The European Union has begun trade talks with South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). As Ron Corben reports from Bangkok, analysts say the European Union's push in Asia follows the example of the United States and other nations seeking trade deals in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region.

A number of Asian nations are not content with being economic powerhouses - they have become serious contenders in the race to control space. From VOA's Asia News Center in Hong Kong, Claudia Blume reports that Japan, China and India are the main contenders in Asia's race to the stars.

The dollar climbed to a 2 1/2-month high against the yen in Asia Thursday following the release of Japan's gross domestic product figures, which showed that companies cut back on capital investment last quarter.

Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh has said that the Centre will offer incentives to states that take urgent measures to avert a farm crisis.

The Asian Development Bank is helping to finance a 100-megawatt wind energy plant in India as part of a drive to promote renewable energy sources in Asia. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, India has emerged as the world's fifth-largest producer of wind energy.

The United Nations says injecting drug use is beginning to rival sexual activity as a vehicle for the transmission of the AIDS virus in Asia, and the world in general. UNAIDS officials say Asian governments have made encouraging commitments to fight the disease, but most have not yet followed through with concrete action.

The chief of the Asian Development Bank says the organization will not sacrifice its efforts to help Asia's poor, despite a restructuring effort to offer services to increasingly wealthy nations. The Bank just wrapped up its annual Board of Governors' meeting in Japan, where delegates discussed the organization's future role.

The finance ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as China, Japan and South Korea (ASEAN+3) concluded their 10th meeting on Saturday afternoon in Kyoto, vowing to further deepen financial cooperation.

Keen for a piece of China's red-hot stock market, people all over the country are withdrawing money from their bank accounts to invest in shares. Experts warn this could be a risky move. They say the market boom is a bubble waiting to burst, and that many retail investors could be hurt. Claudia Blume reports from VOA's Asia News Center in Hong Kong.

Asia's economic development is a success story that has been decades in the making. But in the past decade, the region has become a key factor in a global imbalance marked by too much reliance on exports by countries in one part of the world and excessive consumption by countries in another part, such as the United States. As senior officials from the Asian Development Bank gather in Kyoto, Japan, some say the way to end this imbalance is through regional economic integration.

Over the past 40 years, the Asian Development Bank has loaned billions of dollars to the poorest areas of the region. Now that much of the region is booming, the nonprofit institution is in the process of reinventing itself to tackle some of the problems created by economic success. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Kyoto, Japan, where ADB delegates and officials are holding their annual board of governors meeting.

As the latest World Trade Organization round of talks loses momentum, bilateral and regional free trade agreements are mushrooming in Asia. Claudia Blume reports from VOA's Asia News Center in Hong Kong.