Southeast Asian nations are set to press China on Monday to quickly begin talks on easing tensions over sea territorial rows that have shaken the region and overshadowed efforts to boost trade.Leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are set to raise the contentious South China Sea issues during a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in the Cambodian capital.Their meeting is one of the highest-profile set pieces scheduled on the opening day of the East Asia Summ

An Israeli missile ripped through a two-story home in a residential area of Gaza City on Sunday, killing at least 11 civilians, including four young children and an 81-year-old woman, in the single deadliest attack of Israel's offensive against Islamic militants.A similar scene unfolded elsewhere in the city early Monday, when an airstrike leveled two houses belonging to a single family, killing two children and two adults and injuring 42 people, including children, said Gaza heath official Ashr

North Korea has been stepping up its efforts to idolize leader Kim Jong-un, recent documents show, in an apparent indication that Kim's grip on the communist state has grown tighter.According to the Chosun Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan, on Sunday, the ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang has published a book extolling the extraordinary skills of the young leader.The paper reported that the book describes Kim as a worldly man who is well-versed in international politics and military

Lee Hae-chan, head of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP), resigned on Sunday in order to help break a stalemate in talks over fielding a single liberal candidate in December's presidential poll.Lee said "the change of government" is the top priority for the opposition. He took over as party chief just five months ago.Along with Lee, eight other senior members of the party's Supreme Council also quit Sunday.Lee's decision was an apparent response to independent presidential candida

Fish caught near Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant have radiation levels 100 times higher than normal, officials say.Japan's Environment Ministry carried out a study that found fish caught near the plant had more radiation than fish caught elsewhere, RIA Novosti reported.The levels found ranged from 4,400 becquerels per kilogram to 11,400 becquerels per kilogram, against the maximum "safe" level of 100 becquerels per kilogram.The findings have prompted a government investigation into the phy

U.N. attack helicopters targeted M23 rebels in eastern Congo on Saturday after fighting resumed following a monthslong lull in violence, a local official said.Two army officers and 151 rebels were killed in a battle beginning Thursday that the U.N. called the worst clash between the M23 group and the military since July. Attack helicopters for the U.N. mission in Congo, known as MONUSCO, had been on standby.``MONUSCO helicopters this morning bombarded the M23 positions in the city of Kibumba,''

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Saturday rejected as "unacceptable" a proposal from EU President Herman Van Rompuy to cut the bloc's 2014-2020 budget by 75 billion euros ($95 billion)."The government does not like this budget and we have made that known to the (European) institutions and we hope that there will be another proposal that will be more reasonable," Rajoy said.Rajoy said Spain objected to Van Rompuy's proposed spending cuts to agriculture funding, money for Spain's regions an

France on Saturday welcomed a member of the Syrian opposition as the country's ambassador, a bold bid to confer legitimacy on the week-old opposition coalition and encourage other Western nations to follow suit.The new envoy, Mounzir Makhous, appeared before the press after talks at France's presidential palace between President Francois Hollande and the head of the newly formed Syrian opposition coalition.France has swiftly stepped out ahead of Western allies nearly since the start of the Syria

Israel destroyed the headquarters of Hamas' prime minister and blasted a sprawling network of smuggling tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, broadening a blistering four-day-old offensive against the Islamic militant group even as diplomatic efforts to broker a cease-fire appeared to be gaining steam. In neighboring Egypt, President Mohammed Morsi hosted leaders from Hamas and two key allies, Qatar and Turkey, to seek a way to end the fighting.“There are discussions about the ways to

South Korean stocks dropped 1.23 percent Thursday as investor sentiment was muted by widespread uncertainties over the stalled U.S. budget deal and European fiscal woes, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 23.32 points to close at 1,870.72. Trading volume was moderate at 446.2 million shares worth 4.14 trillion won ($3.8 billion) with decliners far outnumbering gainers 608 to 230."Investors are worried