APU Person of the Year: Kim Jong Il

North Korean potentate Kim Jong Il becomes the first person to win AsiaPacificUniverse.com's Person of the Year award twice. In 2001, both Kim Dae-jung of South Korea and Kim Jong-il were selected as the most newsworthy persons of the year in the Asia Pacific region.

Kim Jong Il's standoff with the West and with neighboring South Korea and Japan culminating in Pyongyang's first nuclear detonation make him the hands-down winner for this year's honors. Since neither Iran or Iraq are within our purview, neither Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein were in the running.


Kim Il Jong. AFP Photo via Yahoo News.

Other candidates included former Nepali king Gyanendra Shahi who was forced to reliquish control of his government after hijacking the Nepalese democracy. Nepal now stand ready to vote on whether it should become a full republic, or hold on to a powerless constitutional monarchy.

Another monarch King Tupou IV died at 88 this year after leading his country since 1965, making him at the time of his death the fourth longest-reigning royal in the world. His son, King George Tupou V, has been forced to postpone his coronation ceremonies after deadly riots by anti-monarchy elements in Tonga.

But the North Korean leader stole the show with his bold and dangerous stand over Pyongyang's nuclear program. Few people could have predicted a year earlier that the North would be a confirmed nuclear power by now, although it has long been suspected that the country had untested nuclear weapons.

Kim Jong Il started this year's nuclear brinkmanship with repeated missile tests including tests of his feared ICBM, which according to Western sources failed in flight. Then came the usual threats to plunge the world into conflagaration if folks did not stop picking on Pyongyang.

Since he won Person of the Year in 2001, Kim Jong Il has carved an image for himself and a familiar persona that exceeds that even of his hard-handed father. He has become the quintessential Asian strong-man that exceeds even cartoon caricatures.

It's not hard to imagine this leader ruling the country from some luxurious super-fortified underground palace surrounded by the "Joy Brigade" which is said to include lovelies from Sweden. Sensitive about his diminutive stature, the Korean dictator is said to wear four inch lifts to make him appear more imposing.

News reports also claim that he is fond of Hennessey cognac and over the last 10 years has averaged around US$700,000 in purchases of this alcoholic beverage. It is said that he likes Italian food, but one Russian official claims that his favorite meal is roasted donkey.

A collector of movie videotapes, it is reported that he particularly favors James Bond flicks among Western offerings.

According to official biographies, Kim Il Jong was born on the sacred Mount Paektu, home of Korean civilization. "At the time of his birth there were flashes of lightning and thunder, the iceberg in the pond on Mount Paektu emitted a mysterious sound as it broke, and bright double rainbows rose up," so the story goes.

Although he lived a life of luxury as son of Korean leader Kim Il Sung, his mother died when he was seven and his younger brother drowned as a child.

He rose to the rank of leader of the Worker's Party of Korea before succeeding his father in 1994. News reports say he has three sons and at least one daughter who live with him in his "pleasure palace."

In his confrontation with the West, Kim Il Jong seems well fit for the role alternately showing extreme emotion or a poker face in the face of adversity. Most people who have met him don't think he's crazy despite his growing reputation as the villain of the West.

His boldness, skill in using the media, and expertise at the negotiating table make him a tough adversary. The fact that he relishes the spotlight doesn't hurt either.

Indeed by becoming a two-time APU Person of the Year, Kim Il Jong seems born to play a prominent role on the world's stage.


Korean Central News Agency photo on December 6, shows North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Il and his generals inspecting a sub-unit of the Korean People's Army Unit. AFP photo via Yahoo News.


North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, center, poses for a photograph with the soldiers of Korean People's Army 821 unit, which is situated on the undisclosed forefront, North Korea, in this early April 2006 file photo. AP Photo/Korea Central News Agency via Korea News Service/FILE via Yahoo News.

North Korea rejects talks unless U.S. sanctions lifted

Pyongyang Friday said it would not return to negotiations unless U.S. financial sanctions were lifted.

The U.S. blacklisted a Macau bank that it alleges has helped North Korea pass counterfeit money.

Meanwhile a South Korean lawmaker said that movements spotted in the north indiate a possible further nuclear test. Many analysts feel that Pyongyang will resort to missile and nuclear detonation testing to get what its looking for on the negotiating table.


Russia's envoy and Ambassador to China, Sergey Razov, left, and North Korea's envoy Kim Kye Gwan during a meeting Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2006, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. AP Photo/Frederic J. Brown, Pool via Yahoo News.

China says North Korea to resume nuclear talks

Beijing announced Moncay that North Korea will resume talks on its nuclear weapons program starting next week.

