HONG KONG: Six people missing after river boats collide off Stanley

Rescuers searched waters off Wong Ma Kok on Thurday for six missing people after two river boats collided in fog near Stanley, in the worst maritime accident since the fatal Lamma ferry collision last October.

AUSTRALIA: New Cruise Terminal in Sydney Welcomes First Ship

New Cruise Terminal in Sydney Welcomes First Ship

CHINA Reports 13 Bird Flu Deaths; Cases Climb To 60

Health officials in China say they've confirmed 11 new bird flu diagnoses, bringing the number of H7N9 infections to 60, according to the official Xinhua news agency. The virus, which began in eastern China, has now sickened at least one person in Beijing, and two in the central province of Henan.

PORT OF HAKATA, JAPAN: Dazaifu's rich past still delights today

The gravel of a path in the garden at Komyozenji Temple has been swirled into the shape of the kanji for "light." It's a bit of an ironic choice for the fall day I visit, as only a few of the sun's rays have managed to penetrate the dense growth surrounding the rear of the temple. Those that do filter through the red-tinged maples, though, bathe the garden in an ethereal glow befitting daybreak rather than the near-noontime it actually is.

I turn to the other visitor on the temple's back porch, poised to share an observation, but the words die unsaid in my throat. To voice them would be to break the silence of this restful place and, after a few days in nearby Fukuoka's bustling downtown, silence is suddenly a commodity not to be trifled with.

AOMORI, JAPAN: Mega Snow - James Whitlow Delano's Buried Japan

Japan's Aomori Prefecture might be at the same latitude as New York, but its climate can seem a lot more harsh. Nestled at the northernmost part of the country's Honshu Island, the average yearly snowfall there is around 34 ft.