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80-year-old Japanese man Yuichiro Miura becomes oldest to conquer Mount Everest

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:28:29 +0100

An 80-year-old Japanese mountaineer has become the oldest person to reach the top of Mount Everest - although his record may last only a few days. An 81-year-old Nepalese man, who held the previous record, plans his own ascent next week.

Car bomb kills 12 in southwest Pakistan

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:11:52 +0100

A car bomb targeting a police vehicle killed 11 policemen and one civilian Thursday in an area of southwest Pakistan wracked by a separatist insurgency and Islamic militancy, police said.

The five-mile high octogenarian contest: 80-year-old man begins quest to become oldest man to climb Mount Everest... but 81-year-old rival also seeks title

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:15:54 +0100

Call it the five-mile high octogenarian contest the likes of which have never been seen before.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai hands India weapons 'wish list'

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:15:26 +0100

Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, today said he had handed a “wish list” to India seeking greater military and civilian support to fill the vacuum created by the withdrawal of Western next year – an undertaking that is likely to spark anxiety in neighbouring Pakistan.

China agrees to impose carbon targets by 2016

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:35:26 +0100

The battle against global warming has received a transformational boost after China, the world's biggest producer of carbon dioxide, proposed to set a cap on its greenhouse gas emissions for the first time.

Kim Jong-un tries to rebuild bridges with release of Chinese hostages

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:19:15 +0100

Pyongyang has backed down from a potentially damaging confrontation with its closest ally by releasing the crew of a Chinese fishing boat held hostage for over two weeks.

Early summit date set for US and China

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:17:11 +0100

China’s new leader, Xi Jinping, will confer with President Barack Obama next month in California, months earlier than expected, as both sides seek to stem a drift in relations troubled by issues from cyber-spying to North Korea.

The height of rule-breaking: Everest climber Daniel Hughes in trouble for 'illegal' video interview from peak

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:30:13 +0100

A British climber who delivered a live video interview from the top of Mount Everest has found himself in trouble with the Nepalese authorities who have branded the broadcast illegal.

No socks rule is latest bid to ease Pakistan power cuts

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:26:55 +0100

Can socks, or rather an absence of them, save Pakistan this hot, blistering summer?

China urges North Korea to release fishing boat crew

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:27:00 +0100

China is urging North Korea to release a Chinese fishing boat whose owner says it was seized by gun-toting North Koreans earlier this month and held for ransom, in the latest irritant in relations between the neighboring allies.

Imran Khan blames rival for murder of politician Zahra Shahid Hussain in Pakistan amid continuing dispute over poll rigging

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:24:32 +0100

Imran Khan has blamed a political rival based in Britain for the murder of a politician from his own party who was shot dead outside her house in Karachi on Saturday night.

Suicide bomber kills 14 at Afghan province council

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:08:52 +0100

A suicide bomber struck outside a provincial council headquarters in northern Afghanistan on Monday, killing the council chief and at least 13 others, authorities said.

Saudi Arabian woman makes history having successfully scaled Mount Everest

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:17:22 +0100

Mountaineering officials say 64 climbers, including a Saudi Arabian woman, have successfully scaled Mount Everest from Nepal's side of the mountain.

North Korea launches missiles into eastern waters, according to the South

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:15:05 +0100

North Korea has launched three missiles into the sea off its east coast, reheating simmering tensions and prompting mild rebukes from the US and UK.

Afghans block law protecting women’s rights

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:21 +0100

Conservative religious lawmakers in Afghanistan blocked a law that aims to protect women’s freedoms, with some arguing that parts of it violate Islamic principles or encourage women to have sex outside of marriage.

British woman died 'after drinking poisoned gin' on holiday in Indonesia

Sat, 18 May 2013 10:45:02 +0100

A British woman has died after reportedly drinking poisoned alcohol during a trek in the Indonesian jungle.

North Korea 'fires three missiles' as nuclear programme slows down, according to UN

Sat, 18 May 2013 10:25:41 +0100

North Korea is still trying to import and export nuclear and ballistic missile-related items but financial and trade sanctions are slowing progress on development of their prohibited weapons, UN experts say in a new report.

Unmasked at last: mother comes face to face with men accused of raping and killing her daughter in India

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:30 +0100

The mother of a student who died after being gang-raped on a bus in Delhi came face to face with her alleged attackers for the first time and broke down in tears, pleading: “Please bring justice for my daughter.”

