BEIJING (Yonhap) -- The United States and China on Tuesday kicked off eight joint projects to reduce greenhouse gases, committing to work together in fighting the disastrous effects of climate change despite their differences on diplomacy and security in this region.U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy on climate change, Todd Stern, and Xie Zhenhua, vice chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission, oversaw the signing ceremony for the joint projects at the China Hall of

Shinzo Abe used the first speech by a Japanese prime minister to Australia’s parliament to mark the beginning of what he termed a “special” bilateral relationship that will expand into the field of security.Japan and Australia, key allies of the U.S. as it pivots power into the Asia-Pacific to counter China’s military expansion, signed a trade agreement and an accord on the transfer of defense technology during Abe’s meeting with Prime Minister Tony Abbott today. The trip is the first formal vis

SYDNEY (AP) -- Australia's government promised Tuesday not to hand over a group of asylum seekers to the Sri Lankan government without three days' notice amid a court challenge and uproar from human rights groups.The government's pledge came during a High Court hearing held one day after Australia's immigration minister confirmed that another boatload of asylum seekers had been intercepted by Australian border patrol and handed to Sri Lankan authorities in a transfer at sea last month. Refugee a

JAKARTA (AP) -- As the world's third-largest democracy prepares to elect a new president Wednesday, Indonesians are divided between two very different choices: a one-time furniture maker and a wealthy ex-army general with close links to former dictator Suharto.Just a few months ago, the election was considered firmly in favor of Joko Widodo, who rose from humble beginnings to become the governor of Jakarta with a squeaky clean political record.But the race is now too close to call after a late s

AMMAN (AFP) -- Thousands of Syrian refugee women are caught in a "spiral of hardship, isolation and anxiety," widowed or separated from their husbands and struggling to survive, the UN warned on Tuesday.In a new report, the UN agency for refugees UNHCR highlighted the plight of some 145,000 Syrian refugee women who are fending for themselves and their families in dire circumstances across the Middle East."Forced to take sole responsibility for their families after their men were killed, captured

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Activists in the gambling hub of Macau have announced an unofficial referendum on electoral reform in the latest challenge to Beijing, after almost 800,000 turned out for a similar poll in Hong Kong.The former Portuguese colony returned to Chinese rule in 1999 and has a separate legal system from the mainland. Like Hong Kong, Macau's leader is known as its chief executive and is chosen by a pro-Beijing electoral committee.Three civil groups have joined forces to organise the p

BEIJING (AP) -- The United States and China will spend time over the next couple of days testing whether their annual "Strategic and Economic Dialogue'' can produce tough compromises or just serve as a venue to talk about greater cooperation.The Obama administration comes with a clear set of priorities to this year's meeting in the Chinese capital: closer coordination against climate change, an end to Chinese industrial cyber-espionage and stricter rules governing maritime claims in Asia's conte

The United Nations proposed a set of building blocks for a new global climate agreement, laying the groundwork for a deal to be reached at the end of next year.The UN presented options for the format of the deal including emissions reductions, climate financing from developed to developing nations and how the agreement will be enforced. The information was included in a document posted on the website of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.The document emphasizes the divergence that exi

LONDON (AP) -- Harry Potter is back -- mysterious, married, and going gray.J.K. Rowling has given fans a glimpse of the grown-up boy wizard in a new story posted Tuesday on her Pottermore website.It's the first update since "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' was published in 2007, but Rowling spokesman Mark Hutchinson said there are "no plans'' for a new Potter novel.The 1,500-word story describes Harry, about to turn 34, attending the final of the Quidditch World Cup with his family and ol

TOKYO (AFP) -- Powerful typhoon Neoguri lashed Japan's southern Okinawa islands Tuesday, forcing over half a million people to seek shelter, as the region's worst storm in years damaged buildings, downed trees and brought air and sea traffic to a halt.The typhoon packed gusts of up to 216 kilometres per hour with torrential downpours, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights as authorities said at least one person had died and several were injured by the raging storm.In the capital Naha,

 GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) -- Israeli warplanes killed 12 Palestinians Tuesday, pounding the Gaza Strip in a new campaign to stamp out Hamas rocket fire as the two sides slid toward another major conflict.In the most serious flare-up over Gaza since November 2012, it comes as Israel struggles to contain a wave of violence in Arab towns over the grisly murder of a Palestinian teenager by Jewish extremists.Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas demanded that Israel "immediately stop" it

Former South Korean men's football team head coach Guus Hiddink will coach a team led by his prized pupil at the upcoming K League Classic All-Star Game, league officials said on Tuesday.The league said Hiddink will be the head coach for "Team Park Ji-sung," to feature the former South Korean captain. Park's squad will go up against the team of the K League Classic All-Stars, as voted by fans, league head coaches and team captains, on July 25 at Seoul World Cup Stadium.Hiddink guided South Korea

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's foreign minister said Thursday that the pro-Moscow separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine are ready for a cease-fire but that Kiev has to initiate the process.Sergey Lavrov also was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying Moscow will introduce a resolution in the United Nations on the Ukrainian crisis, but that Russia was not seeking authorization to send in peacekeeping troops. The Ukrainian rebels have suggested that Russia should send peacekeepers, but Moscow says that

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Amazon is launching a music streaming service for its Prime members, adding yet another freebie to its popular free-shipping plan ahead of the expected unveiling of its first smartphone next week.Starting Thursday, Amazon.com Inc. will offer more than a million tracks for ad-free streaming and download to Kindle Fire tablets as well as to computers and the Amazon Music app for Apple and Android devices. The service, called Prime Music, is likely to be integrated with an Amazo

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Kerry Washington stepped back into the spotlight for the first time since becoming a mom last month to accept an award from Women in Film.The "Scandal'' star, along with fellow actresses Cate Blanchett, Eva Longoria, Rose Byrne and "Frozen'' writer-director Jennifer Lee were honored by the nonprofit group Wednesday for their career achievements.Washington and Blanchett each said women must be willing to take risks and reveal imperfections to tell authentic stories about their