At least 16 people have been killed by two blasts in Baghdad's predominantly Shia neighbourhood of Sadr City, Iraqi security officials say.  

Twenty-eight people were killed and four others survived when their plane crashed into the remote forests of Papua New Guinea, Australian officials said on October 14.   

Three United Nations food agencies say prices for rice, wheat and other key foods are expected to remain volatile and possibly increase.

 Minister of Public Security Lieut. Gen. Tran Dai Quang is joining other ministers of ASEAN countries in Indonesia to discuss ways of preventing trans-national crime.

The U.S. dollar rose against most major currencies this week as investors' concerns about the European debt crisis continued to weigh on the euro. Meanwhile, the dollar was lifted as the Federal Reserve pledged to provide further stimulus policy if needed. The Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said this week the economy is weaker than the central bank had expected and that poor job growth continues to undercut consumer confidence. He warned Congress that deep spending cuts may impede a recovery. Bernanke also said the central bank is ready to take more steps to stimulate the economy if necessary. The most anticipated economic data this week was related to U.S. employment situation. A report from ADP said private U.S. employers added 91,000 jobs in September, more than some analysts had expected. The figure eased investors' concerns about the job markets. The U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose 6,000 to 401,000 last week, slightly lower than economists' expectations. The better-than-expected figure provided positive view for the much expected non-farm payroll report due out on Friday. The non-farm payroll report for September showed that 103,000 jobs were added, which were better than expected. However, the unemployment rate remained high at 9.1 percent, suggesting that the job markets were still weak. Meanwhile, the debt crises in Greece and other eurozone countries still remain unsettled, with the Greek government acknowledging this week that it won't meet its deficit target this year because of expectations for a deeper-than-expected economic recession. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said earlier this week eurozone finance ministers haven't decided on the release of the next scheduled aid payment to Greece. The news raised concerns over whether the country would receive financial aid in time from international lenders to avoid default. Also, the rating agency Moody's on Friday cut ratings of 12 British banks, raising investors' concerns about the health of European banks. However, other news from Europe injected some confidence to the market. Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), said the ECB would resume a program of buying covered bonds and conduct longer-term refinancing operations. Both actions aimed at tackling liquidity shortage among commercial banks and were in line with investors' expectations. Meanwhile, the Bank of England said it will increase its asset purchases by 75 billion pounds (116 billion dollars) to 275 billion pounds (426 billion dollars). The announcement surprised the market as most analysts expected that such a move will happen not earlier than November. The British central bank also kept its key interest rate unchanged at 0.5 percent. The euro lost 0.1 percent against the dollar this week, pressured by investors' concerns over Greek debt crisis. The British pound also dipped 0.1 percent against the dollar.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on October 9 to discuss how to use the euro zone's financial firepower to counter a sovereign debt crisis threatening the global economy. 

The third ASEAN Food Security Conference with the theme of food trade, investment and food security wrapped up in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct. 5.

 

 

Eurozone finance ministers met on Monday to discuss the situation in Greece and reform of the temporary rescue fund in a bid to contain spill-over of the sovereign debt crisis.

China and Russia have vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria over its crackdown on anti-government protesters. 

Asian markets tumbled sharply in early trading Monday, hurt by data suggesting debt-strapped Greece's attempts at austerity were not yielding results and a weakening economic picture in Europe.

Business confidence in major Japanese manufacturers has improved as they push to recover from disaster, the central bank said Monday.

A plane carrying 18 people has crashed in a mountainous region of western Indonesia, government officials say. 

Philippine authorities said Thursday that the death toll from Typhoon Nesat had risen to 35, and would likely climb further with dozens of others missing two days after the storm walloped the country.