Everest climber aims to reach his peak at 80

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:45:31 +0100

An 80-year-old Japanese mountaineer has begun his attempt to scale Mount Everest, in an effort to reclaim his title as the oldest man to reach the summit.

Ai Weiwei unveils milk tin map of China in new protest piece against baby formula scandal

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:17:18 +0100

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has unveiled his latest work, a map of China made from baby formula tins, in response to fears surrounding milk safety in China.

Fatboy Slim to headline at Bestival's 10th anniversary

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:59:43 +0100

Fatboy Slim has been announced as the final headliner for Bestival's 10th anniversary event.

Millions escape brunt of Cyclone Mahasan

Fri, 17 May 2013 06:26:13 +0100

Millions of people across south and south-east Asia have been spared the horrors of a devastating cyclone after a storm working its away up the Bay of Bengal first weakened and then broke up when it struck land.

Public anger over pollution in China is finally being taken seriously

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:06:09 +0100

Pollution and its health effects are a leading cause of unrest in China as the country’s rapid economic rise is accompanied by often appalling environmental side-effects.

Campaigners in China challenge authorities over environmental impact of planned petrochemical plant

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:04:08 +0100

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of the southern Chinese city of Kunming to voice their fears over the environmental impact of a planned petrochemical plant – highlighting the increasing willingness of the country’s emerging middle class to challenge authorities.

New fears over safety standards as two workers die in Cambodian factory collapse

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:55:30 +0100

Two people were killed and nine others injured after a ceiling collapsed at a shoe factory south of Phnom Penn in Cambodia, raising fresh concerns about industrial safely following last month’s disaster in a garment plant in Bangladesh in which up to 1,200 people lost their lives.

Chinese police seize millions of fake Durex condoms worth £5m

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:07:07 +0100

Police in China have busted an alleged counterfeiting ring after seizing more than 4.65 million fake condoms worth ¥47.7 million (£5.07m).

Two American soldiers among 15 killed in Kabul suicide bomb attack on Afghan Nato convoy

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:50:07 +0100

US officials have confirmed that two American soldiers were among 15 people killed in a suicide bomb attack on a Nato convoy in the Afghan capital of Kabul today.

Japan tactics to kick-start economy pay off

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:21:40 +0100

Japan’s “shock and awe” tactics to kick-start its sluggish economy paid off today as the world’s third-biggest economy leapt forward in the first three months of the year.

Firefighters tackle blaze at shopping mall in Manila, Philippines

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:04:06 +0100

Firefighters attempted to tackle a massive blaze that broke out at a shopping centre in Manila, Philippines today, fearing that it could take days to put out.

Roona Begum - the Indian girl whose head had swollen to twice its usual size - undergoes 'perfect' surgery in New Delhi

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:16:25 +0100

The 15-month-old Indian girl whose life-threateningly swollen head was in pictures sent around the world has undergone "perfect" surgery in New Delhi.

Tied mayoral election in the Philippines settled by the toss of a coin

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:00:08 +0100

The new mayor-elect of a small Filipino village won his position with the toss of a coin on Tuesday.

21 injured in Nepal plane crash on mountain airstrip

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:00:57 +0100

A plane crashed while trying to land at a mountain airstrip in northern Nepal early Thursday, injuring all 21 people on board.

Indian gang rape suspect, Vinay Sharma, ‘attacked in prison’

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:22:57 +0100

One of the suspects in a brutal gang rape of a student in India is in a criticial condition after being attacked and poisoned in prison, his lawyer says.

Indian tigers face extinction due to inbreeding and 'lack of genetic diversity'

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:51:54 +0100

India’s population of tigers, which once surpassed 100,000 animals, is facing extinction because of a collapse in the variety of mating partners, according to new research.

Taiwan rejects Manila apology for fisherman death

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:01:51 +0100

Taiwan slammed Manila's apology for the shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman as informal and insincere, and said it is recalling its representative and will discourage travel to the Philippines.

Mayor of Osaka claims wartime sex slaves were ‘necessary evil’

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:55:27 +0100

One of Japan’s leading politicians has poisoned already toxic relations with China and South Korea by saying that wartime sex slaves were a necessary evil.

Indonesian miners rescued after tunnel fall

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:51:19 +0100

Rescue workers at a US-owned mine in eastern Indonesia freed four out of 37 miners who were believed trapped underground when a tunnel collapsed.

Disaster strikes Rohinghya again as boats fleeing Cyclone Mahasen sink

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:18:43 +0100

Dozens of people are feared to have drowned after several boats carrying Muslim refugees fleeing an approaching cyclone sank in the Bay of Bengal.

