President Barack Obama on Wednesday issued an executive order freezing U.S. assets of anyone considered to be threatening the success of the U.S.-backed political transition in Yemen.

In the order, Mr. Obama declares a national emergency with respect to "actions and policies of certain members of the government of Yemen, and others threatening peace, security or stability by obstructing implementation of last year's political transition agreement."

China and the Philippines have announced temporary bans on fishing in areas of the South China Sea they both claim as sovereign territory. The bans may help cool tempers after ships from the two sides faced off in April. But, political analysts say a more permanent solution is needed to address a cycle of conflict partly caused by depleting fish stocks.

China every year imposes a ban on fishing for several weeks in a northern part of the South China Sea.

Beijing says the restriction, used for more than a decade, allows fish stocks to replenish.

China has criticized Australia’s plans to increase the number of U.S. military personnel stationed in the Northern Territory. Australia is hosting the troops as part of the Obama administration's strategic shift toward the Asia-Pacific. Beijing says Canberra is revisiting Cold War alliances as Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr makes his first visit to China.

Pakistan has signaled that NATO supply lines to Afghanistan should be reopened.

Pakistan shut down the routes after U.S. airstrikes mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani troops near the Afghan border last November.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar told reporters in Islamabad Monday that Pakistan needs closure on the cross-border attack and needs to “move on.” She said Pakistan has “made the point and we now need to move on and go into a positive zone of trying to conduct our relations” with the United States.

The International Organization for Migration has begun repatriating thousands of South Sudanese stranded at a way station near the border with Sudan.

The first plane carrying 164 refugees landed Monday in South Sudan's capital Juba.

The refugees are among a group of 12,000-15,000 South Sudanese who are waiting to leave the crowded transit camp at Kosti, south of Khartoum.

The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea say they will not tolerate further provocation from North Korea, amid fears that Pyongyang is preparing for a new nuclear test.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made the remark Sunday after meeting in Beijing with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

North Korea's failed rocket launch last month led to sanctions from the U.N. Security Council. The launch drew immediate condemnation from the United States and its allies, who view it as a disguised ballistic missile test barred under U.N. resolutions.

The parents of an American college student, who went missing in China nearly eight years ago, are now certain he is being held in North Korea. But authorities in Washington and Beijing say there is no evidence about the fate of David Sneddon.

Families of Japanese abducted by North Korea over the decades met with U.S. government officials in Washington this week, as well as several members of Congress.

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A recent flare-up between China and the Philippines about a disputed island has renewed tensions surrounding South China Sea territories. The spat has also highlighted a July deadline for agreement on a code of conduct in the sea between China and Southeast Asian nations.

On Thursday, China’s state media said most Chinese travel agencies suspended trips to the Philippines in an escalating and nationalistic war of words over a disputed island chain. China also issued a safety warning to its citizens in the Philippines because of anti-China protests expected this weekend.