Asia is the largest and most populous continent or region, depending on the definition. It covers 8.7 percent of the Earth's total surface area, or 29.8 percent of its land area, and it contains more than 60 percent of the world's human population.

Asia is traditionally defined as part of the landmass of Africa-Eurasia – with the western portion of the latter occupied by Europe – lying east of the Suez Canal, east of the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas.

Etymology

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The word Asia entered English, via Latin, from Ancient Greek Ασία (Asia; see also List of traditional Greek place names). This name is first attested in Herodotus (about 440 BC), where it refers to Asia Minor; or, for the purposes of describing the Persian Wars, to the Persian Empire, in contrast to Greece and Egypt. Herodotus comments that he is puzzled as to why three different women's names are used to describe a single land mass (Europa, Asia and Libya, referring to Africa), stating that most Greeks assumed that Asia was named after the wife of Prometheus but that the Lydians say it was named after Asias, son of Cotys who passed the name on to a tribe in Sardis.

More on [ Asia ]

BBC News | Asia-Pacific | World Edition

US hits China pipes with tariffs
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:11:39 -0000
The United States imposes high anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese pipes as trade disputes mar the run-up to a bilateral summit.
Cambodia tit-for-tat over Thaksin
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:23:41 -0000
Cambodia recalls its ambassador from Thailand in tit-for-tat dispute over sanctuary offer to former Thai PM Thaksin.
China hosts anti-piracy meeting
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:04:02 -0000
China hosts an international conference to co-ordinate anti-piracy escorts for cargo vessels in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia.
Three hurt in rare Japan shooting
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:22:44 -0000
A gunman in Japan has killed himself after wounding three people in Yokohama, outside Tokyo, police say.
Australia raises growth forecasts
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:04:07 -0000
The Reserve Bank of Australia says the country is growing faster than it had expected.
Japan hosts Mekong River leaders
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:51:01 -0000
Japan hosts the leaders of five Asian nations that share the Mekong River amid growing Chinese influence in the region.

NYT > Asia Pacific

Reviews Raise Doubt on Training of Afghan Forces
By THOM SHANKER and JOHN H. CUSHMAN Jr. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:16:47 -0000
The U.S. program is struggling to help largely illiterate and often corrupt Afghan forces, documents suggest.
NATO Soldiers Missing as Taliban Reports Recovery of Two Bodies
By ALISSA J. RUBIN Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:35:20 -0000
As allied forces search for two missing soldiers in Afghanistan a Taliban spokesman said fighters had recovered the bodies of two drowned soldiers.
Thai Border on Guard for Drugs From Myanmar
By THOMAS FULLER Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:36:13 -0000
Traffickers from Myanmar’s ethnic minorities use Thailand as their hub for the Pacific region.

L.A. Times - Asia

Obama faces competing demands on Afghanistan strategy
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
The president must heed domestic pressure that any military buildup be limited while convincing Afghan and Pakistani officials that the U.S. commitment is firm. As President Obama struggles over a new military strategy for Afghanistan, his advisors are trying to satisfy sharply divergent demands: assuring Americans that any military buildup will be limited while convincing Pakistan and other wary allies that the U.S. presence is substantial and not about to end.
In South Waziristan, hopes that Taliban's exit will bring progress
Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:36:00 -0800
Though villagers were not opposed to the militants, many of them fellow Mahsud tribesmen, they welcome the Pakistani offensive, hoping it will end the lawlessness and help bring basic amenities. The Mahsud tribesmen of South Waziristan don't hate the Taliban. But they hate what having Taliban fighters living among them has done to life in their mud-hut hamlets.
Volunteers hear a silent call for help
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
They went as temps to work at a Koreatown rehab center for deaf people. When funding dwindled, they stayed on without pay. None of them know sign language.

UN News Centre - Asia Pacific

Displaced Sri Lankans increasingly returning home from camps - UN
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500
About 90,000 Sri Lankans displaced by the conflict between Government forces and Tamil separatists have returned to their homes in the past three months, and the pace of returns has begun to accelerate, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.
Little progress in overcoming deadlock in Nepal's peace process, says UN envoy
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500
The top United Nations envoy to Nepal today lamented the fact that there has been limited progress in overcoming the political impasse that emerged in the country earlier this year, and little movement on the remaining tasks of the peace process.
UN stepping up assistance to latest wave of conflict displaced Pakistanis
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500
The United Nations refugee agency said today it is stepping up aid to people uprooted by military operations in the Pakistani region of South Waziristan, while highlighting the ongoing needs of around one million people still displaced from an earlier offensive in the northwest.

NYT > Asia Pacific

Reviews Raise Doubt on Training of Afghan Forces
By THOM SHANKER and JOHN H. CUSHMAN Jr. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:16:47 -0000
The U.S. program is struggling to help largely illiterate and often corrupt Afghan forces, documents suggest.
NATO Soldiers Missing as Taliban Reports Recovery of Two Bodies
By ALISSA J. RUBIN Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:35:20 -0000
As allied forces search for two missing soldiers in Afghanistan a Taliban spokesman said fighters had recovered the bodies of two drowned soldiers.
Thai Border on Guard for Drugs From Myanmar
By THOMAS FULLER Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:36:13 -0000
Traffickers from Myanmar’s ethnic minorities use Thailand as their hub for the Pacific region.
Gunmen in Pakistan Attack Senior Army Officer
By SABRINA TAVERNISE and MARK McDONALD Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:50:31 -0000
The drive-by shooting, which left the brigadier and his military driver injured, was the third such attack against senior military officers in 15 days.
U.N. Relocates Foreign Staff in Afghanistan
By ALISSA J. RUBIN Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:35:02 -0000
The temporary move after an attack last week was a signal of pressure on U.N. operations in the region.
Chinese Agencies Struggle Over Video Game
By MICHAEL WINES Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:36:56 -0000
Two Chinese government agencies are facing off over the right to regulate the popular online game.

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