Video: Sheep in China gets metal heart

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:30:41 +0100

Doctors in China have implanted a metal heart into a sheep using state of the art aerospace technology.

Break up Sony and sell part of entertainment business: Hedge fund billionaire shocks Japan with letter to CEO of electronics giant

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:30:52 +0100

Billionaire hedge fund manager Dan Loeb has fixed his sights on Sony by calling for an audacious break-up of the Japanese electronics giant.

Bangladesh factory collapse: Gap refuses to back safety deal

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:17:05 +0100

US retailer Gap Inc’s refusal to sign an agreement designed to improve safety conditions in Bangladesh’s garment factories has been condemned by politicians, charities, and trade unions.

China's tiny desert oasis Yueyaquan Crescent Lake saved from a future under sand

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:00:43 +0100

The ancient Yueyaquan Crescent Lake oasis in the middle of the Chinese desert faced a bleak future under sand until the government stepped in to preserve the site for generations to come.

Osaka mayor Toru Hashimoto: Sex slaves in World War Two were necessary to 'maintain discipline' for Japanese military

Tue, 14 May 2013 08:52:22 +0100

The Japanese military's forced prostitution of Asian women before and during the Second Word War was necessary to “maintain discipline” in the ranks and provide rest for soldiers who risked their lives in battle, an outspoken politician has said.

The mystery of Shane Todd: Did US electronic engineer commit suicide – or was he murdered because he knew too many Chinese secrets?

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:41:16 +0100

A coroner’s inquiry that opened in Singapore on Monday may offer a final chance of resolving whether an American electronics engineer committed suicide – or was killed to stop him talking to the US authorities about his work at a Singapore institute on a sensitive research project involving a high-profile Chinese telecommunications firm.

Burmese refugees evacuated ahead of expected cyclone

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:57:57 +0100

Amid concerns about a possible disaster, thousands of people displaced by communal violence last year have been evacuated from makeshift camps to safer ground ahead of a cyclone expected to hit Burma’s west coast later this week.

'I will not work in a garment factory again': surviving seamstress Reshma Begum tells of her 17-day ordeal in rubble of collapsed Dhaka building

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:51:51 +0100

Reshma Begum, the 19-year-old seamstress rescued from the Rana Plaza last week, said on Monday that she would never again work in another garment factory.

Secrecy and security: Huawei is the company that has the world worried

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:15:44 +0100

You may not have heard of Huawei, but its products may well be in your house. Last year the company, based in Shenzen, China, overtook Ericsson to become the world’s largest manufacturer of telecoms equipment. It controls a quarter of the EU market in telecoms infrastructure and has won more than half of the contracts for 4G technology awarded in Europe, including big deals with EE (formerly Orange and T-Mobile), O2 and 3UK.

New Chinese premier Li Keqiang to make first foreign visits to Pakistan and India

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:19:56 +0100

The new Chinese premier Li Keqiang will visit India and Pakistan on his first foreign trip since assuming office, Beijing’s foreign ministry announced.

Pakistan election: Fourteen years after he was ousted, Nawaz Sharif welcomes journalists to his country house and returns with warm words for old enemies

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:59:45 +0100

It was impossible to keep count of the peacocks that stepped across the lawns at the home of Nawaz Sharif. Impossible too, to keep count of the number of workers responsible for the impeccable state of the grounds.

Pakistan election: Nawaz Sharif prepares to form government for record third time

Mon, 13 May 2013 09:34:31 +0100

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was locked in a series of meetings with aides and potential allies as he prepared to form Pakistan’s government for a record third time following an election that appears to have handed him an unanticipated scale of victory.

Hong Kong's top court grants transgender woman the right to wed

Mon, 13 May 2013 09:31:54 +0100

Hong Kong's top court has granted a transgender woman the right to marry her boyfriend in a watershed ruling which falls short of allowing same-sex marriage.

Spies caught in website scandal embarrass South Korea

Mon, 13 May 2013 09:19:46 +0100

The scandal shaking up South Korea's main spy agency is not cloak-and-dagger stuff, but the kind of low-grade trickery anyone with an Internet connection could pull off. And the target was not Seoul's opaque rival to the north, but the country's own people.

Omar Waraich: Nawaz Sharif’s election victory inspires new hope for Pakistan

Sun, 12 May 2013 18:28:46 +0100

It was one of history’s astonishing turns. In 1999, Nawaz Sharif was overthrown in a military coup. He was thrown behind bars, along with his brother and other ministers.

