Billionaire Rinehart 'offered daughter $300 mln to end feud'
Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart offered her estranged daughter Hope Aus$300 million (US$306 million) in a bid to end a sordid feud over the family fortune.
Australia gets first Aboriginal provincial government leader
The first Aboriginal to head a government in Australia took office on Thursday as chief minister of the Northern Territory, after staging a backroom coup.
Xi Jinping named president of China: parliament
Xi Jinping was named president of China Thursday after a vote at the nation's parliamentary meeting in Beijing, four months after he took charge of the ruling Communist Party.
China Everbright to relaunch Hong Kong IPO plans
China Everbright Bank, a mid-sized lender, said Wednesday it would relaunch plans to list shares in Hong Kong, after earlier aborted attempts at an overseas stock offer.
China city searching for 'modern Marco Polo'
A Chinese city is searching for a foreign traveller to become a "modern Marco Polo", with a 40,000 euro ($52,000) salary on offer to the winner.
Urkaine wins Women's World Chess Team Championship; Kazakhstan ranked 7th
Ukraine followed by China and Russia won the Chess Championship. Kazakhstan won over Turkey and France, tied with Romania and the United States.
Australia defends media reforms amid 'Stalinism' claims
Australia defended proposed media reforms arising from Britain's phone-hacking scandal Wednesday after a heated backlash from Rupert Murdoch's local operations, which labelled them dictatorial.
Dead pigs in Shanghai river jump to almost 6,000
The number of dead pigs found in Shanghai's main river doubled in two days to nearly 6,000, the government said, as officials from a nearby area blamed for the porcine deluge sought to deny it was the source.
Japan seeks defence ties with ASEAN amid China rows
Japan on Wednesday called for stronger security ties with Southeast Asia as Tokyo looks to boost alliances at a time of growing territorial tensions with China.
North Korea places South island in crosshairs
North Korea leader Kim Jong-Un threatened to "wipe out" a South Korean island as Pyongyang came under new economic and diplomatic fire Tuesday from US sanctions and UN charges of gross rights abuses.
233 million women lacking contraception in 2015: study
An estimated 233 million women in their fertile years will lack access to modern contraception by 2015, up from 221 million in 2010.
Plague of pigs in Shanghai river
More than 1,000 dead pigs have been found floating in Shanghai's main waterway, the Chinese city's government said Monday, as residents expressed fears over possible drinking water contamination.
S. Korea-US drill kicks off as tensions with North escalate
South Korean and US troops launched a joint military exercise Monday, prompting an infuriated North Korea, which has threatened both countries with nuclear attack, to sever a hotline with Seoul.
N. Korea scraps peace pacts as sanctions toughened
An enraged North Korea responded to new UN sanctions with fresh threats of nuclear war on Friday, vowing to scrap peace pacts with South Korea as it upped the ante yet again after its recent atomic test.
Main accused in Delhi gang-rape commits suicide: jail
The main accused in the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in New Delhi last December hanged himself in jail Monday while in solitary confinement, prompting outrage from the victim's family.
Japan marks second tsunami anniversary
Japan on Monday marked the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation.
Court dismisses Nokia patent claims against HTC
Taiwan's top smartphone maker HTC said Saturday a German court had dismissed two patent infringement complaints brought against the company by Finnish phone giant Nokia.
Anti-nuclear rally in Tokyo ahead of tsunami anniversary
Thousands of anti-nuclear demonstrators rallied in Tokyo Saturday ahead of the second anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster, urging Japan's new government to abandon nuclear power.
Sanctions against N. Korea not 'fundamental': China
Sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear programme are not "the fundamental way" to resolve the crisis, China's foreign minister said Saturday, days after the UN tightened measures against Pyongyang.
New China president to visit Russia, African countries
China's new president will pay a state visit to Russia, Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo.