A landmark exhibition of textiles of the Chin peoples of western Myanmar (Burma), northeastern India and eastern Bangladesh will be on view at The Textile Museum from October 13, 2006 - February 25, 2007. Mantles of Merit: Chin Textiles from Mandalay to Chittagong includes nearly 80 ceremonial mantles, tunics and other garments, along with contemporary and historic photographs as well as jewelry and accessories worn with the textiles.

Indonesia's top bird flu official says the country hopes to cut human cases from the virus to zero by the end of 2007.

Indonesian health authorities are investigating the deaths of 22 people over a two-month period admitted to the same hospital in the capital, Jakarta.

Much of Asia faces days of slow Internet connections and cut phone lines after a powerful earthquake in Taiwan disrupted telecommunications around the region. As VOA's Heda Bayron reports from Hong Kong, experts say it could take days before connections are fully restored.

Bangladesh's Election Commission has begun examining the nomination papers of more than 4,000 candidates who registered for next month's parliamentary election.

Seismologists say a 7.1 magnitude earthquake has struck about 100 kilometers south of the coast of Taiwan.

Millions of Christians in Asia celebrated Christmas in peace despite what have become annual warnings of possible terror attacks. Flooding and storms have also dampened the holidays for some. VOA's Heda Bayron has more from Hong Kong.

The two-week Vienna Philharmonic tour of Asia under Valery Gergiev, which took the orchestra to Seoul, Hong Kong and for the first time in the 164 year history of this renowned ensemble to Australia, concluded with a major triumph in Sydney. The program included works by Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Schumann and Mozart.

Macau - once a sleepy Portuguese colony in southern China - is now about to surpass the American gambling capital, Las Vegas, as the world's biggest gambling destination. Betting on Chinese high rollers, America's top gaming companies are pouring billions of dollars into Macau to turn it into the Las Vegas of Asia. But as VOA's Heda Bayron reports from Macau, not everyone in the territory is a winner.

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) hosted the third LSE Asia Forum in the Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi, India on December 7.

Iranians are to vote Friday in elections for local governments, as well as the body that will choose the country's Supreme Leader. As VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports, the elections are expected to open up simmering rivalries on Iran's political landscape.

A week after winning a court order to be allowed to continue mining, a British mining company has been denied permission to return to its claim in the Marange Communal lands in Manicaland province where a diamond rush began three months ago. Peta Thornycroft reports for VOA, this is the first time the government has sought to expropriate a mine.