Nawaz Sharif celebrates victory in Pakistan election

Sun, 12 May 2013 12:39:21 +0100

Raucous celebrations broke out in the centre of Lahore in the early hours of Sunday as Nawaz Sharif appeared certain to secure victory in Pakistan's election and the former prime minister celebrated in front of crowds of his supporters.

Forty miners killed in China coal mine explosions

Sun, 12 May 2013 12:21:57 +0100

Forty miners have died in two separate coal mine explosions in south-western China, authorities said.

Collapsed Bangladesh factory 'miracle' among longest survivals

Sun, 12 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

The death-toll in the Rana Plaza factory disaster yesterday rose to 1,081, but Bangladesh was still absorbing the miraculous survival of Reshma Begum, pulled from the wreckage after 17 days.

'I never dreamed I'd see the daylight again': a joyful end to Reshma’s 17-day – but death toll in Dhaka clothing factory collapse in Bangladesh goes past 1,000

Sat, 11 May 2013 00:00:24 +0100

To be buried alive, to hear the voices of the living but to be unable to make them hear you: for much of this week, already entombed for a fortnight, that was the nightmare endured by Reshma, the Bangladeshi woman miraculously pulled out of the ruins of Rana Plaza on the outskirts of Dhaka afternoon, where at least 1,043 of her co-workers have died, a figure that is likely to climb further.

'They slapped us if we argued. We wiped our tears and went to work': The brutal existence of a Bangladeshi garment worker

Fri, 10 May 2013 22:00:42 +0100

Tuesday 23 April began began like every day. I woke up around 7am, helped my mother prepare breakfast, kissed my two sisters and baby brother goodbye and left our house near the hospital in Savar.

Corruption, power shortages, terrorism... Can anyone solve Pakistan’s problems?

Fri, 10 May 2013 19:13:13 +0100

Fauzia Talat was buying clothes for her children in a market in the centre of Rawalpindi. She was not sure of which of the two outfits she held up to buy, but she was certain about the problems facing Pakistan as she prepared to cast her vote today.

South Korean President sacks spokesman for 'unsavoury' act during trip to Washington

Fri, 10 May 2013 16:41:07 +0100

The South Korean leader Park Geun-hye has fired one of her spokesman for allegedly committing an unspecified “unsavoury” act during a presidential trip to Washington.

Pakistan’s nuclear weapons mastermind AQ Khan denies advising North Korea and Iran

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:41:20 +0100

AQ Khan, the mastermind of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme, has denied any involvement in similar programmes in North Korea and Iran, insisting that the two states have acquired any knowledge in the field from Western sources.

Video: Woman found in Bangladesh garment factory collapse

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:58:15 +0100

A woman has been rescued from the rubble of a garment factory near Dhaka, Bangladesh, 17 days after the building first collapsed.

And... cut! Chinese director accused of having too many children

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:24:56 +0100

One of China’s top film directors is being investigated for allegedly fathering seven children in violation of the country’s strict one-child policy.

Thousands gather to hear Imran Khan’s hospital bed election address

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:23:04 +0100

Tens of thousands of frenetic, flag-waving voters poured into Pakistan's capital on tonight to listen to Imran Khan address them from his hospital bed on a dramatic final day of campaigning ahead of Saturday's general election.

Son of former Pakistan prime minister kidnapped at election rally

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:21:07 +0100

The son of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was abducted by unknown gunmen at an election rally in the central city of Multan.

Blaze kills eight in another Bangladeshi garment factory disaster

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:33:58 +0100

Eight people were killed when a fire swept through a clothing factory today, as the death toll from the collapse of another factory building two weeks ago climbed above 900.

Pakistani court declares US drone strikes in the country's tribal belt illegal

Thu, 09 May 2013 17:59:13 +0100

A Pakistani court has declared that US drone strikes in the country's tribal belt are illegal and has directed the government to move a resolution against the attacks in the United Nations.

Gunmen kidnap son of ex-Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani

Thu, 09 May 2013 11:00:44 +0100

Gunmen have attacked an election rally in Pakistan's southern Punjab province and abducted the son of former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Backlash feared as Bangladesh sentences Islamic politician Muhammad Kamaruzzaman to death

Thu, 09 May 2013 10:44:38 +0100

A Bangladesh tribunal convicted a top Islamic party politician of atrocities stemming from the nation's 1971 independence war and sentenced him to death.

