Chinese authorities send 6,000 schoolchildren home a day after two trucks exploded, damaging buildings and killing eight people, state media says.

Qantas agrees to further compensate passengers affected by its move to ground its entire fleet over a dispute with unions.

Australians are shocked after a boat filled with asylum seekers capsizes on its way from Indonesia, and at least eight people die.

Radioactive xenon is detected at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, sparking fears that there could be a problem with one of the reactors.

China wants the UN's nuclear watchdog to be much tougher and apply rules stringently, to rebuild confidence after Japan's Fukushima accident.

Japanese carmakers Toyota and Honda report weaker than expected sales for October.

Quake-hit Japan works to entice tourists back

Beijing scheme tackles China's rising divorce rates

Companies from Russia and China are most likely to pay bribes when doing business abroad, a survey suggests.

Dozens of Tibetan protesters have been arrested in Nepal as they held a prayer meeting.

Trade talks pit Japanese farmers against industry

Charice Pempengco, Sunshine from Glee, has pulled out of gigs after her dad was killed in the Philippines.

Flooding leaves 17 elephants, many of them babies, stranded for weeks on a small concrete island in the Thai city of Ayutthaya.

Chinese authorities serve artist and government critic Ai Weiwei with a demand telling him to pay $2.3m within 15 days, the artist tells journalists.

James Soong says he will contest Taiwan's presidential polls - potentially splitting support for the ruling Kuomintang party.

A Japanese government official drinks water from puddles at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, after journalists challenge him to prove it was safe.

Flood water continues to pour into Bangkok's outer districts, angering residents who want barriers opened to allow water to drain.

The Reserve Bank of Australia cuts interest rates in a bid to boost growth amid fears of a slowdown in the global economy.

French raider Dunaden beats Red Cadeaux in a photo finish to win the Melbourne Cup.

China reports a drop in manufacturing, raising concerns about a global slowdown.