Philippines arrests militants linked to 2002 Bali blasts

MANILA - The Philippines security forces have arrested two militants with alleged links to a pair of Indonesians wanted in the 2002 Bali bombings, an official said Thursday.

Strong earthquake shakes Indonesia

WASHINGTON - An earthquake with a magnitude of at least seven on the Richter scale shook the northern portion of Indonesia’s Sulawesi island Wednesday.

Paes, Bhupathi in Australian Open doubles quarters

MELBOURNE - India’s Leander Paes and Czech Lukas Dlouhy Monday followed Mahesh Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner Mark Knowles into the quarter-final of Australian Open men’s doubles here at Melbourne Park.

Asean-India free trade agreement expected for summit

BANGKOK - A free trade agreement between India and South-east Asia is expected to be signed at the upcoming summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean), state-run media reported Sunday.

Abhijeet wins in Group C, Sasi held in group B

WIJK AAN ZEE - India’s Krishnan Sasikiran played a long 65-move draw against Andrei Volokitin of Ukraine in the sixth round, as the 71st edition of Corus chess approached the halfway mark here.

Malaysia freezes hiring of foreigners in manufacturing and services

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia has decided to freeze the recruitment of foreigners in the manufacturing and service sectors to provide jobs to locals, a media report said Thursday.

Indonesia’s Obama double says he won’t quit his day job

JAKARTA - An Indonesian photographer who has become an instant celebrity due to his resemblance to US President Barack Obama Wednesday said he would keep his day job despite offers to feature in TV commercials as an Obama double.

Will Ganga, Sunderbans be among seven wonders of nature?

LONDON - Here comes a new poll to name the seven wonders of nature, with India’s Ganga river, Sundarbans mangrove forests and Kaziranga national park being some of the hot contenders.

Poor women in Philippines yearn for birth control

MANILA - Struggling with a daily food budget of less than $2 for a family of 12, Floriza Bacli said she was happy to spoil her children a bit on New Year’s Eve with something special - half a kilogram of fried chicken and a quarter kg of hot-dogs.

Stray incidents of violence mar New Year celebrations in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Stray incidents of violence marred the New Year celebrations in Kerala with one man killed in a brawl, while a police station was ransacked by a group of activists allegedly from the youth wing of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

Philippine police foil bomb attack on passenger bus

MANILA - Police in the Philippines Wednesday defused two homemade bombs found inside a passenger bus in the country’s troubled south, officials said.

One dead in attack on UN relief truck in southern Philippines

MANILA - Unidentified gunmen fired at a United Nations truck carrying rice to evacuees in southern Philippines, killing one Filipino worker, a UN representative said Tuesday.