Coal will make a sneak return as the biggest source of power generation in Southeast Asia by the end of current decade, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has cautioned.

The IEA, which prepares energy policy for industrialized countries, said cheaper prices of coal would prompt Southeast Asia's power sector to turn away from gas to use more coal.

Fatih Birol, chief economist at the IEA, said that while people in the Southeast Asia region kept talking about green growth, the figures suggested that the growth wasn't green; rather it was black as coal.

An elderly American who had been detained in late October on charges of "hostile acts" against the state has been released, the socialist state's KCNA news agency reported.

According to the news agency, North Korea deported 85-year old Merrill E Newman after he admitted to his wrongdoing and apologised.

South Africa dipped in mourning as President Jacob Zuma confirmed the news Nelson Mandela's death.
 
Nelson Mandela, the well-known anti-apartheid hero of South Africa, died at the age of 95 at his Johannesburg home on Thursday following a prolonged lung infection. Mr. Zuma confirmed the news during a live press conference that started at around 8.45 A. M. AEDT.
 
Mr. Zuma also announced that Mr. Mandela would be given a full state funeral. He ordered the country's flag to be flown at half mast until then.
 

 South-East Asian countries are at higher risks of contracting HIV and other blood-borne viruses due to the soaring use of amphetamine-type substances (ATS), a report by the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) and the Asia-Pacific Drugs & Development Issues Committee has cautioned.
 
The report, which is based on a study of ATS usage in eleven South-East Asian countries, said that the proportion of people who use injections to take ATS is on the rise.
 

European countries lag behind Asian countries in mathematics, reading and science education, the latest OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development) student survey revealed.

The Programme in International Student Assessment (PISA) tested the mathematics, reading and science knowledge of nearly 510,000 students in the OECD's 34 member countries and 31 other nations.

The results showed students from Asian countries leading the world in all the three spheres of education.

 China, the world's second-largest economy, recorded its factory growth in November at a higher than average market projection, thanks to strong domestic as well as foreign demand.
 
The National Bureau of Statistics on Monday announced that the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for factory activity was recorded at 51.4 in November, unchanged from the previous month. Analysts had projected a reading of 51.1. Investors had been expecting the PMI to show the country's economy decelerating in the fourth quarter due to sluggish credit growth and weak global demand.

Taking a major leap towards its achieving its ambitious space aspirations, China on Monday launched its first moon rover.

China launched the Chang'e-3 lunar probe with the help of Long March-3B carrier rocket from the southwestern Sichuan province's Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 1:30 am (1730 GMT) on Monday.

 The Asia-Pacific could get rid of HIV-AIDS infections within 15 years, according to U. N. Secretary-General's regional special envoy for AIDS Prasada Rao.
 
In a recent interview, Mr. Rao said that many of the Asia-Pacific countries are advancing in fight against HIV-AIDS, and that there were only a few countries where the number of infections was on the rise. 
 

Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar on Thursday said that he was surprised to know that more than a third of the world population does not have access to safe and hygienic toilets.

Mr. Tendulkar, who recently retired from cricket, has been appointed by UNICEF as its first brand ambassador for South Asia to promote hygiene and sanitation in the region.

He said that he was thankful to UNICEF for allowing him to start second innings of his life, which was very important to him. He also promised that he would play his new role to the best of his ability.

After averting the Middle East crisis, at least for the time being, the U. S. has once again turned its focus to Asia.

The U. S. is dispatching two B-52 planes to emphasize its protest over China's controversial claims over the airspace over desolate islands in the waters between China and Japan.

China has been claiming ownership rights over the Senkaku Islands, which are currently under the administration of Japan. The Senkaku Islands, which China calls Diaoyu Islands, are said to have rich mineral reserves.