The negotiations will be the first after a 13-month boycott by North Korea protesting U.S. financial sanctions. It will also be the first talks since Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear weapon's test on Oct. 9.

North Korea's official newspaper though carried columns recommending that Tokyo not return to the talks because of Japan's sanctions in reaction to the nuclear test. "Even if they do come to the six-party talks, there will be nothing useful, with them making it difficult to solve the issue and wasting time by bringing to the table irrelevant issues,' the Rodong Sinmun newspaper said.


North Korean chief negotiator Kim Gye Gwan and a member of his delegation listen to opening remarks at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing in this November 9, 2005, file photo. AP Photo/Peter PARKS, POOL, FILE via Yahoo News.

USDA deregulates disputed GMO rice

The USDA deregulated a controversial genetically-modifed rice which was found in batches of U.S. rice certifed as GMO-free sparking trade disputes with Japan and the European Union.

The EU has implemented extensive testing of imported rice to include the LL Rice 62, detected recently in France, at the exporter's expense.

On another front, Vietnam and Thailand agreed to work together to help meet the world demand for rice. Both countries, the world's largest rice exporters, pledged not to produce GMO rice.


Rie grains seen in an undated file photo. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday formally approved a strain of genetically engineered rice whose discovery in commercial stocks earlier this year fueled a trade dispute with the European Union and Japan. USDA/Handout/Reuters via Yahoo News.

Australia and New Zealand send troops to Tonga

A joint contingent of more than 60 troops and police from New Zealand and Australia landed in Tonga Friday to support the government of the Tongan king.

Rioters destroyed about 80 percent of businesses in business district of Nuku'alofa, the capital, and eight people were killed in the unrest.


The destroyed headquarters of the Shoreline Group of Companies on Taufa'ahau Road in Nuku'alofa, Tonga is seen November 17, 2006. REUTERS/Stringer viat Yahoo News.

Violence broke out during a protest against the government calling for democratic change. Businesses of the King and his partners were targeted.

King Siaosi Tupou and his sister Princess Pilolevu have taken control of most of the state's assets following the death of their father King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV.

Calm returns after pro-democracy riots in Tonga

Security forces appear to have restored calm in the Tongan capital after massiver pro-democracy riots turned violent. Up to six people have died and reports say that some 80 percent of businesses in the central business district of Nuku'alofa were destroyed.

The Tongan government said Friday they were in control of the situation and resused military help from Australia and New Zealand.

Businesses owned by the new king and those of Tonga's Chinese community were reportedly targeted by looters. Many Chinese were said to have sought protection at the Chinese embassy.


Smoke rising from buildings in the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa. Photo from tvnz.co.nz.

New island rises off Tonga

A new volcanic island rose out of the Pacific Ocean, the Matangi Tonga news website reported Wednesday.

The island is about one mile in diameter with a crater and four peaks about one day off Neiafu in the South Pacific Ocean.


A new volcanic island that formed in July, 1995 off Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean seen in a Royal New Zealand Navy photo. AFP/RNZN/File photo via Yahoo News.

Crewmembers of the yacht Maiken reported seeing a "vast, many-miles-wide belt of densely packed pumice" on approaching the newly-formed island.

Neither Tonga's Ministry of Lands nor the Tonga Defense Service would confirm the creation of a new island.

UN: No progress in halving world hunger

A decade after political leaders pledged to halve the world's population of hungry people, no progress has been made a United Nations report said Monday.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said there are 854 million underfed people in the world.


Airport workers load aid supplies at Cointrin airport in Geneva, August 8, 2006. Denis Balibouse/Reuters photo from Yahoo News.

FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said that was only a statiscally insingnficant decrease in the number of hungry people, and that the latest trends may even indicate that the number is beginning to rise again.

"Far from decreasing, the number of hungry people in the world is currently increasing - at the rate of 4 million a year," he said.

Despite the setbacks FAO pledged to meet the goal of halving hunger by 2015 through improved agriculture in developing countries.

North Korea warns South against joining sanctions

North Korea warned its southern neighbor against joining international sanctions against Pyongyang saying it would "pay a high price" should Seoul take that course.

"If the South Korean authorities end up joining U.S.-led moves to sanction and stifle (the North) we will regard it as a declaration of confrontation against its own people ... and take corresponding measures," the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said in a statement.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a sanctions resolution in response to North Korean nuclear tests, and a South Korean task force met this week to determine how the country should address the measures, including what to do about joint economic projects with the North.


A South Korean protester disguised as North Korea leader Kim Jong-Il holds a placard reading "Let's turn (the Korean peninsula) into a sea of flames" during an anti-North Korea rally in Seoul. AFP/Jung Yeon-Je photo via Yahoo News.

