hhttp://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/?tab=asia Latest news stories from Asia. Radio Australia News nospam@your.abc.net.au nospam@your.abc.net.au 2008-05-16T14:41:55+11:00 2008-05-16T14:41:55+11:00 China's premier, Wen Jiabao, has described the earthquake in the southwestern province of Sichuan as the 'most destructive' since the founding of modern China in 1949. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2246719.htm 2008-05-16T14:41:55+11:00 china earthquake Heavy rain is forecast for the weekend over Burma's cyclone affected south-east, adding to the humanitarian crisis facing the more than 2.5 million people in urgent need of assistance. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2246716.htm 2008-05-16T14:41:55+11:00 burma cyclones relief-and-aid-organisations A senior United Nations human rights official has accused Afghan and international forces of a lack of transparency and accountability over the deaths of civilians in armed raids around the country. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2247031.htm 2008-05-16T14:41:55+11:00 afghanistan defence-forces The Philippines government and the rebel communist-led National Democratic Front have met for informal peace talks. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2246511.htm 2008-05-16T14:41:53+11:00 philippines forms-of-government Six members of the Ahmadiya Islamic sect in Indonesia are seeking asylum in Australia, saying they can no longer live safely in Indonesia after being declared heretics and threatened with a government ban. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2246232.htm 2008-05-16T14:41:54+11:00 indonesia australia religion-and-beliefs Indonesia's government plans to transfer more than $US1.5 billion in cash to the poor, to offset the impact of rising fuel prices. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2246120.htm 2008-05-16T13:08:54+11:00 indonesia energy poverty Japan says it has signed an agreement to help Vietnam build its first nuclear power plant. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2246329.htm 2008-05-16T13:08:54+11:00 vietnam japan nuclear-issues Malaysia's transport minister says he will try to resolve a airfare war between the national carrier and budget airline AirAsia. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2246331.htm 2008-05-16T13:08:49+11:00 malaysia singapore regulation China has issued an urgent appeal for earth-moving equipment to help rescue efforts in the country's south-west following Monday's earthquake. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2246292.htm 2008-05-16T09:59:02+11:00 china earthquake The United Nations is organising an emergency summit on Burma's cyclone disaster, which will be held in Asia. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2246168.htm 2008-05-16T09:59:01+11:00 burma asia cyclones relief-and-aid-organisations In Japan, environmental group Greenpeace says it has uncovered evidence of wide-spread theft of whale meat from the country's scientific whaling program. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2246332.htm 2008-05-16T08:19:16+11:00 japan conservation A little-known Muslim group has claimed responsibility for a set of coordinated bomb blasts that tore through a packed shopping area in the western Indian tourist city of Jaipur earlier this week. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2246284.htm 2008-05-15T22:21:18+11:00 india pakistan bangladesh A suicide bomber disguised in a woman's burqa has exploded in a crowded bazaar in western Afghanistan, killing 18 police and civilians. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2246285.htm 2008-05-15T21:43:04+11:00 afghanistan Fifty-five Indonesian fishermen have been cleared of illegal fishing off Australia's northern coast. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2246206.htm 2008-05-15T19:23:26+11:00 indonesia australia Vietnamese police say they have made the largest drug haul in the country's history, seizing nearly nine tons of cannabis resin in cartons which were en route from Pakistan to China. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2246175.htm 2008-05-15T19:23:26+11:00 vietnam pakistan china crime Greenpeace Japan has filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors against the 12-member crew of the Japanese whaling ship, the Nisshin Maru. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2246176.htm 2008-05-15T18:17:21+11:00 japan conservation The United Nations' humanitarian chief John Holmes is being sent to Burma to try to persuade the government to allow the free flow of international aid for the cyclone victims. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2245066.htm 2008-05-15T14:53:31+11:00 burma cyclones relief-and-aid-organisations Reports from Pakistan say up to 14 people have been killed in a missile attack on a village in the Bajaur tribal area in the northwest of the country. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2245425.htm 2008-05-15T14:53:30+11:00 pakistan united-states treaties-and-alliances The price of export benchmark Thai rice has stabilised to around $US1,000 a tonne. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2245424.htm 2008-05-15T14:53:30+11:00 thailand malaysia agricultural-crops The international software industry says software piracy is worsening in the Asia-Pacific region, and the trend shows no sign of abating. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2245539.htm 2008-05-15T14:53:30+11:00 asia pacific fraud-and-corporate-crime computers-and-technology A court in Bali says it will not hold hearings to consider a third 'final appeal' received Wednesday from the three Bali bombers on death row in Indonesia. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2245061.htm 2008-05-15T12:05:12+11:00 indonesia The Philippine government admits that it is not prepared to cope with the effects of a major earthquake like the recent one that struck China and caused major devastation. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2245064.htm 2008-05-15T10:45:32+11:00 philippines emergency-planning In cricket, Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has been suspended for five one day internationals for slapping his Indian team-mate S Sreesanth during the Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2245063.htm 2008-05-15T10:45:31+11:00 india cricket Authorities in the western Indian city of Jaipur have imposed a dawn-to-dusk curfew in parts of the city, a day after eight bombs exploded in a busy evening market, killing 63 people and injuring more than 200 others. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2244065.htm 2008-05-15T10:45:31+11:00 india Frustrated foreign aid workers denied permission to enter Burma eleven days after Cyclone Nargis devastated the southern delta, are resorting to desperate tactics to get supplies into the country. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2243932.htm 2008-05-15T01:20:56+11:00 burma cyclones relief-and-aid-organisations