Asia News

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China:

An explosion in a steel factory in northeasternChinahas killed at least 13 people and injured 17 according to a company official. The blast occurred late Monday at a steel casting workshop owned by state-run Angang Heavy Machinery inAnshan,Liaoningprovince, according to the BBC.

State-run Xinhua News Agency said the accident was due to a mold exploding at the workshop. A spokesman for Ansteel Group, the parent company of Angang, says that investigations into the cause of the explosion are ongoing.

Philippines:

Islamic militant Abdupattah Ismael has been arrested after being taken by surprise in his remote island hideout. Ismael, a member of the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, has been accused of beheading Philippine soldiers and several other attacks.

Regional police Chief Superintendent Napoleon Estilles says Ismael was taken in a raid on a village on the strife-torn southernislandofBasilan. “He did not resist. He was taken by surprise. He did not expect this, so he did not have time to react,” Estilles told Agence France-Presse.

Ismael faces murder charges for allegedly participating in one of the deadliest attacks by the Abu Sayyaf on the Philippine military, an ambush on Basilan in 2007 in which 14 marines were killed, 10 of them by beheading.

The Abu Sayyaf is a small group of Islamic militants founded with seed money from Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Indonesia:

Control ofBali’s infamous Kerobokan prison has been reclaimed by police after it erupted in rioting in which prisoners set fire to parts of the desperately overcrowded facility and hurled stones at staff.

Shortly before dawn, hundreds of riot police, some from the elite paramilitary wing, gathered around the perimeter of the grounds. They moved in at sunrise after firing warning shots into the air.

Ambulances removed at least three injured people. Rumors suggested that police used rubber bullets to subdue the rioters.

Taiwan/Thailand:

Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency has announced thatTaiwanandThailandhave discussed the possibility of having an agreement to jointly combat human trafficking. The announcement came at the conclusion of a five-day visit by NIA Director General Hsieh Li-kung toThailandto update officials onTaiwan’s efforts to counter human trafficking and terrorism.

In a meeting between Hsieh and Thai Immigration Bureau Commissioner Wiboon Bangthamai, it was agreed that the two agencies should move in the direction of a pact, the agency said, but no details were discussed. Last week, Hsieh said that an agreement withThailandto hold joint training sessions and share intelligence on trafficking would provide an institutional basis for mutual legal assistance in the fight against human trafficking.

Japan:

By reducing the amount of oil it imports fromIranby more than 11 percent per year,Japanis likely to earn waivers fromU.S.sanctions on crude oil imports from that country. AlthoughJapanhas indicated it could cut imports of Iranian crude by at least 11 percent, according to sources,Japanstill needs to quickly secure a substitute oil supplier.

In working-level negotiations last week,Japanand theUnited Statesreached a broad agreement over the matter. They will probably reach a formal agreement by the end of the month.

Over the past five years,Japanhas cut its imports of Iranian crude by about 40 percent. The latest reduction of at least 11 percent is larger than any of the previous cuts.