Beijing - This week's largest ever gathering of Asian and European leaders was planned to focus on efforts to combat climate change and promote sustainable development, but those efforts now look likely to be overshadowed by the need to respond to the global financial turmoil.

Talks on the financial crisis are expected to be "very intense" between leaders of the 27 European and 16 Asian nations at the seventh biannual Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Beijing, Serge Abou, the EU ambassador to China, told reporters.

"The main thing is to come out with strong and united messages conveying confidence," Herve Ladsous, the French ambassador to China, said of the talks on global finance.

Tokyo - Asia-Pacific stocks soared Monday after South Korea announced a more than 130-billion-dollar package to stabilize the country's financial sector.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average was up 3.59 per cent at 9,005.59 while its broader Topix index of all first-section issues gained 3.7 per cent to close at 927.37.

The market for Asia's largest economy was also buoyed by speculation that corporate earnings reports would beat analysts' expectations.

The biggest percentage increase of the day was seen in Hong Kong, where the benchmark Hang Seng Index closed up 5.28 per cent, buoyed by a general rebound in stocks across Asia.

Tokyo - Stock markets across Asia see-sawed Friday between small gains and losses, as investors reacted to mixed signals from Asia's economies, with most markets ending the week down, not able to recover from the earlier plunge.

   Countering the trend, Tokyo stocks climbed Friday after an overnight surge on Wall Street to end trading up almost 3 per cent as investors bought back shares battered by the previous day's losses.

   The Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 235.37 points, or 2.78 per cent, to close at 8,693.82. Tokyo's broader Topix index of all first-section issues also gained 29.77 points, or 3.44 per cent, to 894.29.

   The recovery came after Japan's benchmark index plunged 11.41 per cent Thursday.

Kuala Lumpur - A Malaysian police bomb squad safely detonated a live 430-kilogram bomb that was found on a university campus in the northern state of Perlis, news reports said Friday.

A heavy machinery operator discovered the bomb, believed to have been dropped during World War II, on Thursday, prompting police to block roads leading to the area, the Bernama news agency reported.

Tokyo - Key stock markets across Asia edged upwards on Friday, recovering slightly from record drops earlier this week, as investors cautiously ventured back into the market after a surge on Wall Street.

Indexes around the region see-sawed between small gains and losses, as investors reacted to mixed signals from Asia's economies.

Tokyo stocks climbed in early trading Friday after Wall Street's overnight surge.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 129.66 points, or 1.53 per cent, trading at 8,588.11. The broader Topix index gained 2.6 per cent to 887.43.

The recovery came after Japan's benchmark index plunged 11.41 per cent Thursday.

New York - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to attend an international conference on migration and development in late October in the Philippines, the first of four Asian countries he plans to visit, the UN said Thursday.

The Second Global Forum on Migration and Development will take place in Manila on October 29. Ban will meet with President Gloria Arroyo and receive the nation's Order of Sikatuna in recognition of his diplomatic efforts.