Violence flares again in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka troops were on high alert after Tamil Tiger rebels stepped up attacks on naval targets.

Rebels launched an apparent suicide mission on the Galle naval base on Wednesday killing one sailor and losing 15 militants.

Fighting was also reported in other areas of southern Sri Lanka, where Tamils form a minority. The attacks sparked looting of Tamil shops by Sinhala gangs. Fighting between the rebels and the government has continued to rise since last July.


A navy officer stands next to coffins containing the bodies of sailors before they were released to their families in Colombo October 18, 2006. (Stringer/Reuters)

North Korea conducts first atom bomb test

North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon Monday apparently in the vicinity Hwadaeri, near North Korea's northeast coast.

The move sparked concern around the world especially in South Korea and Japan. Even Pyongyang's closest ally, China, labeled the test as "brazen."


North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during an army inspection in an undated handout photo released August 30, 2006. Korea News Service/File/Reuters photo via Yahoo News.

"The nuclear test was conducted with indigenous wisdom and technology, 100 percent," North Korea's official KCNA news agency announced.

South Korean intelligence officials told parliament the test appeared to be conducted in a horizontal tunnel in a mountain northwest of the Musudan missile base.

The US Geological Survey said it had detected a "shallow" earthquake of a magnitude of 4.2 degrees on the Richter scale in North Korea.

Japan's prime minister says China against N. Korea test

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters Sunday that China' President Hu Jintao agreed with Japan's position that North Korean nuclear tests are unacceptable and "cannot be tolerated."

Abe's visit to Beijing is the first by a Japanese prime minister in five years, but has been overshadowed by the North Korean nuclear crisis.

Some analysts thought that Pyongyang might conduct the tests on Sunday, the aniversary of the North Korean leader's ascent to leadership of the Korean Workers' Party.


North Korea celebrated leader Kim Jong-Il on the ninth anniversary of his rise to Korean Workers' Party chief, but was silent over the regime's threat to test a nuclear bomb. AFP/KCNA/File via Yahoo News.

North Korea announces nuke test

North Korea announced Tuesday it would test a nuclear weapon in the face of what it called "an extreme threat of nuclear war" from the United States.

No precise date was given for the test, but the announcement provoked strong reaction around the world. Japan froze North Korean bank accounts, and South Korea raised its alert level and called for special security meetings.

The tests are not a complete surprise to defense analysts though as work on nuclear test sites has been going on for some time.

There is a fear that a North Korean nuclear test could provoke Japan to build its own weapons as a deterrent, and the incoming prime minister Shinzo Abe is thought by some to be hawkish on the possibility of a Japanese nuclear capability.


An October 28, 2005 photo released by China's Xinhua News Agnecy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. North Korea said Tuesday October 3, 2006, it will conduct a nuclear test counter U.S. hostility toward the regime. AP Photo/Xinhua, Yao Dawei, FILE via Yahoo News.

Typhoon leaves at least 10 dead in Vietnam

Typhoon Xangsane hit Vietnam Sunday after killing 76 people in the Philippines on Wednesday and Thursday.

At least 10 people died in Vietnam with 99 injured and 10,000 damaged homes as heavy winds battered the central provinces.

About 200,000 people were evacuated ahead of Xangsane which means "elephant" in Laotian.


High waves slam into the beach in Quang Binh province as typhoon Xangsane headed inland on October 1, 2006. Typhoon Xangsane caused extensive damage before moving into neighbouring Laos, officials said. Vietnam News Agency/Reuters photo via Yahoo News.

Musharraf says coup rumors 'nonsense'

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said rumors of an impending military coup were "nonsense in nonsense in nonsense" in a Pakistani TV interview from the United States Sunday.

The rumors were sparked by a nationwide power outage and Musharraf's visit at a U.S. hospital. The president visited a cardiologist Saturday during a trip to Texas.

Musharraf was in the United States along with many world leaders to address the U.N. General Assembly. Thailand's former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted in a military coup before his scheduled U.N. address.


Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf makes remarks at George Washington University in Washington, Friday, Sept. 22, 2006. AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson via Yahoo News.

Thai military makes coup attempt, backs king

Thailand's military, pledging loyalty to the king, launched a coup attempt against the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday night.

Tanks encircled government buildings including Thaksin's official headquarters known as Government House.

The prime minister is in New York where he is scheduled to speak before the United Nations on Tuesday. He declared a state of emergency via a government-owned television station.


Thai soldiers patrol near the official presidential office Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday Sept. 19, 2006. AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit via Yahoo News.

Thaksin's opponents have called on the prime minister to step down, but new elections after Thaksin dissolved parliament were annulled by the courts. This has left Thailand without a functioning legislature.

