Asia News - AFP

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan president-elect Asif Ali Zardari faced immediate pressure Sunday to tackle an upsurge in militant violence, as the toll from a suicide blast in the country's troubled northwest reached 33.

HONG KONG (AFP) - Hong Kong voters headed to the polls Sunday in lower numbers, with the city's pro-democracy parties scrambling to avoid heavy losses and several high-profile politicians facing potential defeat.

MACO, Philippines (AFP) - Authorities in the southern Philippines on Sunday ordered the evacuation of 50,000 people following two landslides in a remote mining village that left 25 dead or missing.

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korean police on Sunday arrested four people over the theft of data on 11 million customers of a local oil refiner in what is being called the country's largest-ever data leak.

PATNA, India (AFP) - India was grappling on Sunday with the task of feeding and housing close to a million villagers displaced by huge floods in the eastern state of Bihar, as the rescue effort wound down.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Two Taliban suicide bombers blew themselves up at Kandahar police headquarters in southern Afghanistan Sunday, leaving at least two people dead and dozens wounded, officials said.

NEW DELHI (AFP) - China's foreign minister arrived in India on Sunday for talks with top officials on a long-standing border row which triggered a brief but bloody war in 1962, officials said.

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korean state prosecutors have indicted more than a quarter of Seoul's city councillors for corruption in the biggest crackdown on local legislatures, officials said Sunday.

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea is to resume food assistance to North Korea next month, a news report said Sunday, after it was suspended as part of Seoul's firmer stance with its neighbour and rival.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian koalas are dying by the thousands as a result of land clearing in the country's northeast, while millions of birds and reptiles are also perishing, conservation group WWF said Sunday.

BEIJING (AFP) - The United States and Britain set the early pace at the Paralympics Sunday as Olympic swimmer Natalie du Toit claimed her first gold and Chinese officials played down an embarrassing security breach.

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Asif Ali Zardari secured a large win in Pakistan's presidential elections on Saturday, capping a remarkable rise from jail, exile and his wife Benazir Bhutto's assassination just nine months ago.

BEIJING (AFP) - The United States will take North Korea off its terror list "immediately" if it can agree a way to verify its nuclear facilities, top envoy Christopher Hill said Saturday.

VIENNA (AFP) - The United States finally persuaded supplier nations Saturday to lift a 34-year-old embargo on nuclear trade with India, following weeks of tough negotiations.

BEIJING (AFP) - China once again dazzled the world with a glittering ceremony as the Paralympics opened Saturday in the iconic "Bird's Nest" National Stadium with the message that all life has value and dignity.

HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) - A Taliban suicide bomber dressed as a beggar blew up an Afghan government building Saturday, killing six people, as two NATO soldiers and a dozen other people died in more unrest, officials said.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) - At least 16 people were killed and around 80 injured Saturday when a suicide attacker rammed his bomb-laden vehicle into a security checkpost in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej holed up at his heavily-guarded home on Saturday as protesters vowed to continue defying emergency rule and hold marches demanding he step down.

MACO, Philippines (AFP) - Six people were killed and at least seven others were missing after a landslide triggered by heavy rains buried houses in the southern Philippines, officials said Saturday.

JAKARTA (AFP) - Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said Saturday he is on track to meet a mid-September deadline to recruit enough members of parliament to topple the government.

NEW DELHI (AFP) - Taktser Rinpoche, the Dalai Lama's eldest brother who championed independence for Tibet, has died in the United States at the age of 86, a spokesman for the Tibetan spiritual leader said Saturday.

MANAMA (AFP) - Japan beat Bahrain 3-2 in a pulsating opening match of the fourth and final Asian qualifying round for the 2010 World Cup here on Saturday.

CHENGDU, China (AFP) - Taiwan's Tsai Chi-huang shot a six-under-par 66 and Chinese amateur Zhang Xinjun posted a 69 to share the lead going into Sunday's final round of the Luxehills Golf Championship here.

BEIJING (AFP) - Britain took an early lead in the Paralympics medal table on Sunday as Olympian Natalie du Toit starred and Chinese officials played down an embarrassing security breach at the glittering opening ceremony.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Two suicide bombers struck inside the police headquarters in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar Sunday, leaving dozens of people dead and wounded, officials said.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian conservatives said Sunday they were hopeful of taking power in the country's wealthy, resource-rich west following a state election, but acknowledged the result still hung in the balance.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Two suicide bombers struck inside the police headquarters in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar Sunday, killing at least eight people, a senior local official told AFP.

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar (AFP) - Myanmar's police chief on Sunday denied detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was on hunger strike after her party said she has been refusing food for three weeks.