Manila - The European Union on Monday underscored the need to incorporate the protection and promotion of human rights into an agreement being negotiated with the Philippines, which seeks to expand political, security and economic cooperation.

James Moran, the EU's director for Asia and chief EU negotiator for the Partnership Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with the Philippines, stressed that human rights is one of the cornerstones of the pact.

"Respect of human rights and the collective preservation of peace and security are the very basis for improving the life of our peoples," he said at the start of two-day negotiations in Manila. "This is one of the objectives of the PCA."

London - A 27-year-old man in Britain has been charged after a shoe was thrown at Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao during a visit to Cambridge University, police said Tuesday.

The man, who has not been named, would appear before magistrates in Cambridge on February 10 accused of committing a public order offence.

The shoe was thrown at Wen and he was called a "dictator" as he gave a speech on the global economy at the renowned university Monday.

Beijing - China's state-run media remained silent over a shoe thrown in protest against Prime Minister Wen Jiabao during a visit to Britain, but the country's foreign ministry Tuesday launched a protest against the "despicable act."

A protestor, repeating a similar protest against then US president George W Bush in December in Baghdad, threw a shoe at Wen on Monday during a lecture at Cambridge University.

Dhaka - Bangladesh and Germany were expected to focus on investment, trade and development cooperation at secretary-level talks slated for Wednesday, officials said.

The state secretary for the Foreign Ministry of Germany, Reinhard Silberberg, was scheduled to arrive in Dhaka Tuesday to meet with his Bangladeshi counterpart Touhid Hossain.

Bangkok - A Thai opposition movement on Friday petitioned South-East Asian ambassadors to make a "gesture" against the country's new government at a regional summit next month.

An estimated 100 "Red Shirts" - supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and is now living in self-imposed exile - marched to the embassies of Myanmar and Singapore in Bangkok to press their petition.

New Delhi - As United States President Barack Obama made front-page headlines in Indian newspapers for the second day Thursday, the government expressed hope that India-US relations would be further strengthened under the new leadership.