Army Commander-in-Chief Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin is apparently leading the coup attempt according to an anonymous source.

Walking shark discovered

Researchers exploring the seas of Indonesia's Papua province said Monday they had discovered dozens of new species including a shark that walks on its fins and a praying mantis-like shrimp.

Some 52 new species were reported by Conseravtion International including 24 fish species and 20 corals and eight new shrimp species.

The area known as the Bird's Head Seascape is partially conserved as it lies within Indonesia's Teluk Cendarawasih National Park.


In this undated Conservation International photo, an epaulette shark (Hemiscyillum freycineti), one of over 50 likely new species recently discovered. AP Photo/Conservation International, Gerry Allen, HO via Yahoo News.

Pope's comments offend Muslims worldwide

Pope Benedict stirred anger among the world's Muslims after coments made at a speech at Regensburg University earlier this week.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the world's largest coalition of Muslim nations, said quotations used by the Pope of 14th century Byzantine Emperor, Manuel II Palaeologus amounted to "character assassination of the Prophet Mohammed" and a "smear campaign."


Pakistani Muslims protest remarks by Pope Benedict XVI in Islamabad. AFP photo via Yahoo News.

The Pakistani government passed a resolution demanding the Pope withdraw his remarks.

The reaction come at a sensitive time when the Pope is palinning to visit predominantly Muslim Turkey, once the seat of the Eastern Roman empire. Some analysts believe the Pope may be forced to postpone or cancel his visit.

New bird species found in India

A new multicolored bird species, the first in more thna 50 years, has been found in India, a member of Mumbai's Natural History Society said Tuesday.

The brightly-colored Bugun Liocichla, was sighted in May in the remote Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in India's northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh near the border with China.

Athreya, who found the bird, named it after the Bugun tribe, and the find was described by Birdlife International as "the most sensational ornithological discovery in India for more than half a century."


A Bugun Liocichla bird rests on the branch of a tree at Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in India's northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh May 25, 2006. Scientifically known as Liocichla bugunorum, a kind of babbler, was discovered in May at the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in India's hilly state of Arunachal Pradesh, bordering China. REUTERS/Ramana Athreya via Yahoo News.

Tongan King passes away, son crowned

King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV died at 11:34 pm, Sunday at Mercy Hospital in New Zealand, said the Tongan royal website.

The king who has been in bad health for some time was 88 years old.


Tonga's King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV at the royal palace in Nuku'alofa, Tonga on January 2002. AFP/File/Matangi Tonga via Yahoo News.

On Monday, the Prince Regent took the oath before the Privy Council and was sworn in as King Tupou V of Tonga.

Information of the funeral of the late king will be rleased on Tuesday according to the royal palace.

Fire's haze darkens Borneo

Dozens of uncontrolled fires continue to thicken the haze over the island of Borneo, officials said Friday.

Some eight million hectares across Indonesia have burned in the last month due mostly to illegal land-clearing and illegal logging. About 60 percent of the burnt area was farm land with the remainder forest.

"Now visibility is down to 500 metres, planes can still take off but we will have to see later," said an official speaking of Central Kalimantan.


Villagers head home through thick haze uncontrolled forest fires in Riau, Sumatra province, August 2006. AFP/Greenpeace/Getty Images/File/Vinai Dithajon via Yahoo News.

Princess Kiko bears heir to Chrysanthemum Throne

In what will certainly be celebrated by the traditional, male-dominance conservatives, Japan's Princess Kiko gave birth to the first imperial male heir in more than four decades.

The heir, whose name is still not known, is third in line to the throne after his uncle Crown Prince Naruhito and his father Prince Akishino.

The birth will like put off talks on possible female succession to the world's oldest dynasty that takes back historically more than 1,500 years, and more than 2,500 years according to legend.


A baby holds a paper fan reading 'Celebration' as well-wishers gather in celebration of the birth of a baby boy to Japan's Princess Kiko at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo September 6, 2006. Japanese politicians hope the birth of the new male heir will spark a baby boom in a country plagued by slow demographic growth. REUTERS/Issei Kato via Yahoo News.

Philippine oil slick reaches Iloilo City

The massive oil spill off Panay island in the Philippines has reached the city of Iloilo as cleanup efforts intensified.

Planes and ships dropped chemical dispersants on the slick as the Japanese ship Shinsei Maru began preparations to salvage the sunken tanker Solar I.

Grassroots efforts aimed at combating the spill utilize human hair and dried grass to soak up the toxic sludge floating on waters off Panay's coast.


A worker arranges bags of relief goods for distribution to the oil spill affected families Saturday, Sept. 2, 2006 in the town of Nueva Valencia on Guimaras island in central Philippines. Similar plastic bags filled with donated human hair are being used to soak up oil residues in the affected area. AP Photo/Ariel Catubig via Yahoo News.

