried to stop anger over a diplomatic spat between the Asian giants from getting out of control. As some chanted “Wipe out the Japanese devils!” and stamped... 

Japan’s new foreign minister has taken tough stance toward China on territorial dispute. A security expert and China hawk, Japan’s new foreign minister has already taken a tough stance toward Beijing amid escalating diplomatic tension over a territorial dispute between the two Asian giants. Seiji Maehara, the former transport minister and most prominent symbol of change in Prime Minister... 

North Korea has offered South Korea a new round of reunions for families separated by the Korean War, state media said Saturday. Reunions last happened in September and October 2009, and their potential renewal could signal an easing of tensions after the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in March. The North proposed that the two Koreas’ Red Cross societies meet soon to discuss the gatherings.... 

Japan’s Defense Ministry stressed the importance of U.S. military forces in Japan and cast a wary eye on China’s military expansion in an annual report Friday, as diplomatic tensions with China rose following a collision near disputed islands. The annual defense policy report also said a group of South Korean-controlled islands, called Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese, were an... 

The president was elated over the outcome of the vote Protesters burnt an effigy of President Mahinda Rajapaksa Sri Lankan MPs have approved proposals to let President Mahinda Rajapaksa seek an unlimited number of terms, in a move critics say could lead to dictatorship. The constitutional amendment also hugely boosts the president’s powers. Amid protest and counter-protest in the capital Colombo,... 

From left to right, Glenna Legarda, Erlyn Umpad and Monette Salaysay, relatives of the victims of the Maguindanao massacre, arrived at the courtroom. The clan accused of orchestrating the Philippines’ worst political massacre — also considered the single worst killing of journalists on record — plotted the attack over a family dinner, a longtime housekeeper testified Wednesday at the start of... 

Vietnam’s president has ordered more than 17,000 prisoners freed as part of the country’s annual National Day amnesty, officials said Saturday. Twenty of those to be released have been charged with national security crimes, but no high-profile pro-democracy dissidents were included. Several were ethnic minorities from the restive Central Highlands bordering Cambodia. Vietnam has been criticized... 

An amazing discovery of 2000-4000 year old Caucasian descent mummies in the Tarim basin of Western China occurred in the early 90s. But more amazing than the discovery itself was the astonishing fact that the mummies were blond haired and long nosed. In 1993, Victor Mayer a college professor collected DNA from the mummies and his tests verified that the bodies were all of European genetic stock. Ancient... 

Goldman Sachs & Co., reviled in the U.S. for its role in the financial crisis, is now getting hammered in the world’s No. 2 economy with a sensationalist new book accusing the investment bank of trying to destroy China. The “Goldman Sachs Conspiracy,” which has sold over 100,000 copies since it was released in June, reaching popular website Sina.com’s top-10 list, follows... 

Shipping containers pile up at a new container port in Wuhan, China on March 27. After three decades of spectacular growth, China passed Japan in the second quarter to become the world’s second-largest economy behind the United States, according to government figures released early Monday. The milestone, though anticipated for some time, is the most striking evidence yet that China’s ascendance... 

French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen leads a delegation of far-right European politicians to Japan this week where they plan to visit Tokyo’s controversial Yasukuni shrine to war dead. When asked about the visit to the shrine, which honours 2.5 million Japanese war dead including 14 top war criminals from World War II, the party’s deputy leader Bruno Gollnisch said “bad... 

Saying “I told you so” isn’t always a sign of bad manners – not when good news is involved. Well, I did tell you to expect this: China has now raced past Japan to become the world’s number two economy. Just last Christmas I wrote that China would blow past the Chinese economy this year. And so it has. Yi Gang, China’s top currency regulator, says China has “in... 

Tensions are growing between the United States and China after Washington weighed in on territorial disputes between China and Southeast Asian nations in the South China Sea. China lays claim to maritime territories in the sea along with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. While most of the territory consists of small islands, boulders, and strips of sand, some of them are believed...