Asia News

ISLAMABAD - Pakistani police said they arrested five U.S. citizens Wednesday in a raid in the east of the country, but declined to give a reason for the detentions. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Progress against the insurgency in Afghanistan probably will be slower than during the buildup of U.S. forces in Iraq two years ago, and the war will be "harder before it gets easier," a top U.S. general said Wednesday. Full Story »

KABUL - U.S. commanders in Afghanistan are reporting a sudden surge in Afghan army recruits this month, a much-needed boost after Afghan President Hamid Karzai said his security forces may not be able to take over from U.S. troops for up to five more years. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Pakistan's military operations have "significantly degraded" Taliban militants but Islamabad has yet to go after the Taliban's Afghan leadership, a top US general said on Wednesday. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Violence in Afghanistan may climb in the short-term, along with internal government turmoil, U.S. General David Petraeus told Congress on Wednesday, urging lawmakers to reserve judgment on the new war strategy for a full year. Full Story »

NEW DELHI (AFP) - India still lacks adequate security to protect itself from militant attacks and its burgeoning IT sector and power infrastructure are prime targets, the government warned Wednesday. Full Story »

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes tribunal on Wednesday dismissed a demand to disqualify the court's French investigating judge for bias, submitted last month by the lawyer for a Khmer Rouge leader. Full Story »

JAKARTA (AFP) - Thousands of Indonesians rallied on Wednesday in several major cities under tight security to mark international anti-corruption day, slamming the government over a bank bailout scandal. Full Story »

KABUL (AFP) - NATO commanders on Wednesday warned US Defence Secretary Robert Gates of the challenges involved in recruiting Afghan soldiers and police, which the US military hopes will number 287,000 by July 2011. Full Story »

BRUSSELS (AFP) - Thirty-six US allies pledged some 6,800 troops this week to help implement a new strategy to break the momentum of Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked fighters in Afghanistan, a NATO spokesman said Wednesday. Full Story »

TOKYO - Japan's prime minister said Wednesday that he hopes to meet with President Barack Obama next week to offer his proposals on the relocation of a major American military base in Okinawa that has led to a rift between the allies. Full Story »

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - A U.S. envoy praised the Sri Lankan government Wednesday for making progress in resettling hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tamil civilians detained since the end of the country's civil war. Full Story »

KABUL - The mayor of Kabul continued to run Afghanistan's capital Wednesday despite being sentenced to four years in jail on corruption charges, raising questions about President Hamid Karzai's campaign to prove he's serious about tackling graft and bribery in the government. Full Story »

KABUL - The No. 2 commanding general in Afghanistan acknowledged Wednesday that a NATO-led attack the day before in eastern Afghanistan possibly resulted in civilian deaths. Full Story »

NEW DELHI - Indian children are increasingly caught in the middle of fighting between the government and communist rebels in impoverished rural areas, with at least 42 schools attacked in the past year, a human rights group said Wednesday. Full Story »

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine police on Wednesday named 161 suspects in the massacre of 57 people last month in the country's worst election violence, including government militiamen led by members of a powerful clan facing murder and rebellion charges. Full Story »

YANGON, Myanmar - Detained Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was taken from her home Wednesday into unannounced talks with a junta official, the first in two months, officials said. Full Story »

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A statue of President Barack Obama as a 10-year-old wearing shorts and a T-shirt has been erected in a Jakarta park to inspire children in the country where he lived as a boy, officials said Wednesday. Full Story »