India rushes help to flooded state

Troops and helicopters came to the rescue in India's flood-ravaged state of Rajasthan on Friday.

More than 150 people have died and thousands are homeless in the Jodhpur and Barmer districts.


An Indian woman carries her child in a basket as she wades through floodwaters in the village of Kudla. AFP via Yahoo News.

Ten days of heavy monsson rains brought flash floods to many areas of the state, which had previously been suffering from drought.

Huge lakes up to 10 kilometers wide formed in Rajashtan's deserts where the non-porous tablerock could take months to absorb the water.

"It's already a nightmare as we see from the geological point of view," said a spokesman from the state-run Central Arid Zone Research Institute, based in the flood-hit district of Jodhpur.

At least 35 dead in Ganges boat accident

A boat capsized in the Ganges river on the outskirts of Patna Thursday killing at least 35 people.

The boat was carrying 60 passengers including farmers and children when it sank.

"Sixteen people swam to safety so we expect around 35 to 40 people are missing," said AK Upadhyay, deputy inspector general of police.


Hindu devotees ride boats on the River Ganges during the Teej festival in Allahabad, Aug. 26, 2006. AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh from Yahoo News.

Sri Lankan fighting kills 31 in move to secure port

Sri Lankan forces fought to push back rebel artillery positions aimed at a strategic port Monday resulting in at least 31 dead and 105 wounded, officials said.

Government forces advanced toward the rebel positions at the town of Sampur on the Koddiyar Bay.

The Tamil Tiger rebels said 20 civilians were killed and another 26 wounded in air and artillery attacks.


A wounded Sri Lankan soldier is rushed to the hospital in the Sri Lankan town of Vavuniya after a suspected Tamil Tiger insurgent opened fire on soldiers. AFP/T. Vivekarasa via Yahoo News.

Koizumi visits Central Asia with energy agenda

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will become the first leader from Japan to visit Central Asia where he will look to vie for the region's rich energy resources.

Japan is competing with fast-growing China and Russia for influence in the region's abundant oil and natural gas reserves.


Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visits central Asia this week to meet with leaders in the energy-rich region. AFP/File/Toshifumi Kitamura phot via Yahoo News.

The nation imports nearly all of its oil as is otherwise highly reliant on foreign energy sources.

Koizumi, who leaves office next month, will meet with Presidents Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan and Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan during his four-day trip to the two countries starting Monday.

Iran opens nuclear generator

Iran opened a heavy-water nuclear production plant Saturday raising the possibility of United Nations sanctions.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the generator declaring that his nations was only interested in peaceful energy production.


Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, inaugurates a heavy-water nuclear generator in Arak, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2006. Tehran says the plant is for peaceful purposes but Western countries fear it could eventually be used to develop a nuclear bomb. AP Photo/ ISNA, Arash Khamoushi via Yahoo News.

"There is no discussion of nuclear weapons," he said. "We are not a threat to anybody even the Zionist regime, which is a definite enemy for the people of the region."

Israeli legislator Ephraim Sneh of the Labor Party said in response to the Iranian move that Israel should "prepare itself militarily."

Japan and U.S. to help with Philippine oil disaster

Japanese and U.S. experts are assisting efforts to contain the Philippines' worst oil spill and the "worst environmental disaster" already in the country's history.

A Japanese salvage ship with a remotely-piloted vehicle departed from Okinawa and is expected to arrive in the affected area off Guimaras island in about three days, the Petron Corp. said. A four-member assessment team from the United States coastguard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency arrived in Manila Tuesday.

Coastguard and private volunteer boats are using boons and spraying dispersants to help contain the massive oil spill.


A local resident, hired by Petron, wipes oil from the mangroves in Nueva Valencia on Guimaras island. The Petron Corp. tanker Solar I sank in 3,000 feet of water with 450,000 gallons of oil on board. AFP/Joel Nito photo via Yahoo News.

Malaysia wants faster moves toward ASEAN single market

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Tuesday called for speeding up plans to create a single ASEAN market by 2015, five years ahead of the original target date.

Badawi said the accelarated timetable was necessary for ASEAN to attract foreign investors.


Malaysia Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is seen with ASEAN Economic Ministers at the opening of the 38th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2006. AP Photo/Andy Wong via Yahoo News.

"If we do not hasten the creation of that regional single market, ASEAN may run the risk of losing its position as an important investment destination," Badawi said.

ASEAN currently handles more than US$1 trillion in foreign trade and is home to about 600 million people.

