KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)--The Taliban launched a series of coordinated attacks on at least seven sites across the Afghan capital on Sunday, targeting NATO headquarters, the parliament and diplomatic residences. Militants also launched near-simultaneous assaults in three other eastern cities.At least two attackers were killed and five people wounded in the Kabul attacks, which were still under way h

 BEIJING, (AFP) - China's central bank said Saturday it would widen the yuan's trading band against the dollar, loosening currency controls in a major step towards adopting more market-oriented reforms.The yuan is currently allowed to trade 0.5 percent on either side of a midpoint price set by the central bank every trading day.The new rules will come into effect on Monday and allow the currency t

Syrian forces clashed on Saturday with rebels in two major cities, monitors said, despite U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon's latest rebuke to Damascus over its assault on protest hubs ahead of a peace deadline.The U.N. secretary general strongly condemned attacks on cities across the country by forces of President Bashar al-Assad, as activists said at least 35 people, most of them civilians, were killed on

ISLAMABAD (AP) -- An avalanche smashed into a Pakistani army base on a Himalayan glacier along the Indian border on Saturday, burying around 100 soldiers, the military said.Helicopters, sniffer dogs and troops were deployed to the remote Siachen Glacier to rescue those trapped, according to a military statement.The avalanche hit a battalion headquarters in the glacier's Gayari sector at 5:45 a.m,

TOKYO (AP) ― Japan’s defense minister on Friday ordered missile units to intercept a rocket expected to be launched by North Korea next month if it flies over Japan.The order from Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka came at a meeting of Japan’s national security council. It followed instructions issued earlier in the week for the military to prepare to intercept the satellite rocket if it enters Japanese territory.The Unha-3 rocket is expected to fly past western Japan after its launch from North Kore

U.S. President Barack Obama wrapped up a trip to South Korea Tuesday after making a pitch for a nuclear-free world and "sharpening the choice" for North Korea's new leadership -- isolation or dialogue.His three-day visit to Seoul for a nuclear security summit came amid renewed North Korean saber-rat

The second Nuclear Security Summit, in Seoul, produced a "modest but important" step forward in efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism, a group of international nuclear security experts said Tuesday.The Fissile Materials Working Group (FMWG), however, stressed that member states should take bolder act

Leaders of South Korea and the European Union urged North Korea on Wednesday to call off its planned rocket launch, give up its nuclear programs and improve its human rights records, a joint statement said.The appeal came after President Lee Myung-bak held summit talks with European Council Presiden

Japan is bracing for a 10 percent energy deficit this summer, with all its 54 nuclear power stations possibly set to be offline from May. Speaking on the sidelines of the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, Noriyuki Shikata, Japan’s deputy cabinet secretary for public affairs, said that the country could cope with the estimated difference between energy demand and supply, and had been importing more fossil fuels. He said that although some power plants could go back into operation before summer: “It

Germany is on course to end its reliance on nuclear power in 2022 but will not pressure other countries to follow suit, the country’s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Tuesday.“I think every nation has the right and also responsibility to choose its own energy base,” he said on the sidelines of the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit. “The energy base is a national decision, and we in Germany think that the time has come to enter a new age of renewable energies.”Germany closed eight of its 17 nu

South Korean first lady Kim Yoon-ok hosted a luncheon and cultural performances on Tuesday for the visiting spouses of global leaders attending the ongoing Nuclear Security Summit.Seventeen spouses came to Seoul with heads of state and leaders of key international organizations for the global confer

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged other states to continue combating nuclear terrorism, saying the threat is "one of the gravest dangers of our time."The president was speaking at the first plenary session of the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, which has drawn representatives from 53 na

South Korea, Belgium, France and the United States said Tuesday they have agreed to develop high density, low enriched uranium (LEU) to replace highly enriched uranium (HEU) used in research reactors, removing a potential source of nuclear terrorism.The project, announced on the sidelines of the Nuc

South Korea on Tuesday vowed to use the ongoing Nuclear Security Summit as an opportunity to boost cultural cooperation and exchanges with the global community and promote "cultural welfare" in developing countries.South Korean Culture Minister Choe Kwang-shik told reporters at the summit media cent