China high court stresses 'justice tempered with mercy,' limited use of death penalty
BEIJING (AP) -- China's highest court has issued new guidelines on the death penalty that instruct lower courts to limit its use to a small number of "extremely serious" cases....

Myanmar court sentences US man to 3 years over forged documents, undeclared currency
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- A Myanmar court ordered a U.S. citizen on Wednesday to serve three years in prison for entering the military-ruled country with forged documents and undeclared foreign currency....

UN in Pyongyang to spur disarmament talks; NKorean, Chinese nuclear envoys meet in Beijing
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- A senior U.N. envoy pressed ahead Wednesday with international efforts to get North Korea back into nuclear disarmament talks, during the world body's first high-level visit to the reclusive state in nearly six years....

Court orders US man to serve 3-year prison term for forgery, undeclared foreign currency
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Court orders US man to serve 3-year prison term for forgery, undeclared foreign currency....

US poised to seize key southern Afghan town as Taliban dig in for a fight
NEAR MARJAH, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S. and Afghan forces pushed Tuesday to the edge of the southern Afghan town of Marjah, poised to seize the major Taliban supply and drug-smuggling stronghold in hopes of building public support by providing aid and services once the insurgents are gone....

Sri Lanka dissolves parliament, sets stage for new elections after detaining opposition leader
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Sri Lanka's president dissolved parliament Tuesday to make way for spring elections a day after authorities arrested a key opposition leader, crippling the only serious threat to the ruling party's stifling grip on power....

More than 60 feared dead, 400 hurt in Afghan avalanches on mountain pass near Kabul
KABUL (AP) -- A series of avalanches engulfed a mountain pass in Afghanistan, trapping hundreds of people in their buried cars and killing as many as 64 people so far, authorities said Tuesday....

Chinese activist who probed collapse of schools in Sichuan quake sentenced to 5 years in jail
BEIJING (AP) -- A Chinese activist who investigated the deaths of thousands of children crushed in their schools during the Sichuan earthquake was sentenced Tuesday to five years, underscoring the government's determination to suppress questions about why the buildings fell....

Bananas used to lure stranded panda off steep mountain in southern China
BEIJING (AP) -- It was like getting a cat out of a tree - Sichuan style....