Oil from sunken Philippine tanker impacts area

Oil from a sunken oil tanker near Guimaras island in the central Philippines is threatening a second island in the country's worst oil spill.

Officials said taht an international salvage crew, possibly from Singapore, is dus to arrive on the scene within a week.


Marine life off the coast of Guimaras Island, central Philippines on August 20, 2006. Leaking oil has caused severe damage to marine and coastal habitat in the area. REUTERS/Greenpeace/Handout photo via Yahoo News.

The Petron Corp tanker was carrying some 450,000 gallons of oil when it sunk in 3,000 feet of water. A "mousse-like" oil residue has damaged local marine parks, fishing grounds, mangroves and beaches.

Local government has advised villagers to set up improvised boons of bamboo poles and dried grass about a mile from the shoreline.

Maori Queen laid to rest

Maori Queen Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu was buried on Mount Taupiri, the resting-place of chiefs, in a traditional ceremony Monday.

The queen died last Tuesday after 40 years on the throne. She was a popular and respected indigenous leader in New Zealand.

A traditional Maori canoe carried the queen's coffin to Taupiri after an elaborate and well-attended ceremony featuring many local and regional leaders.


French Polynesia President Oscar Temaru walks with former New Zealand politician Koro Wetere during the late Maori Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu's tangihanga (funeral ceremony) at the Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia, New Zealand, August 20, 2006. REUTERS/Peter Drury/Pool via Yahoo News.

Letter threatens attack on Taj Mahal

Indian soldiers are 24-hour alert at the famed Taj Mahal after a letter theretened to blow up the monument, officials said Friday.

The handwritten letter received Thursday reportedly from an al-Qaida supporter said the group plans to attack the Mughal-era monument.


The Taj Mahal in Agra, India in 1982. AP Photo/Jeff Robbins, FILE via Yahoo News.

"The letter could be false but we cannot afford to be complacent. We are not taking any chances and have enhanced security at the Taj," Ashok Kumar, a senior government official in Uttar Pradesh said.

At least 100 additional paramilitary troops with automatic weapons have been stationed around the marble domed monument built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan between 1632 and 1654 for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

Koizumi visits Yasukuni Shrine, draws protests

Protesters from home and abroad criticized Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for visiting the Yasukuni memorial Tuesday to honor Japan's World War II dead.

China and South Korea lodged official complaints and opponents of the prime minister staged an all-day media blitz protesting the visit on the anniversary of Japan's surrender during the war.

The house and office of Koichi Kato, a member of Koizumi's own party who also opposed the visit, was burned down late Tuesday. Police investigators said they could not rule out arson in the case. Kato had appeared on television throughout the day criticizing Koizumi.


Visitors to the Yasukuni Shrine pay respects to the war dead on the 61st anniversary of the end of the World War II in Tokyo, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2006. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi prayed at the Yasukuni war shrine Tuesday.AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye via Yahoo News.

Mayon volcano spews gas, debris

One of the world's most active volcanoes, Mayon in the Philippines, came to life again over the weekend with hot fast and debris spewing from its vent.

On Sunday, Mayon released unusually high levels of sulfuric dioxide at least six times.

"This is really the dangerous phase. We're not worried much with lava flows because they're slow moving, but pyroclastic flows travel at such high velocity and could destroy almost everything in its path," volcanologist Ed Laguerta said Sunday.

Mayon is a popular tourist destination because of its near perfect cone shape.


Lava flows down the slopes of Mayon volcano as seen from Legazpi city, southeast of Manila Friday evening Aug. 11, 2006. AP Photo/Bullit Marquez via Yahoo News.

Asian poverty threatens environment -- WCN, ADB

The Philippines-based Asian Development Bank and the World Conservation Union warned Wednesday that severe poverty threatened the environment over the next decade.

People living in severe poverty often engage in practices that tax the local ecosytems. In turn, the pressure on the environment ends up creating added problems for the poor.

"It is also the poor who have the most at stake when ecosystems degrade, as they suffer disproportionately from the health risks caused by inadequate or dirty water and polluted air, and bear the burden of collecting the resources for their daily use, such as water and fuel," the new book "Poverty, Health, and Ecosystems: Experience from Asia" said.


A Chinese couple sits in front of a windmill power generator at Feng Xian in Shanghai in this February 24, 2006 file photo. Nations in the region have been encouraged to take up 'carbon-neutral' energy programs. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Files photo via Yahoo News.

Asian poverty threatens environment -- WCN, ADB

The Philippines-based Asian Development Bank and the World Conservation Union warned Wednesday that severe poverty threatened the environment over the next decade.

People living in severe poverty often engage in practices that tax the local ecosytems. In turn, the pressure on the environment ends up creating added problems for the poor.

