CNN Asia News: 19 February 2009
February 20th, 2009 • Asia, CNN News, World
- Clinton visits Indonesia on state visit
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in Indonesia on the second stop of her tour of Asia — her first trip abroad as America’s top diplomat. - Taiwanese economy slumps into recession
Taiwan’s economy slumped 8.36 percent during the last three months of 2008, the government said Wednesday. - Indian hepatitis outbreak leaves 19 dead
Health officials in India’s Gujarat state are investigating a hepatitis outbreak that has left 19 people dead in less than two weeks, authorities said Wednesday. - Journalist killed in Taliban region
Attackers in a Taliban-controlled area of Pakistan shot and tried to behead a Pakistani journalist on Wednesday, according to his employer GEO TV. - Court: Chinese at Gitmo can’t be freed in U.S.
A federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday that 17 native Chinese Muslims in military custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, cannot be released into the United States. - Dozens missing after Bangladesh boat collision
More than 60 passengers were missing after a riverboat collided with a trawler in southern Bangladesh Thursday, police said. - Kyrgyzstan’s leaders vote to close key U.S. base
Kyrgyzstan parliament has voted to close a base the U.S. military uses as a route for troops and supplies heading into Afghanistan, a government spokesman said Thursday. - Afghan ’surge’ could last five years
Gen. David McKiernan, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, predicted Wednesday that the additional 17,000 U.S. military forces to be sent to Afghanistan will remain there for as long as five years. - Obama: Troops alone cannot win Afghanistan
Diplomacy will play a bigger role in U.S. efforts in Afghanistan in future even as the Pentagon announced a significant troop increase, President Barack Obama said in an interview on Canadian television. - Australian fires burn as death toll rises to 208
The death toll from bushfires in southeastern Australia has risen to 208, the Australian Red Cross said Thursday. Fire authorities say five fires continue to burn and residents in the Narbethong area have been advised to “action their fire plans.”