Eight die in Bangladesh clothing factory blaze just two weeks after building collapse that killed more than 900

Thu, 09 May 2013 07:23:26 +0100

A fire tore through an 11-storey building housing a clothes factory and residential complex in Bangladesh's capital last night, killing at least eight people, including the owner.

Nawaz Sharif’s election enterprise haunted by return of Imran Khan

Wed, 08 May 2013 19:10:04 +0100

The van driver slurping tea at a stall on the edge of Lahore’s old city had no doubts as to whom he would vote for on Saturday.

'His spine is intact': Full recovery expected but fall takes cricketer turned politician Imran Khan off Pakistan election trail

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:56:05 +0100

Imran Khan, the sportsman turned politician who has rocked Pakistan’s political scene, is expected to make a full recovery following a fall that left him with with fractured vertebrae and a cracked rib.

US returns stolen $1 million Tyrannosaurus to Mongolia, as Asian nation builds 'dinosaur museum' in tribute to 70-million-year-old skeleton

Wed, 08 May 2013 14:23:25 +0100

The United States has returned a stolen, 70-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus skeleton to Mongolia.

Madonna raises $7m from sale of Fernand Léger painting to 'make girls like Malala smile' around the world

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:10:25 +0100

Madonna will donate $7.2 million (£4.7 million) from the sale of a painting by Cubist Fernand Léger to promote equal education rights for girls like Malala.

Aung San Suu Kyi may become target as hackers launch Burma campaign

Tue, 07 May 2013 19:49:27 +0100

The “hacktivist” group Anonymous has said its next internet campaign is aimed at protecting Burma’s Muslim community, which has faced mounting attacks and the threat of ethnic cleansing over the past year.

China enraged by Pentagon’s claims it is waging new cyberwar

Tue, 07 May 2013 19:32:56 +0100

An unprecedented and blunt Pentagon report that accuses China of cyber-espionage aimed at extracting US military secrets has prompted a war of words between Washington and Beijing, with the latter angrily denying the accusations.

North Korean missiles no longer at launch site

Tue, 07 May 2013 19:12:36 +0100

United States officials say North Korea has taken a step back from its escalation of regional tensions by removing from their launch site a set of medium-range ballistic missiles that had been readied for possible test firing.

Imran Khan fractures skull after falling off lift at election rally

Tue, 07 May 2013 19:00:19 +0100

The former cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan fractured his skull and required hospital treatment after he fell from a fork-lift truck that was carrying him on to the stage at a packed rally.

A Hindu hell on earth: Families are being torn apart by their desperation to flee persecution in Pakistan

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:57:36 +0100

They had waited for years. So when the opportunity came they took it, even if it meant leaving behind friends and neighbours, brothers and husbands. Even a three-day-old baby boy. Seven weeks ago, almost 500 Hindus from Pakistan crossed into India on the pretence of visiting a religious festival. In reality, they had come to escape religious persecution and poverty. Some said they would rather commit suicide than go back.

Leading Pakistani politician and former cricket star Imran Khan injured in stage fall

Tue, 07 May 2013 17:22:21 +0100

One of Pakistan's most prominent politicians, former cricket star Imran Khan, fell from a stage and was injured at a political rally in Lahore.

US accuses China of new cyber-attacks

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:19:19 +0100

China has denied fresh US claims it is sponsoring cyber-attacks and said the countries should cooperate against the global threat of computer crime.

Dhaka factories death toll passes 700

Tue, 07 May 2013 10:04:27 +0100

The death toll from last month's collapse of a building housing garment factories in Bangladesh has passed 700, police said today.

British gran Lindsay Sandiford launches Bali death penalty appeal after drug smuggling conviction

Tue, 07 May 2013 09:56:02 +0100

A British grandmother facing the death penalty for drug smuggling in Bali has lodged an appeal at Indonesia's Supreme Court, human rights campaigners said.

North Korea moves missiles away from coastal launch site, say US officials

Tue, 07 May 2013 08:20:51 +0100

North Korea has taken two Musudan missiles off launch-ready status and moved them from their position on the country's east coast, US officials have said, after weeks of concern that Pyongyang had been poised for a test-launch.

Five climbers killed after Mayon volcano erupts in Philippines

Tue, 07 May 2013 07:10:45 +0100

One of the Philippines' most active volcanoes spewed huge rocks and ash after daybreak today, killing at least five climbers and trapping more than a dozen others near the crater in its first eruption in three years, officials said.