"It is also the poor who have the most at stake when ecosystems degrade, as they suffer disproportionately from the health risks caused by inadequate or dirty water and polluted air, and bear the burden of collecting the resources for their daily use, such as water and fuel," the new book "Poverty, Health, and Ecosystems: Experience from Asia" said.


A Chinese couple sits in front of a windmill power generator at Feng Xian in Shanghai in this February 24, 2006 file photo. Nations in the region have been encouraged to take up 'carbon-neutral' energy programs. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Files photo via Yahoo News.

Asian poverty threatens environment -- WCN, ADB

The Philippines-based Asian Development Bank and the World Conservation Union warned Wednesday that severe poverty threatened the environment over the next decade.

People living in severe poverty often engage in practices that tax the local ecosytems. In turn, the pressure on the environment ends up creating added problems for the poor.

"It is also the poor who have the most at stake when ecosystems degrade, as they suffer disproportionately from the health risks caused by inadequate or dirty water and polluted air, and bear the burden of collecting the resources for their daily use, such as water and fuel," the new book "Poverty, Health, and Ecosystems: Experience from Asia" said.


A Chinese couple sits in front of a windmill power generator at Feng Xian in Shanghai in this February 24, 2006 file photo. Nations in the region have been encouraged to take up 'carbon-neutral' energy programs. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Files photo via Yahoo News.

Fighting intensifies in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan troops hammered Tamil Tiger positions with artillery, a day after the rebels warned that continued shelling could lead to all-out war, officials said Monday.

The fighting comes after the death of 15 French aid workers -- Sri Lankan national working for Paris-based Action Contre la Faim -- killed over the weekend.

Sri Lanka and the Tigers have blamed each other for the execution-style massacre.


Sri Lankan refugees stand outside their tents at Kantale, Sri Lanka, Monday, Aug. 7, 2006. Thousands of villagers have fled the fighting between Sri Lanka soldiers and Tamil Tiger rebels at Muttur to camps at Trincomalee and Kanthale. AP Photo/Gurinder Osan via Yahoo News.

Mayon volcano looks ready to erupt

Government officials issued a volcano alert level of four, the second highest on a scale of five, as Mount Mayon in the Philippines gushed lava into the surrounding region.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said an explosive eruption was "imminent" and ordered evacuation for an estimated 50,000 people.

Mayon is located about 340 kilometers southeast of the capital Manila, and is one of hte 22 volcanoes in the island nation.


Policemen on patrol in Mabinit village last week stand near a giant pile of smouldering lava. Thousands of people were evacuated in the face of the "imminent" eruption of the rumbling volcano. AFP/file photo via Yahoo News.

China orders second slaughter of dogs

Chinese authorities in Jining have ordered a slaughter of dogs for the second time in days in response to a rabies outbreak, the Xinhua News Agency said Friday.

Animal lovers were outraged by the campaign blaming the government for its incompetence in handling the spread of rabies.


A security guard holds onto a dog as a ten-day capture of stray dogs is carried out in Fuzhou, east China's Fujian province August 1, 2006. Picture taken August 1, 2006. CHINA OUT REUTERS/Kong Nong via Yahoo News.

"I think this is completely insane," said Zhang Luping, founder of the Beijing Human and Animal Environmental Education Center. "What's more, this really damages our national image and sets a really bad example to show how lazy and inconsiderate those local government officials are."

In Yunnan last week, 50,000 dogs were killed, many beaten to death in front of their owners, after three people died of rabies.

Animal rights groups have called for a boycott of Chinese goods in response to the mass slaughter.

Typhoon Prapiroon hits south China

Typhoon Prapiroon smashed into the coast of southern China Thursday as hundreds of thousands evacuated to temporary shelters.

About 400,000 people were evacuated from flood-prone areas of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan Island ahead of the storm, which packed 75 mph winds.


Zhongshan residents are evacuated before the arrival of Typhoon Prapiroon, in China's southern Guangdong province Thursday Aug. 3, 2006. AP Photo/Color China Photo via Yahoo News.

The same area is still recovering from direct hits by Typhoon Kaemi that killed 35 people last week, and Tropical Storm Bilis that killed more than 600 people last month.

Chinese officials estimate more than 1 million homes have been damaged and millions of acres of farmland and forest have been destroyed during this typhoon season.

Curry with onions may help reduce colon cancer

Researchers at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore said that compounds found in curry and onions may help prevent colon cancer in those at risk.

Patients with pre-cancerous colon polyps took a combination of curcumin, which is found in the curry spice turmeric, and quercetin found in onions, resulting in smaller and fewer polyps.


Curry for sale at a market in Lamno, Indonesia, January 31, 2005. Enny Nuraheni en/JJ/Reuters photo via Yahoo News.

