Google removes Singapore hate blog against Filipinos
Google has taken down a blog that listed ways to harass Singapore's Filipino population, drawing praise from Internet users appalled by growing racial tensions in the city-state.
London jury considers verdicts on Australian star Harris
The jury in the trial of Rolf Harris, the Australian entertainer accused of a string of sexual assaults against girls and young women, retired to consider their verdicts.
Death toll rises to 15 in twin Malaysian boat accidents
Malaysian authorities said Friday a 15th body was found and 27 people remain missing from two boat accidents, at a time when Indonesian illegal migrant workers head home for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Australia says UNESCO reef deferral 'a win for logic'
Australia called a decision by UNESCO to defer listing the Great Barrier Reef as in danger "a win for logic", but environmentalists said it was a final warning.
Heavy jail terms for Chinese anti-graft trio: lawyer
Three Chinese anti-corruption activists were sentenced to up to six and a half years in prison on Thursday, a lawyer said, the latest in their grass-roots movement to be jailed despite an official drive against graft.
Australia morgue refuses bodies as 'too fat'
An Australian funeral director had to store the body of a 200-kilogramme (441-pound) man in her car overnight after a morgue refused it for being too big, reports said.
No charges for Japanese in Anne Frank diary vandalism case
A 36-year-old Japanese man arrested for vandalising library copies of Anne Frank's "The Diary of a Young Girl" will not be charged after he was found to be mentally incompetent, a report said.
Scientists warn of tourism threat to Antarctica
Antarctic scientists warned Wednesday that a surge in tourists visiting the frozen continent was threatening its fragile environment and called for better protection.
Japan robot firm showcases thought-controlled suits
A Japanese robot-maker on Wednesday showed off suits that the wearer can control just by thinking, as it said it was linking up with an industrial city promoting innovation.
Ex-Norwegian PM Brundtland awarded Asian 'Nobel Prize'
Former Norwegian premier Gro Harlem Brundtland was named Wednesday as the first recipient of the Tang Prize, touted as Asia's version of the Nobels, for her work as the "godmother" of sustainable development.
Japan wife 'beat husband to death' over 40-year-old fling
A 79-year-old Japanese housewife who allegedly clubbed her husband to death in a row over an affair he had four decades ago has been arrested, police and press reports said.
40 Indians in northern Iraq 'uncontactable'
Forty Indian employees stranded in violence-hit Iraq are "uncontactable", the foreign ministry said Wednesday, with a newspaper reporting the construction workers have been kidnapped.
Japan bans child porn possession
Japan on Wednesday finally fell into line with other developed countries and made the possession of child pornography illegal.
Cause of death still a mystery in China-made pet food scare
US authorities have yet to determine what exactly caused the deaths of more than 1,000 dogs that consumed jerky pet treats made in China, a Congressional panel heard.
Former New Zealand PM hints at run for UN top job
Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark has hinted that she wants to become United Nations secretary general when Ban Ki-moon steps down, saying it is time for a woman to fill the role.
66 missing after boat sinks off Malaysia
Sixty-six people were missing on Wednesday after an apparently-overloaded boat carrying Indonesian illegal migrants sank in rough waters off Malaysia's west coast, authorities said.
Japan minister apologises for Fukushima money gaffe
A Japanese cabinet minister apologised after appearing to suggest people in nuclear disaster-hit Fukushima could be persuaded to put up with contaminated waste if the government threw cash at them.
Hong Kong steel firm pays $470 mn for 5-star Paris hotel
A Hong Kong steel investment firm said it has agreed to pay almost $470 million for the five-star Paris Marriott Hotel Champs-Elysees, as it targets Chinese tourists' desire for luxury travel.
Japan kills 30 whales in first post-ICJ hunt
Japan has slaughtered 30 minke whales off its northeast coast, in the first hunt since the UN's top court ordered Tokyo to stop killing the animals in the Antarctic, the government said.
Shell reduces holding in Woodside
Royal Dutch Shell on Tuesday announced it was reducing its stake in Australia's Woodside Petroleum, selling Aus$5.3 billion (US$5.0 billion) in shares as it focuses its Australian growth in directly-owned assets.