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An ex-member of the Japanese Red Army terrorist group has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the 1970 hijacking of a plane to North Korea.

Australia and Indonesia have forged a pact to work together to combat terrorism in the region.

A fire at a nuclear power facility in Japan has left two plant workers injured, but officials say no radiation leaked from the building.

Japan's Coast Guard have begun a sonar search for a suspected North Korean spy ship that sank following a fire-fight in the East China Sea more than two months ago.

Japan is set to dispatch 690 troops to East Timor -- its largest military deployment for a U.N. peacekeeping operation.

During his final stop on his six-day diplomatic trek across East Asia, President Bush on Thursday met with China's President Jiang Zemin and discussed a wide range of issues, from weapons proliferation to the longstanding dispute over Taiwan.

As he wrapped up his trip to South Korea, President Bush on Wednesday expressed hope that North Korea and South Korea may one day see an end to hostilities and the Korean Peninsula will be united as one country.

New Zealand says it won't take any action against six judges and a court official who logged onto Internet sex sites using their work computers.

Afghanistan's interim leader Hamid Karzai has emphasized the unity of his administration in the aftermath of a minister's assassination.

The special envoy of Afghanistan's interim leader, Hamid Karzai, is holding meetings in eastern Afghanistan amid an uneasy calm between two rival Pashtun forces in the provincial capital of Gardez.

The leader of Afghanistan's interim government, Hamid Karzai, said Friday the killing of Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Abdul Rahman was an assassination and that five senior military and defense officials in Karzai's government were involved.

Humanitarian aid and security in Afghanistan are expected to dominate the agenda during a two-day visit to India by Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai.

A British-born Islamic militant believed responsible for the kidnapping of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl was arrested Tuesday and told investigators Pearl is alive, Karachi police said.

The wife of kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl released a new statement Thursday, appealing to his captors to release him. The following is the text of the statement from Mariane Pearl:

Japan's environment minister has been chosen by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi as the new head of the country's foreign ministry.

Japanese opposition parties have filed a no-confidence motion against the country's Agriculture Minister Tsutomu Takebe for what they said was his mishandling of an outbreak of mad cow disease last year.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has reiterated his resolve to press on with his vital but painful structural reforms, even after admitting that the path to Japan's economic revival remains narrow.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's coalition government has easily beaten an opposition no-confidence motion filed against the country's agriculture minister for his handling of the recent mad cow crisis.

A tense calm has settled over this eastern Afghan city of Gardez as two rival Pashtun forces took a break from fighting.

The Chinese gambling haven of Macau has dealt out three new gaming licenses, breaking a 40-year monopoly and turning to a touch of Vegas-style glitz to revive its floundering economy.

The former Portuguese colony of Macau is set to announce the biggest shake-up in its casino industry in over 40 years Friday, hoping that a touch of Vegas-style glitz will kickstart its floundering economy.

Top Las Vegas gambling moguls promised well over a billion dollars this week to makeover Macau's seedy casino scene.

Business has been slow for months for Khui Lin Lee, a tour guide who organizes trips to the orang-utan rehabilitation Centrex near Sandakan, a thriving coastal town in Malaysia's eastern state of Sabah on Borneo.

Warring Christian and Muslim groups in Indonesias Maluku islands are set to sign a peace deal Tuesday bringing an end to one of the countrys bloodiest sectarian conflicts, Indonesian state news agency Antara has reported.

Philippine police say they have arrested a Malaysian carrying more than 100 fake passports -- possibly intended for delivery to al Qaeda terrorists.

Maoist rebels in Nepal have killed 16 policemen in their deadliest attack on a security post since authorities declared a state of emergency last year.

A strike called by Maoist rebels has shut down this Himalayan kingdom, as businesses closed and vehicles stayed off the road for a second day.

Mariane Pearl, the widow of murdered American journalist Daniel Pearl, released the following statement Friday:

The murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan has prompted a worldwide outpouring of sorrow, anger and disbelief. Here's a sampling of reactions sent by e-mail to CNN.

The tourism minister who was violently beaten to death at Kabul airport as pilgrims waited for their planes to Mecca has been buried.

Election monitors observing Cambodia's weekend local elections have given a cautious verdict on the vote saying it was not entirely free and fair.

The following is a statement issued by the office of Pakistani President, General Pervez Musharraf giving his reaction to the murder of missing Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl:

Two Malaysian Muslim girls in Singapore have been suspended from their primary schools for wearing a traditional Islamic headscarf.

Legislators in Nepal are demanding that the government resign over its failure to prevent a massacre that killed more than 130 people over the weekend.

Nepal is rushing reinforcements to the west of the country following a weekend massacre that has been called the deadliest raid by Maoist rebels in their six-year struggle to topple the monarchy.

The Nepalese government says at least 48 Maoist rebels are dead following clashes with security personnel.

The fate of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl remained unclear Monday, 12 days after he was kidnapped.

Media organizations will need to form more partnerships and news collectives if they want to keep supplying meaningful and compelling world news coverage in the future.

New Zealanders of Chinese origin have accepted a Lunar New Year apology from the government as a first step in healing old wounds caused by past discrimination towards their ancestors.

Racing against approaching bad weather, salvage teams were preparing to drain tonnes of oil from a sunken vessel off the eastern coast of New Zealand's north island.

In its latest sideswipe at the U.S. following President George W. Bush's axis of evil speech, North Korea has accused the United States of plotting a war to occupy the communist state.

A former Malaysian army captain accused of playing host to two of the alleged September 11 hijackers will not be extradited to the United States.

Authorities in Malaysia's capital city have banned a second run of international hit play The Vagina Monologues, its promoter said on Thursday.

North Korean official media has renewed its condemnation of U.S. President George W. Bush over comments he made during his recent State of the Union address, branding him crazy and reckless.

North Korea's U.N. ambassador says it is up to the United States to decide whether it wants dialogue or hostile relations with his country.

For the first time in the history of the Winter Olympics the Thai flag will fly in the parade of nations ceremony.

The ousted governor of a troubled eastern Afghanistan province vowed Monday to fight to retake control of the area, underscoring the fragile nature of peace after the Taliban's fall.

Pakistani leader Gen. Pervez Musharraf assured Afghan interim chairman Hamid Karzai Friday that his nation will back that nation's reconstruction efforts.