China hosts Palestinian and Israeli leaders in bid for Middle East influence

Mon, 06 May 2013 20:22:43 +0100

China is hosting both the Palestinian and Israeli leaders this week in a sign of its desire for a larger role in the Middle East.

14 killed in Pakistan bomb blast

Mon, 06 May 2013 15:33:58 +0100

A bomb blast has killed at least 14 people at an election campaign rally held by a pro-Taliban party in north-west Pakistan.

Bangladesh protests: 15 die in clashes as Islamic conservatives battle with police over implementation of anti-blasphemy law

Mon, 06 May 2013 09:14:16 +0100

At least 15 people have been killed in clashes in Bangladesh between the police and Islamic conservatives who want the country to establish an anti-blasphemy law that carries the death penalty.

Malaysia's long-ruling coalition hangs on to power

Sun, 05 May 2013 18:19:08 +0100

Malaysia’s governing coalition won what was heralded as the nation’s closest election today, extending its 56-year rule and thwarting an opposition alliance that had pledged to clean up politics and end race-based policies.

Burma's fertile delta where death was the crop

Sun, 05 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Rarely does Burma look more idyllic than along the single-track lane, fringed by banana and rattan palms, that goes from Pyapon to Bogale in the Irrawaddy Delta. There is water everywhere: the stream that runs alongside the road, crossed by bamboo bridges, ponds full of ducks or pink lotus flowers, a river where black water buffalo wallow up to their shoulders. The flimsy wooden farmhouses, each with its big glazed pot to collect rainwater, are fronted by gleaming paddy fields and framed by coconut palms. Everything one's eye falls on shouts of life and fertility.

Five American soldiers killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan

Sat, 04 May 2013 16:32:16 +0100

A roadside bomb has killed five American soldiers in southern Afghanistan, taking the coalition's death toll for the year to 47.

Flight for lavish tycoon wedding sparks inquiry

Fri, 03 May 2013 18:15:13 +0100

At least five South African officials, including police and military commanders, have been suspended after a chartered plane carrying about 200 guests from India to a lavish family wedding was allowed to land at an air force base near Pretoria.

Bhutto case prosecutor assassinated by gunmen

Fri, 03 May 2013 18:05:58 +0100

Gunmen have killed a Pakistani prosecutor who was leading investigations into the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and a brutal attack on civilians in the Indian city of Mumbai.

Malaysian elections: 'There's big corruption, a lot of state abuse'

Fri, 03 May 2013 17:57:37 +0100

David Chin disembarks from the Causeway Express bus that links Singapore to Malaysia’s southernmost state, Johor.

Internet critics point out the phallic nature of China's People's Daily newspaper new headquarters

Fri, 03 May 2013 16:24:28 +0100

In London we have the Gherkin and the Cheesegrater, so-called for the skyscrapers' physical resemblance to their namesakes.

Pakistani prisoner beaten in India in tit-for-tat assault

Fri, 03 May 2013 16:19:34 +0100

A Pakistani prisoner being held in an Indian jail has been attacked and seriously injured in a tit-for-tat assault one day after the death of an Indian prisoner in a jail in Lahore.

More than 900 arrested in China over meat contamination, including fox, rat, and mink passed off as mutton

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:08:16 +0100

Chinese police have arrested 904 people and seized 20,000 tonnes of illegal products since the turn of the year, in an investigation into "meat-related offences" which revealed fox, mink and rat meat all being passed off as mutton.

Air India pilots suspended for leaving cabin crew in charge of plane while they slept in business class

Fri, 03 May 2013 14:33:43 +0100

Two Air India pilots have been suspended after reporting to leave a plane on autopilot in the hands of cabin crew while they slept in business class.

Video: Tokyo zoo shows off white tiger cubs

Fri, 03 May 2013 09:52:46 +0100

Four rare white tiger cubs are now on show at Tobu Zoo in Tokyo a month after they were born. The cubs are only 30 to 40cm long and weigh about five kilograms. The new arrivals have been drawing crowds of people who have been queueing up to see them.

India demands justice from Pakistan over death of convicted spy Sarabjit Singh in prison attack

Fri, 03 May 2013 09:02:39 +0100

The body of an Indian man convicted more than 20 years ago in Pakistan on terrorism and spying charges, is being flown back to India after he died following an attack in a jail in Lahore. The incident has the potential to fuel the opinions of hardliners on both side of the border.