Hong Kong - "It's a buyers market," Malcolm O'Brien said. "There's bargains out there if you have the money to spend - at least in the short-term."

O'Brien is not talking about property, or stocks - but holidays and particularly holidays in Thailand and Vietnam.

With occupancy rates falling as hard-hit travellers ditch their holiday plans, hotels are slashing their rates to fill rooms rather than see them go empty, said O'Brien, head of traveller feedback with Lonely Planet Asia-Pacific.

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's budget airline AirAsia hopes to soar above the current global travel slump by defying the conventional, and introducing unorthodox mechanisms to increase passenger volume.

With travel experts predicting a major drop in tourism across the region, airlines across the board have taken to cutting back on growth and routes to reduce capacity and match lower demand.

AirAsia, however, has chosen to fly the path less travelled.

Washington- Economic growth in Asia is expected to slow sharply into 2009 as the global financial crisis clamps down demand for exports and the turmoil hits domestic activity, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Monday.

Growth is forecast to slow to 6 per cent this year from 7.5 per cent in 2007, the IMF's November regional economic outlook for Asia said.

Cornwallis (Nova Scotia, Canada), Nov. 22: Defence MInisters of NATO countries with troops in Afghanistan have said they're confident about elections taking place in that country next year despite a rise in violence.

According to the Globe and Mail, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) representatives said Friday that a planned “surge” in troops from the United States, along with greater training of Afghan security forces, will help stabilize Afghanistan''s outhern provinces by spring and summer.

Seoul - Leaders from South Korea, Japan and China will meet next month to discuss the impact of the global financial crisis, Seoul presidential officials announced Friday.

South Korea's President Lee Myung Bak, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will hold talks in the Japanese city of Fukuoka on December 13.

Though the three countries have met previously on the sidelines of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Three summit, it will be the first such meeting held separately from a multilateral international forum.

Tokyo - Asian stock markets took heavy losses Thursday, reflecting widespread gloom about US economic troubles and another bad day on Wall Street.

Japan's key Nikkei 225 Stock Average plummeted nearly 7 per cent, ending the day below the 8,000 level.

Traders said the sell-off was the result of mounting concern over the US economy, particularly the Big Three automakers' financial fate.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled 570.18 points, or 6.89 per cent, to close at 7,703.04.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues also fell 45.15 points, or 5.46 per cent, to 782.28.