NORTH KOREA
Pyongyang says US man arrested for illegal entry
A day after US authorities voiced concern that North Korea may have detained a Christian activist, Pyongyang said on Tuesday it had detained a US citizen who illegally entered its territory from across the Chinese border.
PAKISTAN
Blast rocks Shiite parade in Karachi, at least 43 killed
At least 43 people have been killed after a bomb exploded in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, police said on Monday, during the Shiite Muslim celebration of Ashura, already the target of deadly attacks in Iraq this year.
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IRAN
Opposition leader Karroubi is attacked, website reports
Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi was attacked upon leaving a mosque in eastern Tehran, his party's website reported, after he accused the government of "dipping its hand in people's blood" on another opposition site.
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UK - CHINA
British national faces death penalty for drug trafficking
Akmal Shaikh, a British man indicted in China for drug trafficking, faces execution on Tuesday after losing his final appeal in China's Supreme Court. Shaikh's two cousins have arrived in Urumqi in a last-ditch bid for clemency.
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AFP
17 dead in China mine blasts: state media
Seventeen coal miners have been killed and six others trapped in two gas explosions in China, state media said Monday, in the latest accidents to strike the country's notoriously dangerous mining sector.A dozen workers were killed in a blast late ...
AFP
Putin launches new Russia oil route to Asia
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin launched Russia's long-awaited Siberian oil export route on Monday, hailing a "truly serious event" giving energy-hungry Asia a new supply source from the world's largest crude exporter.Putin, clad in a heavy winter ...
AFP
Japan's finance minister hospitalised: ministry
Japan's Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii, 77, was hospitalised Monday for a rest and medical tests due to high blood pressure and fatigue after weeks of hard work on the budget, his ministry said.Financial markets reacted calmly to the announcement, ...
THAILAND
Army deports Hmong refugees back to Laos
Thai military authorities began the forced repatriation of thousands of ethnic Hmong asylum-seekers to Laos on Sunday, despite international concern that they could face persecution back home.
PAKISTAN
Suicide bomb in Kashmir kills at least five
Officials say that at least five people died and scores were wounded in a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque on Sunday in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
AFP
Mass turnout in Uzbekistan parliament polls
Voters in Uzbekistan flocked to the polls Sunday for parliamentary elections where all four competing parties are supportive of the government of President Islam Karimov, officials said.  
2004 TSUNAMI
Asia quietly marks fifth anniversary of deadly tidal wave
Five years after a giant undersea earthquake triggered a powerful tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people, some South East Asian coastal areas are still nursing their wounds. Quiet ceremonies will be held across Asia in memory of the victims.
AFP
Three dead in new Philippine ferry disaster
At least three people died while 22 others were missing after a small inter-island ferry sank in waters south of the Philippine capital, the coast guard said Sunday, the second sea disaster in three days.The MV Baleno-9, carrying 88 passengers and ...
INDIA
At least 45 presumed dead in Rajasthan bridge collapse
At least 45 people are presumed dead after a bridge collapsed on Dec. 24 in the city of Kota in the western Indian state of Rajasthan.
CHINA
West condemns decision to jail dissident Liu Xiaobo for subversion
China's leading dissident, Liu Xiaobo, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for "incitement to subvert state power" after authoring texts voicing opposition to China's communist system. Rights groups and Western leaders condemned the decision.
CAMBODIA
British paedophile jailed for a year for abusing girl, 12
A British man has been jailed for a year by a Cambodian court for sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl. Cambodia is struggling to shed its bad reputation as a haven for sex tourists and paedophiles.
JAPAN
Under fire over a funding scandal, Hatoyama considers stepping down
Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama came under fire on Thursday over a funding scandal involving one of his aides but offered to step down if the public demanded his resignation.
PHILIPPINES
Evacuees flee possible major volcano eruption
The Philippines' most active volcano shot ash into the sky on Wednesday, as officials tried to bring Christmas cheer to tens of thousands of evacuees fleeing a possible major eruption.
AFP
Four killed in Pakistan suicide blast: officials
A suicide bomber targeted a security checkpoint in Pakistan's Peshawar on Thursday, killing four people in the second such attack in as many days in the flashpoint northwestern city.Attacks are escalating in the city of 2.5 million people on the ...
Syndicate contentIRANIAN NUCLEAR CRISIS
AFP
Suicide bomber in southern Afghanistan kills eight: police
A suicide bomber with a horse and cart detonated himself Thursday in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, killing eight people and wounding five, a senior police officer said.The explosion happened around 7.15 pm (1445 GMT) outside the Kandahar ...
Syndicate contentWith French troops in Afghanistan
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11:02
Taipei 101 shrugs off loss of tallest skyscraper title - AFP
10:49
Russians win tennis thriller against Germany - AFP
10:29
Israeli settler bites policeman over moratorium - AFP
10:25
Sri Lanka put Bangladesh in to bat - AFP
10:13
Iran hangs three rapist murderers: state agency - AFP
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