Manila - A new multilateral initiative was launched Tuesday to boost food security in South Asia by substantially increasing crop yields and income of millions of farmers in the region, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) said.

According to the Philippines-based IRRI, the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) aims to produce an additional 5 million tons of grain annually and increase the income of about 6 million farmers by at least 350 dollars.

Washington, December 20 : A team of political scientists have found that Asian Americans are less attached to their racial identity than black Americans, confirming that minority politics in the U. S. is more complex than generally thought.

The research team-comprising Jane Junn from Rutgers University and Natalie Masuoka from Tufts University-say that understanding the increasingly multicultural nature of the U. S. requires perspectives that incorporate, but go beyond, the black historical experience.

Kabul - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who was scheduled Friday to visit Kabul for the first time for talks with his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, has canceled his trip because of bad weather, the Afghan presidential palace said.

"Due to bad weather in Kabul and low visibility at the airport, President Zardari cancelled his trip to Kabul today," Simak Herawi, a presidential palace spokesman said.

New Delhi - Bilateral talks between India and Pakistan that began in 2004 have been put on hold in the aftermath of the Mumbai terrorist attacks, news reports said Wednesday.

"I do admit there is a pause in the composite dialogue process because of the attacks on Mumbai," Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee was quoted as saying by the Times of India newspaper.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday in Srinagar, capital of the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, the minister said, "We are now waiting to see whether the assurances they have given us are taken to their logical conclusion."

Tokyo  - Asian stocks fell sharply Friday on news of the collapse of a bailout plan for the US car industry and gloom over the effects of the US financial slump on Asian exporters.

In Japan, stocks dropped 5.56 per cent, ending a week of moderate gains.

The news of the US Senate's rejection of the latest car industry bail-out also led to the highest drop in the dollar against the yen for 13 years, dealing a further blow to Japanese exporters.

Singapore  - Singapore could well be the first economy in Southeast Asia to rebound from the current economic crisis by about third quarter of next year, economist Thierry Apoteker said in a news report Friday.

Apoteker, a French economist and head of a consulting agency, told television station Channel News Asia (CNA) he expected the US and Eurozone to see signs of recovery in the second quarter of 2009, with Asia following suit in the third quarter.

However, he remained cautious about the China factor in Asian economic recovery.