Highlights of Obama's trip to Asia

A day-by-day look at President Barack Obama's weeklong trip to Asia:

Nov 09, 2009 | 2:30 am

Obama confronts an Asia reshaped by China's rise

Days after coming to power in September, Japan's new prime minister broached forming a new East Asian trading bloc with rival China _ one that would exclude the United States.

Nov 09, 2009 | 2:30 am

Report: NKorea's Kim has 6 special luxury trains

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il _ known for shunning air travel _ has six luxurious special trains equipped with conference rooms, bedrooms and high-tech communication facilities, a South Korean newspaper reported Monday.

Nov 09, 2009 | 2:25 am

Oil prices near $79 on US hurricane, weaker dollar

Oil prices climbed toward $79 a barrel Monday in Asia as Hurricane Ida threatened oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico.

Nov 09, 2009 | 2:20 am

Taliban prisoners on hunger strike in Kandahar

About 350 Taliban prisoners are on a hunger strike at a prison in Kandahar and a delegation from the Ministry of Justice is going to the lockup in southern Afghanistan to investigate their complaints.

Nov 09, 2009 | 2:15 am

Binge drinking kills 3rd China official this year

A Communist Party official in China has died from excessive drinking, the third such alcohol poisoning case that highlights the problems of a drinking culture connected with government and business work, an official newspaper reported Monday.

Nov 09, 2009 | 2:00 am

Philippines vows action after teacher is beheaded

The Philippine government on Monday promised to hunt down al-Qaida-linked militants suspected of beheading a schoolteacher whose family failed to raise a ransom demanded by his kidnappers.

Nov 09, 2009 | 1:30 am

Police say suicide bomber kills 3 in Pakistan

A suicide bomber in a rickshaw detonated his explosives near a group of policemen in northwest Pakistan's main city of Peshawar, killing three people Monday, police said.

Nov 09, 2009 | 1:10 am

US military: 2 American pilots die in Iraq

The U.S. military says two American pilots have died in a helicopter crash in Iraq.

Nov 09, 2009 | 12:40 am

Asian markets track US higher after jobs report

Asian stock markets rose Monday as investors took a surprisingly weak U.S. jobs report as a sign that interest rates in the world's largest economy will stay low longer than expected.

Nov 09, 2009 | 12:00 am

Police say suicide bomber kills police constable in Pakistan's Peshawar city, 4 others hurt.

Nov 08, 2009 | 11:00 pm

2 killed by strong central Indonesian quake

A strong undersea earthquake killed two people and damaged buildings on the remote island of Sumbawa in central Indonesia, officials said Monday.

Nov 08, 2009 | 9:55 pm

Karzai vows to keep corrupt officials out of govt

The embattled Afghan president pledged Sunday that there would be no place for corrupt officials in his new administration _ a demand made by Washington and its international partners as they ponder sending more troops to confront the Taliban and shore up his government.

Nov 08, 2009 | 7:15 pm

Iraq electoral law passes, sets up national vote

Iraq's parliament ended weeks of debate Sunday and passed a long-delayed law paving the way for the planned January election to go forward, sidestepping a crisis that could have delayed the U.S. troop withdrawal.

Nov 08, 2009 | 7:15 pm

Germany celebrates memory of Berlin Wall falling

With concerts and memorials on Monday, Germans will celebrate the day the Berlin Wall came crashing down 20 years ago.

Nov 08, 2009 | 4:20 pm

Clinton: Berlin Wall festivities not just a party

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged Europeans and Americans on Sunday to see the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall as a call to action against new global threats.

Nov 08, 2009 | 4:15 pm

New fair targets France's 260,000 annual divorces

The city of romance got a lesson in love's hard knocks Sunday, as thousands flocked to the French capital's first divorce fair.

Nov 08, 2009 | 2:55 pm

Saudis take mountain from Yemen rebels

Saudi Arabian forces seized a strategic mountain straddling the border with Yemen and cleared it of Shiite rebels after five days of fighting that have left three Saudi soldiers dead, a Saudi defense official said Sunday.

Nov 08, 2009 | 1:50 pm

Pakistani gov't pressured on post-offensive plan

As Pakistan's army plows ahead with its offensive in South Waziristan, its success is at risk because the government has yet to come up with a plan to run and rebuild the lawless territory so that the Taliban and al-Qaida don't re-emerge.

Nov 08, 2009 | 12:15 pm