Earlier studies with rats, and observation of Asian cultures that eat lots of curry support the recent test results.

"We believe this is the first proof of principle that these substances have significant effects in patients with FAP (familial adenomatous polyposis)," Dr. Francis M. Giardiello of The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore said in a statement.

GMO debate in Asia continues

China says it intends to test 'space-enhanced' crops in a future satellite launch as it mulls over the possibility of introducing transgenic rice.

Meanwhile in France, Greenpeace has been concentrating efforts against the introduction of GMO crops. The group though was ordered to remove a map from its website showing transgenic 'contamination' zones throughout the country, after incidents in which test fields were destroyed by activists.

Also, a recent study shows that transgenic crops, including experimental ones that have not been approved as safe, continue to contaminate non-GMO plants.


A young transgenic salmon is shown as much larger than a natural salmon of the same age. Over time, though, the average weight evens out between the two types. According to one study "fast-growing transgenic salmon were found to dominate feed acquisition and exhibit strong agonistic and cannibalistic behavior toward their [nontransgenic] cohorts when there were inadequate feed resources." Photo from Science Daily.

China's smog reaches U.S.

Pollution from China's booming industrial expansion is floating across the Pacific to the shores of the western United States, according to an AP report published Friday.

Particles from coal power plants and diesel vehicles and dust from deforested regions is carried on the trade winds for thousands of miles before settling on areas like California, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

On some days, a city like Los Angeles can expect up to 25 percent of its particulate matter from China. Some experts believe that China will one day account for a third of all California's air pollution.


Researcher Steven S. Cliff displays a set of rotating drums that separate aerosols from the air at his monitoring site atop Mt. Tamalpais State Park, Calif., Thursday, July 20, 2006. AP/Eric Risberg photo from Yahoo News.

China is also degrading air quality in nearby countries like South Korea and Japan, and the other growing Asian ndustrial powerhouse, India, isn't helping the Asian air quality situation either.

For its part, China expects to spend some US$162 billion over the next five years to address environmental problems, but many experts see the challenge the country faces as daunting giving the speed of economic growth.

Asian countries to push N. Korea resolution

Foreign ministers from 20 Asian and Pacific Rim countries agreed Friday to push implementation of a U.N. Security Council resolution urging North Korea to return to six-party nuclear talks.

The 10-nation meeting included the ministers of China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States, all nations involved in the six-party talks. They were joined by ministers from Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia and New Zealand.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said Pyongyang was ready to return to six-party talks but only with certain conditions.

Pyongyang is demanding that Washington lift sanctions imposed on a Macao-based bank suspected of laundering money and counterfeiting for North Korea.

Candidates line up for next U.N. secretary general race

By tradition, Kofi Annan's replacement as United Nations secretary-general will come from Asia, which is next in the regional rotation.

So far, the announced candidates are from South Korea, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.


United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan addresses members of the Security Council during a meeting on the situation in the Middle East, July 20, 2006, at United Nations headquarters in New York. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer via Yahoo News.

In a secret poll, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon and India's Shashi Tharoor, U.N. undersecretary-general or public affairs came out ahead of the pack, but it's still far too early to pick a winner.

Usually the winning candidate ends up being someone who emerges late in the race and who hardly campaigns at all. This is because early candidates often become the subject of infighting between the permanent members of the Security Council.

ASEAN nations call for more alternative energy

Laos joined the chorus of Asean nations calling for increased use of alternative energy amidst skyrocketing oil prices.

Asean will meet this week to discuss the regional energy situation and focus is expected on biofuels and other forms of alternative energy.


Malaysians in traditional dress display flags of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries during the 39th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Kuala Lumpur July 25, 2006. REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad photo via Yahoo News.

Laos has invested much of its resources in hydroelectirc energy including the new Nam Theun II project due for completion in about four years.

Among Asean nations, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines are the most oil dependent. All nations in the region having been looking closely at biofuels made from coconut and palm oil.

China becomes third-largest food donor

China became the world's third-largest food aid donor in 2005, the U.N. World Food Program agency said Thursday.

Donations from China tripled to 636,000 tons with most of the aid going to ally North Korea. Guinea Bissau, Liberia and Sri Lanka were among the other countries that recied donations, the World Food Program said in its annual report.

Although China still has major portions of undeveloped countryside it has mostly solved its own once-dire food shortages for which it received World Food Program aid itself.


A Chinese worker prepares relief goods bound for Pakistan at a Beijing airport Monday, in this Oct. 10, 2005, file photo. The goods were intended for victims of a massive earthquake in Pakistan. AP Photo, Pool, File via Yahoo News.