Beijing  - Asian and European Union leaders on Saturday called for the international community to act quickly and decisively at a conference on responses to the global financial crisis next month in Washington.

"We have all understood that it would not be possible simply to meet and have a conversation," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said of the planned summit on the crisis on November 15.

New Delhi, Oct 25 : Chinese nuclear physicists have developed a new treatment for cancer that uses heavy ion beams to kill malignant tumours more than 2.1 cm below the skin''s surface.

Zhan Wenlong, the leading nuclear physicist in the country, has claimed that heavy ion beams score over light ion beams, such as gamma rays and X-rays used in traditional radiotherapies.

High ion beams can accurately moderate the amount of radiation and minimize the damage done to healthy cells, reports China Daily.

Bangkok - Thailand's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered a nationwide ban on the sale of three snack products imported from China and Malaysia after they were found to contain excessive levels of melamine, reports said Saturday.

The banned items included Chinese-made Hajuku brand strawberry cream stick biscuits, Chinese-made Koala chocolate cream biscuits and Malaysian-made Julie's peanut cream crackers, all of which contained more than the safety limit of 2.5 milligrams per kilogram, Thai News Agency reported.

FDA secretary general Pipat Yingseri ordered retailers to remove the items from their shelves nationwide.

Melamine is typically used as a bonding agent for particle board, and as a pesticide.

Taipei - Taiwan's right-wing opposition rallied thousands in Taipei Saturday to protest President Ma Ying-jeou's pro-China policies and the island's economic downturn.

The march, organized by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), criticized Ma's alleged selling out of Taiwan's interests to China and Taiwan's economic downturn.

Ma took office in May after his Chinese Nationalist Party swept back into power in the March 22 presidential elections, ending the DPP's 8-year rule.

Beijing - Asian and European leaders plan to urge Myanmar's military rulers to be more tolerant toward opposition political parties and release political prisoners, according to a draft summit statement seen Friday.

The leaders attending the biennial Asia-Europe Meeting would urge Myanmar to "engage all stakeholders in an inclusive political process in order to achieve national reconciliation and economic and social development."

Beijing  - A plan will be finalized "as soon as possible" for a foreign exchange reserve of 80 billion dollars for 10 South-East Asian and three East Asian nations, Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah said on Friday.

Speaking on behalf of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the opening of a summit of Asian and European leaders, Bolkiah said there was "fear of economic meltdown" that was "compelling us to address this issue immediately."