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.