CHINA

Swedish miner and smelter Boliden beat forecasts for third-quarter operating profit as Chinese demand buoyed the market for metals and said its Aitik copper mine expansion was on schedule.

Intelligence agencies estimate that it would probably take Iran a minimum of 18 months to develop a nuclear weapon if it chose to build one, Western diplomats and intelligence officials said.

Developing countries risk missing out on the benefits of information technology because of their lack of broadband infrastructure, a U.N. agency said.

A Chinese report saying Beijing should increase its holdings of euros and yen in its foreign reserves knocked the already battered dollar on Monday while global stocks sought to recover from last week's weakness.

(Corrects paragraph 4 to say inventory adjustments, rather than inventory building and drops reference to rates)

Shares in Japan and South Korea rose on Monday, with Seoul lifted by strong economic growth data, while the dollar slid after a Chinese article said Beijing should raise its euro and yen holdings in its reserves.

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rebuffed China's wishes that it bar the Dalai Lama from traveling to a disputed border area, telling Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao the Tibetan spiritual leader was an honored guest.

Asia-Pacific leaders called on Sunday for regional-wide free trade and other measures to reduce dependence on the United States and big Western markets as Asia leads the way out of the global economic downturn.

A team from the U.N. nuclear watchdog inspected a nuclear site in Iran on Sunday that has heightened Western fears of a covert program to develop atomic bombs, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

The East Asia Summit, bringing together the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and six dialogue partners, will be held in the Thai seaside resort of Hua Hin on Sunday.

Japan's prime minister backed a U.S. role for a proposed EU-style Asian community on Saturday, telling Southeast Asian leaders Tokyo's alliance with Washington was at the heart of its diplomacy.

Central banks that worked hand in hand with governments to contain the financial crisis may succumb to political pressure and delay unwinding ultra-loose monetary policy, risking igniting inflation and speculative bubbles.

Apple on Monday reported better-than-expected profits and sales which smashed Wall Street's forecasts, lifted by record quarter sales of iPhones and Macs.

Mongolia has shortlisted eight potential partners for its huge Tavan Tolgoi coking coal project, according to Temuulen Ganzorig, deputy director of Erdenes MGL, the Mongolian government company that will hold at least 51 percent of the equity.

Malaysia's biggest mobile service provider, Maxis Bhd, aims to raise as much as $3.65 billion in the country's biggest IPO, despite a cooling off in demand for Asian listings following China's flurry of offerings.

South Korea ended a frustrating losing streak in overseas resource deals with the agreed $1.7 billion takeover of Canada's Harvest Energy Trust, securing oil and gas reserves but also taking on an aging refinery in need of significant investment.

A trade row between Thailand and the Philippines threatened to derail a regional free trade pact on Friday, as hosts Thailand cast tight security over an Asian summit twice postponed due to anti-government protests.

South East Asian leaders are meeting in Thailand to work toward creating a political and economic union for the region by 2015.

Chinese President Hu Jintao, made the fifth phone conversation with U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday. President Hu expressed his confidence that a positive outcome at the upcoming Copenhagen world climate summit in December could be provided improvement in bilateral relations and faced the weather pattern challenge.

Japan could weaken its target for a 25 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 if all major emitters do not reach agreement on an ambitious global climate pact, the environment minister said Friday.

A combination of investment risks threatens to obstruct an already stumbling U.N.-backed $6.5 billion market in clean energy projects in emerging nations, years before the scheme's first phase is due to end.