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Rejuvenation in China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been speeded up with the appointment of a new commander of the strategic Beijing Military Region.

Anti-terrorist units in China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) have started a series of maneuvers in areas close to concentrations of ethnic minorities.

More than two decades into the swing of economic reform, the pursuit of profit often drives construction and production too fast for safety regulators to keep up with -- and China's labor force is paying the price.

Statements on Taiwan by China's regional cadres have suggested Beijing is proceeding cautiously with its apparent olive branch to the island's governing pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Indonesia is bracing itself for yet another political crisis after the Attorney General's office accused House Speaker Akbar Tandjung of involvement in a multi-million dollar scandal.

The former Indonesian-controlled province of East Timor will hold presidential elections on April 14 the territory's U.N. administrator has announced.

Lawyers representing detainees at Australia's remote Woomera detention center say that as many as 15 unaccompanied children held at the camp have forged a suicide pact.

A little known episode in the southern city of Guangzhou last month has shown China's flourishing private businessmen have yet to enjoy the trust of the Communist party leadership.

Authorities in Jiangxi Province, China, have bowed to domestic and international pressure by deciding to close down the region's fireworks industry in two years.

A major bush fire has broken out in the heart of Sydney suburbia, threatening thousands of homes in the Pennant Hills area about 25 kilometers (16 miles) north west of the city center.

A major bush fire has broken out in the heart of Sydney suburbia, threatening thousands of homes in the Pennant Hills area about 25 kilometers (16 miles) north west of the city center.

Firefighters in Sydney are concentrating efforts late Wednesday on stopping blazes entering the Lane Cove National Park in the city's inner north west as gusty winds and high temperatures push fires ever closer to the city center.

Firefighters in Sydney are concentrating efforts late Wednesday on stopping blazes entering the Lane Cove National Park in the city's inner north west as gusty winds and high temperatures push fires ever closer to the city center.

Firefighters in Sydney are concentrating efforts late Wednesday on stopping blazes entering the Lane Cove National Park in the city's inner north west as gusty winds and high temperatures push fires ever closer to the city center.

Details are emerging about fresh fighting in eastern Afghanistan, an area torn by factional rivalries among its ethnic Pashtuns.

The former British colony's court ruling on mainland migrants living in Hong Kong, a place many call home, has now come to a dramatic close after four and a half years.

Australia's two-week-old bush fire crisis has finally taken a turn for the better, with unexpectedly heavy overnight rainfall in and around Sydney bringing some relief to the beleaguered city.

Australia's two-week-old bush fire crisis has finally taken a turn for the better, with unexpectedly heavy overnight rainfall in and around Sydney bringing some relief to the beleaguered city.

In India Hindu holy men and their supporters have completed a march from Ayodhya to Delhi to press their demand that a temple be built on the site of a mosque pulled down in 1992.

Nine child inmates of the Woomera detention center have been removed from the facility as an independent negotiating team works overtime to bring a two-week protest crisis at the camp to an end.

Afghan hunger strikers at the Woomera detention camp have asked to be handed over to the United Nations, saying the Australian government is refusing to recognize their refugee status.

China and India have agreed to work together to fight terrorism, stressing that their relationship does not hinge on their differing positions on Pakistan.

Indonesia moved against militant Muslim groups for the first time when police questioned a Muslim cleric whom regional governments have accused of being linked to terrorist networks and possibly al Qaeda.

Indonesia's radical Muslim are intensifying their quest for the adoption of Islamic Shariah law throughout the vast nation.

Japan is expected to contribute a massive aid package to Afghanistan, as the central Asian country teeters on the edge of formal bankruptcy.

President Jiang Zemin hopes a high-profile state visit to Washington can be arranged before he steps down from office in about a year's time.

South Pacific siblings Australia and New Zealand cherish an intense, but usually good-natured rivalry in everything from sports to dessert recipes.

The desperate act of asylum seekers in the notorious Woomera detention camp sewing their lips together has shocked and horrified many Australians.

The Philippine government's claim that followers of rebel governor Nur Misuari have been neutralized will soon be put to the test as prosecutors prepare to put him on trial on charges of rebellion.

Fire authorities are becoming increasingly optimistic that they have Australia's bush fire crisis under control, despite the outbreak of a suspicious new blaze.

Protest action at the Australian detention camp of Woomera is intensifying with three detainees attempting to hang themselves from a perimeter fence.

Protest action at the Australian detention camp of Woomera is intensifying with three detainees attempting to hang themselves from a perimeter fence overnight.

North Korea has hit back at U.S. President George W. Bush's State of the Union address saying it was close to declaring a war.

Bush fires are continuing to force thousands of people to evacuate their homes to the west and south of Sydney as dry weather and erratic winds prolong the crisis.

Bush fires are continuing to force thousands of people to evacuate their homes to the west and south of Sydney as dry weather and erratic winds prolong the crisis.

Sydney awoke to its tenth day of bush fire crisis Wednesday with blazes still burning in the city's leafy northern suburbs.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark will meet U.S. President George W. Bush in March, the first formal meeting between the two nations since 1975.

With China producing almost 70 percent of the world's toys, it comes as little surprise to find that Hong Kong, on the mainland's doorstep, is playing host to Asia's largest, and the world's third grandest, toy trade fair.

In a move that reveals the scope of the al Qaeda terrorist network's involvement in southeast Asia, Philippine authorities said Saturday they have arrested three men linked to a group of suspected al Qaeda terrorists arrested last month for a plot to bomb U.S. targets in southeast Asia.

The Philippine government is considering a U.S. proposal to send a full military battalion to the Southeast Asian nation's troubled south.

Lehman Brothers has pledged to invest up to $1 billion in the Philippines recovery fund.

An advance team of U.S. troops are on the ground in the Philippines to plan for war games with live targets, suggesting that a Philippine extremist group could be next in the war against terrorism.

As Australian firefighters try to combat the worst bush inferno since 1984, Southeast Asia is again considering its own age-old battle with forest fires as the dry season approaches.

Pressure is mounting on the Australian government to resolve the legal status of captured al Qaeda fighter David Hicks, following a decision by the U.S. to charge one of their citizens with conspiracy to murder.

Pressure is mounting on the Australian government to resolve the legal status of captured al Qaeda fighter David Hicks, following a decision by the U.S. to charge one of their citizens with conspiracy to murder.

MANILA, Philippines (CNN) - Philippine legislators have begun a high-level inquiry into the presence of U.S. troops in the country, with senators and top lawyers warning of the risks of increased U.S. military intervention in Philippine affairs.

Beijing and Moscow have tried to claw back some initiative on the anti-terrorist front by boosting the functions of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The Singapore government says it has broken up a network of militants targeting the U.S. embassy and American businesses after arresting 15 people with suspected links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group.

Singapore believes it has broken up a network of militants targeting the U.S. embassy and American businesses after arresting 15 people with suspected links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group.