Alternative medicine describes practices used in place of conventional medical treatments. Complementary medicine describes alternative medicine used in conjunction with conventional medicine. The term complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is an umbrella term for both branches. Alternative medicine includes practices that incorporate spiritual, metaphysical, or religious underpinnings; non-European medical traditions or newly developed approaches to healing.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine defines complementary and alternative medicine as "a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine". It also defines integrative medicine as "mainstream medical therapies and CAM therapies for which there is some high-quality scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness" . Ralph Snyderman and Andrew Weil state "integrative medicine is not synonymous with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). It has a far larger meaning and mission in that it calls for restoration of the focus of medicine on health and healing and emphasizes the centrality of the patient-physician relationship" [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11863470 PMID 11863470.

Proponents of evidence-based medicine regard the distinction between conventional and alternative medicines as false, preferring "good medicine" with provable efficacy and "bad medicine" without. "Bad medicine" is any treatment where the efficacy and safety of which has not been verified through peer-reviewed, double blind placebo controlled studies, regarded as the "gold standard" for determining the efficacy of a compound. It is thus possible for a method to change categories in either direction, based on increased knowledge of its effectiveness or lack thereof. Richard Dawkins, Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, argues that alternative medicine should be defined as that set of practices that cannot be tested, refuse to be tested or consistently fail tests. He also states that "There is no alternative medicine. There is only medicine that works and medicine that doesn't work."

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BBC News | Asia-Pacific | World Edition

Aceh guerrilla leader flies home
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:46:00 -0000
Former rebels flock to Banda Aceh to welcome home one of Indonesia's best-known guerrilla leaders, Hasan di Tiro.
N Korea taken off US terror list
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:39:05 -0000
The US removes North Korea from its state terror list after the North agrees to nuclear inspection demands, the US says.
Tainted China water sickens 450
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:26:24 -0000
About 450 people fall ill in southern China after drinking water contaminated by a metal factory, state media report.
New Kim Jong-il images released
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 06:22:53 -0000
North Korea releases pictures of reclusive leader Kim Jong-il apparently looking well, despite reports he has been ill.
Ahtisaari wins Nobel Peace Prize
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:42:42 -0000
Martti Ahtisaari wins this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation efforts, including in Indonesia's Aceh province.
France pulls tainted Chinese food
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:06:18 -0000
France recalls sweets and biscuits made with Chinese dairy after finding high levels of an industrial chemical.

NYT > Asia Pacific

China May Let Peasants Sell Rights to Farmland
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:43:40 -0000
The shift could draw hundreds of millions of farmers more firmly into China’s city-centered market economy.
NATO Agrees to Take Aim at Afghan Drug Trade
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:25:57 -0000
The agreement came after strong pressure from the U.S., which has identified opium trafficking in Afghanistan as a primary target in the battle against the Taliban.
Bomber Strikes Anti-Taliban Meeting, Killing More Than 40
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:26:31 -0000
The attack came after elders in a Pakistani tribal area had vowed to push Taliban extremists out of their region, and were planning the details of how to wipe out a Taliban headquarters.

L.A. Times - Asia

North Korea film festival: Hollywood need not apply
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The reclusive society's film event is like no other. No paparazzi, no cellphones, and the foreign attendees are sequestered on an island. You know you're not in Cannes when the all-female marching band, wearing white go-go boots, belts out communist anthems at the opening ceremony.
North Korea releases Kim Jong Il's pictures
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 07:47:00 -0700
North Korea released pictures of its leader, Kim Jong Il, today for the first time in nearly two months, showing him looking generally well despite reports he recently underwent brain surgery.
U.S. kills 21 militants in southern Afghanistan
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 07:47:00 -0700
U.S.-led coalition troops killed 21 militants in two separate clashes in southern Afghanistan, while insurgents killed 10 civilians in the same area, the U.S. military said today.

UN News Centre - Asia Pacific

Head of UN agency promoting press freedom condemns murder of Thai journalist
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has deplored the murder of Thai journalist, while stressing that it is vital for the future of press freedom in the South-East Asian nation for the perpetrators of the attack to be brought to justice.
Relief efforts continue in quake-hit Kyrgyzstan, UN reports
Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
United Nations humanitarian agencies are continuing their relief efforts in the mountains of southern Kyrgyzstan, where an earthquake on Sunday night killed more than 70 people and displaced hundreds of families, as they work to bring aid before the expected arrival of the first snowfalls of the season.
Myanmar: UN expert outlines steps for improving human rights
Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Improving the situation of human rights in Myanmar is still a challenging task, according to the independent United Nations expert on the issue, who has outlined a series of measures for the South-East Asian as it proceeds with its "road map to democracy" announced earlier this year.

Asia - Pacific - International Herald Tribune

Scarred by past woes, Japan sees U.S. bailout as a first step
By MARTIN FACKLER Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:39:07 -0000
Japan's bitter memories of its banking meltdown in the 1990s made it sympathetic to Washington's bailout efforts and reluctant to lecture America.
U.S. dropping North Korea from terror list, officials say
By MATTHEW LEE Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:39:07 -0000
The United States is trying to salvage a nuclear disarmament deal before President George W. Bush's term ends in January.
North Korea reports another appearance by leader
By Choe Sang-Hun Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:53:21 -0000
More than a month after his absence from an important anniversary parade fueled theories that he had suffered a stroke, Kim Jong Il was reported by state media to have inspected a military unit.
China may draw farms into market economy
By EDWARD WONG Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:39:07 -0000
Chinese leaders are expected to allow peasants to buy or sell land-use rights for the first time.
NATO allows strikes on Afghan drug sites
By JUDY DEMPSEY Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:39:07 -0000
Signaling a major shift in strategy for the trans-Atlantic alliance, NATO defense ministers agreed Friday to allow direct attacks on Afghanistan's drug networks.
U.S. military leader sees Afghan situation worsening
By Eric Schmitt, Mark Mazzetti and Judy Dempsey Fri, 10 Oct 2008 03:15:07 -0000
The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said Afghanistan is very likely to continue what a new intelligence assessment called "a downward spiral.

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