Asia

Just when you thought you could scratch bird flu off your list of things to worry about in 2009, the deadly H5N1 virus has resurfaced in poultry in Hong Kong for the first time in six years, reinforcing warnings that the threat of a human pandemic isn't over. India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and mainland China also experienced new outbreaks in December. During the same period, four new human cases -- in Egypt, Cambodia and Indonesia -- were reported to the World Health Organization.

Coca-Cola Co.'s $2.4-billion bid to buy China Huiyuan Juice Group, rejected Wednesday by the Chinese government, is the biggest of a growing number of failed mergers and acquisitions in Asia. Analysts say the decision could hurt efforts by Chinese companies -- both state-owned firms and private ones -- to buy companies and assets around the globe.

For 25 years, the Lucky K.T. Noodle Factory in El Monte has been making fresh rice noodles for hundreds of Asian restaurants and supermarkets in Los Angeles and around the country. But a state law requiring manufacturers to refrigerate the pasta instead of allowing it to be stored at room temperature threatens to alter a long-held Asian tradition, said factory owner Tom Thong. "The health inspectors don't understand our culture," said Thong, 53. "We've been eating it this way for thousands of years and we've never had a problem.

Xie Xiaolan couldn't tell you what sub-prime loans are, but she knows they must be something bad washed ashore from the U.S. That's what other investors at Guoyuan Securities here were telling her Tuesday as China's stock market fell 7%, on top of a 5% drop the previous day. "I'm too scared to watch," said Xie, a retired accountant who has lost more than $13,500 this week, about one-seventh of her stock investments.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Friday that it would greatly increase agricultural grants designed to reduce hunger and poverty in Africa and South Asia. The $306-million commitment over four years included $164.5 million to the Nairobi, Kenya-based Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, for efforts to improve soils and help small farmers boost crop yields. The Rockefeller Foundation contributed an additional $15 million to the effort.

To many Asians, the U.S. electoral system is a mystery, the candidates have strange names, and it's not always clear how they view Asia's interests. China has learned that, no matter what they say in the campaign, U.S. presidents eventually engage with Beijing, given its growing clout. "So this election doesn't worry us so much," said Tao Wenzhao, professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. At street level, Hillary Clinton is probably the best known candidate.

For kids -- and parents too -- it may be the ultimate play land: a 10-square-mile, $64-billion zone with amusement parks by Six Flags, DreamWorks Animation and Universal Studios, plus museums, shopping and 55 hotels. ? At twice the size of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., this is a place where it's hard to imagine getting bored.

In a message clearly aimed at China, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today that fast-growing Asian powers "risk blundering" into confrontation and sparking a new arms race unless they follow widely accepted international rules. Gates said the U.S. supported the rapid economic growth of emerging Asian nations.

Major Asian banks that have pulled themselves from the depths of their own economic crisis of the 1990s are showing now just how crucial a role they may play as the U.S. tries to restore health and confidence to its tottering financial system. Japan's biggest bank said Monday that it planned to spend as much as $8 billion for a 20% stake in investment banking firm Morgan Stanley in New York.

If there was any question about Asia's exposure to the U.S. financial contagion, this week left no doubt. Japan's stock market crashed, South Korea's currency convulsed and Singapore said it was in recession. Suddenly, Asia doesn't look to be the strong cushion that some had counted on to soften the falling global economy.