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Top Asian News at 7:30 a.m. GMT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) China's latest tactic: Confessions on state TVBEIJING (AP) — The 27-year-old journalist wore a green jail uniform, his head shaved and hands in metal cuffs, when he appeared on national TV and confessed his guilt in bribery allegations. And he had yet to be charged with anything. "I willingly admit my crime, and I repent it," Chen Yongzhou said in footage aired on the state broadcaster China Central Television. He said he took money while a reporter at a metropolitan newspaper in southern China in exchange for running several stories smearing a company that makes heavy machinery. Pacific commander plans for NKorea missile threatWASHINGTON (AP) — The chief of U.S. forces in the Pacific said Tuesday he is planning for the possibility that North Korea has an intercontinental ballistic missile that can hit America although it is unclear if they really do. Adm. Samuel Locklear told reporters that North Korea wants the world to believe that it has such a capability, so he is bound to take that threat seriously. India launches first mission to MarsNEW DELHI (AP) — India on Tuesday launched its first spacecraft bound for Mars, a complex mission that it hopes will demonstrate and advance technologies for space travel. Hundreds of people watched the rocket carrying the Mars orbiter take off from the east-coast island of Sriharikota and streak across the sky. Many more across the country watched live TV broadcasts. 1 killed, 8 injured in north China explosionsBEIJING (AP) — One person was killed and eight injured in a series of small explosions Wednesday outside the provincial headquarters of the ruling Communist Party in the northern Chinese city of Taiyuan, officials said. The Shanxi provincial government and police said the blasts struck at about 7:40 a.m. (2340 GMT Tuesday). Official statements posted online gave no information about the presumed target or perpetrators and an official with the party propaganda office, Zhang Lei, said he had no additional information. Relatives of China activist lawyer depart for USBEIJING (AP) — The mother and brother of blind activist Chinese lawyer Chen Guangcheng flew to the U.S. Wednesday for a family reunion amid concerns for the health of another relative imprisoned in China. Before boarding their flight in Beijing, Wang Jinxiang and Chen Guangfu said they were uncertain how long they would stay in New York, where Chen Guangcheng has lived since soon after escaping house arrest in China in April last year with his wife and two children. Bangladesh sentences 152 to death for 2009 mutinyDHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A Bangladesh court sentenced 152 people to death Tuesday for a 2009 mutiny by disgruntled border guards who killed dozens of military commanders during a brutal, two-day uprising. The sentences followed a mass trial involving 846 defendants — a process criticized by a human rights group who said it was not credible and that at least 47 suspects died in custody. Vietnam releases dengue-blocking mosquitoTRI NGUYEN ISLAND, Vietnam (AP) — Nguyen Thi Yen rolls up the sleeves of her white lab coat and delicately slips her arms into a box covered by a sheath of mesh netting. Immediately, the feeding frenzy begins. Hundreds of mosquitoes light on her thin forearms and swarm her manicured fingers. They spit, bite and suck until becoming drunk with blood, their bulging bellies glowing red. Yen laughs in delight while her so-called "pets" enjoy their lunch and prepare to mate. Trial in Myanmar Embassy plot begins in IndonesiaJAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — One of the suspected militants who plotted to attack the Myanmar Embassy in Indonesia has gone on trial on charges of terrorism that could result in a death sentence. Prosecutors at the South Jakarta District Court accused Separiano on Wednesday of wanting to bomb the embassy because of anger over Myanmar's treatment of Muslims and to retaliate against attacks there on Rohingyas. Philippine Abu Sayyaf militants abduct 2 workersMANILA, Philippines (AP) — Al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants have abducted two employees of a telecommunications company in the southern Philippines, the latest captives by a ransom-seeking group that still holds other hostages, including two European tourists, officials said Wednesday. Marine Col. Jose Cenabre said three men were traveling on motorcycles after inspecting a cellphone transmission facility when they were stopped by about 10 Abu Sayyaf gunmen Tuesday in mountainous Patikul town in Sulu province. Everyday life disrupted during Bangladesh strikeDHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Fresh clashes erupted during a strike by Bangladesh's political opposition Tuesday, confining residents to their homes and leaving them increasingly frustrated with the chaos in the streets. "We need to go to office, we need to work," said mobile phone company owner Abdus Salam, who was waiting for a bus in the capital. "The politicians do not think of us, they are obsessed with their own gains." Russia sending Sochi Olympics torch into spaceBAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) — For the first time in history, the Olympic torch will be taken on a spacewalk. The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics torch will be sent to the International Space Station on board a Russian spacecraft this week and astronauts will then carry it outside the station. Here's a look at the Sochi torch. Thai leader defends contentious amnesty billBANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's prime minister on Tuesday defended a political amnesty bill that has sparked large protests in the country's capital, but suggested her party will drop the legislation if it is rejected by the Senate. Opponents of the bill say it is designed to bring former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra back from overseas exile. After being overthrown in a 2006 military coup, Thaksin fled into self-imposed exile in 2008 to avoid serving a two-year prison sentence on a corruption conviction. China's nuclear negotiator visits North KoreaBEIJING (AP) — China's top nuclear envoy is in North Korea to discuss stalled six-nation talks aimed at ending that country's nuclear program, the Chinese foreign ministry said Tuesday. Wu Dawei arrived in North Korea on Monday for a "work discussion" and the two sides will have in-depth discussions about the six-party talks and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters at a regular briefing. Afghan suicide car bombing kills British soldierLONDON (AP) — A suicide car bomb killed a British member of the international coalition in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, authorities said. It was the second death this month of a member in the NATO-led coalition. Britain's Ministry of Defense said the soldier from 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment was killed in the attack while on patrol in the area of Kamparak, east of Lashkar Gah. Tajik leader set to expand 20-year rule in voteDUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AP) — It's an election in name only: even the challengers to Tajikistan's autocratic president have praised him and the only real opposition candidate has been barred from the race in the ex-Soviet Central Asian nation. Emomali Rakhmon, 61, who has led the mountainous, Sunni Muslim nation neighboring Afghanistan and China for more than two decades, is all but certain to win a fourth presidential term in Wednesday's vote. He polled 79 percent in the previous election seven years ago. Western monitors criticized it as lacking any genuine competition. Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |