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Beijing has renewed its call for Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to shed his independence goals and return to China.

The United States is pushing Pakistan to extradite the prime suspect in the killing of American reporter Daniel Pearl. CNN's Chris Burns is in Karachi, and Wednesday morning he spoke to CNN anchor Carol Costello.

Clashes marred voting as residents in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh went to the polls in an election that will test support for the government during its stand-off with nuclear foe Pakistan.

U.S. Green Beret commandos have flown in to Basilan island in the southern Philippines where Philippine troops have been pursuing Muslim guerillas for over eight months.

Voters in Laos have flocked to polling stations for five-yearly elections as the ageing leadership of one of the world's last communist regimes vowed to inject new blood while maintaining its grip on power.

The fate of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, kidnapped in Pakistan, was still unknown Saturday after one group's claim on Friday that it killed him as well as a ransom demand for his release.

The fate of kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was thrown into further confusion Friday by one group's claim that it killed him and reports that another group is demanding money for his release.

International security forces patrolling Kabul and an Afghan civilian offered conflicting accounts Saturday over an outbreak of gunfire earlier in the day.

A videotape delivered to Pakistani officials last week showed the execution of kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. CNN's Connie Chung viewed a copy of that videotape and recounted what she saw Tuesday to CNN's Aaron Brown.

The current bird flu outbreak has overshadowed preparations in Hong Kong for next week's Lunar New Year celebrations.

U.S. President George W. Bush's revised plan to combat global warming has met with a mixed international reaction.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the self-confessed mastermind of the kidnapping of American reporter Daniel Pearl, is to reappear in a Karachi anti-terrorism court Monday where he may fill in details of a crime that shocked the world by its barbarity.

Cyclone Chris, one of the most powerful storms to hit Australia is rampaging through the country's sparsely populated northwest, with wind gusts of up to 200 kilometers per hour (125 miles per hour) battering remote communities.

Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has cancelled all appointments for three months to give him time to recover from his recent bowel infection, officials at his private office say.

Danish photographer Erik Refner has won the prestigious World Press Photo of The Year award with a picture of the body of an Afghan baby boy refugee.

Following are key dates in Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl's kidnapping:

The bird flu virus sweeping Hong Kong has been linked to a strain that killed six people in 1997.

A homemade bomb has exploded at a public market on the southern Philippine island of Jolo, killing at least five people and wounding 45.

A court in Singapore has sentenced two Thai men to death for the murder of a pimp and drug pusher, the Straits Times newspaper has reported.

At least three people have been confirmed dead after a U.S. military helicopter carrying 10 U.S. Army members crashed in the sea while on a routine mission in the Philippines, a U.S. official said.

Fiji coup leader George Speight has been sentenced to death by the High Court in Suva after pleading guilty to a charge of treason.

A movie featuring late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping will be hitting the mainland silver screens this summer.

A document detailing plans for simultaneous bomb attacks on U.S. diplomatic compounds in Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur late last year has been uncovered by Indonesian police, Singapore's Straits Times newspaper has reported.

A delegation from Norway has arrived in Sri Lanka to begin work on hammering out a formal ceasefire agreement that would end almost two decades of civil war in the country.

Deposed Philippine president Joseph Estrada has admitted to signing a false name on a bank document, a crucial charge in his aborted impeachment case.

Independence leader Jose Alexandre Gusmao has officially declared himself a candidate in the race to be East Timor's first president.

Another accident in China's disaster-hit coalmines has claimed the lives of at least nine miners, state media has reported.

Fiji is abolishing the death penalty for treason on the eve of the trial of 13 coup plotters.

Myanmar's ruling military blocked an International Labour Organisation (ILO) delegation investigating forced labor from meeting pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, opposition party officials said.

The Philippine government has released a gruesome videotape of alleged guerrillas beheading captured soldiers.

Guns are falling silent across Sri Lanka in accordance with a cease-fire deal signed by the government and Tamil Tiger rebels following almost two decades of war.

Vietnam says it will not sign a new agreement on the military use of its Cam Ranh Bay port, apparently ruling out any formal treaty with Washington for access to the former U.S. naval base constructed during the Vietnam War.

The first court appearance of three men arrested in connection with the kidnapping of U.S. reporter Daniel Pearl was delayed Monday for legal reasons.

Hindu rioters attacked Muslims in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday in retaliation for a Wednesday attack on a train that killed dozens of Hindus.

Tung Chee-hwa has won a second five-year term as Hong Kong's chief executive, having secured the support of the majority of the Election Committee members.

Health workers in Hong Kong have completed the slaughter of more than 100,000 chickens suspected of having bird flu.

Australia's Prime Minster John Howard has arrived in Jakarta at the start of a three-day visit to Indonesia designed to improve strained relations between the two countries.

Australia's Prime Minster John Howard has arrived in Jakarta at the start of a three-day visit to Indonesia designed to improve strained relations between the two countries.

As Indian and Pakistani troops stage a tense stand-off along their common border, India's defense minister announced a major arms deal with Russia on Friday.

Fearing sectarian riots, Indian authorities have stepped up security after more than 50 Hindus died in a train fire set by a suspected mob of Muslims.

New Delhi has dismissed as totally baseless suggestions by Pakistan that India may have carried out a fresh nuclear test.

India's parliament has resumed for the first time since a suicide attack in December with a new strategy from the government on Kashmir designed to stamp out terrorism.

Indian voters have streamed to the polls in the first of four state elections.

India is demanding that Pakistan hand over 20 suspected militants it accuses of carrying out terrorist attacks and other crimes on Indian territory.

India is demanding that Pakistan handover 20 suspected militants it accuses of carrying out terrorist attacks and other crimes on Indian territory.

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) - With Indian and Pakistani troops locked in a tense military standoff along their common border, New Delhi is expected to ink a multi-million dollar arms deal later this week with an old ally -- Russia.

India, locked in a tense military stand off with Pakistan, began talks with Russia on Wednesday on the supply of bombers, an aircraft carrier and nuclear-powered submarines to New Delhi, an Indian official said.

An Indonesia labor activist has turned down a $50,000 human rights award from sporting goods giant Reebok in protest at the low salaries she says the company pays its workers in her homeland.

Pakistan's interior minister said Friday investigators know the names of the militants who abducted and killed American journalist Daniel Pearl and are taking the strongest possible actions ... (to) bring them to swift justice.

An Iranian official Monday dismissed accusations from the United States that Iran is harboring members of al Qaeda and the Taliban and warned that any attack against neighboring Iraq would be an irreparable mistake.