AUSTRALIA: Harbour landmark fallout

One of Sydney Harbour's landmarks has become the battleground for two ugly disputes over its future uses.

CHINA: Calls for Global Hacking Rules

China Calls for Global Hacking Rules: Remarks by Yang Jiechi, the foreign minister, were China’s highest level response yet to intensifying accusations that the Chinese military may be engaging in cyber espionage.

CHINA: Main changes in China's government restructuring plan

BEIJING (Reuters) - China unveiled a government restructuring plan on Sunday, cutting the number of cabinet-level entities by two in the biggest reduction ...

JAPANA: Thousands in Japan anti-nuclear protest two years after Fukushima

TOKYO (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters marched in the Japanese capital on Sunday calling on the government to shun nuclear power, a day before the second anniversary of an earthquake and tsunami that triggered the world's worst atomic disaster in 25 years.

The Philippines and Malaysia: Intrusion confusion

FIGHTER aircraft gave covering fire as Malaysian troops mounted what their government hoped would be the final assault on a coastal village in the Malaysian state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo, on March 5th. Their mission was to end a three-week-old incursion by scores of Filipinos, some armed, who call themselves the Royal Army of the Sultanate of Sulu. But the intruders slipped away.

The intruders had occupied the village to stake a claim to Sabah by the man they recognise as the sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III, whose forebears once held sway over parts of Borneo and of what is now the Philippines, but who himself is a Filipino citizen living in Manila. After the assault, the sultan called for a ...

MALAYSIAN Forces Fight Philippine Armed Group in Borneo

Malaysian troops have killed at least 13 fighters believed to be a part of an armed Philippine group staking a decades-old claim to a southern territory.

In CHINA, Water You Wouldn’t Dare Swim In, Let Alone Drink

 Jin Zengmin was in a betting mood. Last month, the eyeglass entrepreneur from eastern China’s Zhejiang province announced that he would offer a $32,000 reward to the chief of the local environmental protection department if he dared to swim in a nearby river for a mere 20 minutes. Jin’s wager, which was announced on Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like social media service in China, turned viral on the Internet. The environmental cadre, unsurprisingly, declined to swim in the polluted water. After more than three decades of economic prosperity, China faces serious environmental challenges that are sure to be discussed during the National People’s Congress, the annual conclave currently underway in Beijing. Air pollution blankets hundreds of cities and the soil in vast parts of the country is contaminated. Thousands of rivers, too, have been ruined by China’s rapid urbanization and industrialization, such as the waterway in Jin’s hometown, Rui’an, a small city near Shanghai that is home to more than 100 shoe factories. “When I was a child, people swam or washed vegetables in the river,” Jin told TIME. “But those factories use chemical raw materials to make shoes and dump their industrial waste directly into the river.” (PHOTOS: Root of the Nation: Zhang Kechun Photographs China’s Yellow River) In photographs posted by Jin on Sina Weibo, the river surface is covered by floating rubbish. What lies beneath could be even more dangerous. The smell, Jin alleges, is putrid. On Dec 8, Jin’s sister died of lung cancer at the age of 35. He blames water pollution for her death. “When my sister received medical treatment in big cancer hospitals in Shanghai,” Jin says, “we found that many patients there are from my hometown. They have various cancers, and what is astonishing is that most of the cancer patients are in their 30s to 50s. They are still young. I realized these cancers may have something to do with the water pollution in our hometown.” After Jin’s sister died, he called the local environmental protection department and asked them to check

CHINA: Shanghai to move up rich list

LONDON and New York remain the top cities for the super rich, but Shanghai and Beijing are expected to join the top 10 list by 2023 at the expense of Geneva and Paris, according to a report by Knight Frank and Bank of China International Ltd.

The two are 24th and 15th on this year's list which defines those with US$30 million or more in net assets as high-net-worth individuals.

The factors that make a city important to the rich include economic activity, political power, quality of life and knowledge and influence.

Knight Frank's Liam Bailey said that major cities in China were set to achieve new heights in worldwide rankings."

HONG KONG: Why To Visit Hong Kong Now

Last week we announced the 2013 Forbes Travel Guide Star Awards and 27 new hotels, restaurants and spas received the highest honor in the hospitality industry—the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating. While there were 139 Five-Stars awarded in North America, China and Singapore, only one city rises above the rest when it comes to Five-Star hotels—Hong Kong. Seven hotels in Hong Kong received the Five-Star rating—the most in any single city this year. Between the lengthy list of Five-Star awards and hotels celebrating milestone anniversaries and renovations, our Startle.com editors think now is the time to take advantage of Hong Kong’s stellar hospitality scene.

CHINA: On Eve of People’s Congress in China, Vows of Change and Raised Hopes

Communist leaders are hoping that the meeting, which begins Tuesday, will help persuade a skeptical public that they are serious about cleaning up pollution and corruption.

PORT OF AIRLIE BEACH: Whitehaven named best beach in Australia

WHITEHAVEN Beach has again made the cut as one of TripAdvisor’s top five beaches in the world.

AUSTRALIA: Mud flung but not from refugees

Many Australians baulk at the Coalition's tough stance on asylum-seekers.

HONG KONG's Creeping Interventionism

Government's share of the economy keeps climbing.

AUSTRALIA: Diggers accused of killing children

AUSTRALIAN soldiers in southern Afghanistan have been accused of shooting dead two children tending cattle according to local officials.

NORTH KOREA: Pilgrims and Idiots

How celebrities should handle visits to authoritarian countries in today's world.

SOUTH KOREA: Jeju Island, An Escape From The Metropolis

In many corners of the world, winter offers nothing but a biting cold that demands we stay indoors until the flowers start to bloom. But with spring stretching its legs, it's time we start to do the same. The best way to mentally prepare for spring and summer is to reminisce about trips from the past and to plan a new travel adventure built around shorts and sandals.

Here in Korea, Jeju Island is one of the first places that come to mind when seeking warm weather travel. A popular honeymoon destination, Jeju Island is a small, volcanic isle just south of the Korean peninsula, famed within Korea for its beaches, seafood, unique mountains and tangerines. It'll be hard to miss the tangerines; they are sold everywhere on the island and are in anything that you'd consider edible.

A sparsely populated, laid-back island, Jeju is the perfect escape from the Seoul megapolis.

JAPAN: Adventures in Osaka

JAPAN'S culinary capital offers myriad treats for all tastes.

CHINA: Unique Experiences in…Beijing

Four oddball things worth slowing down for in China's frenetic capital.

JAPAN: Two U.S. servicemen imprisoned for rape in Japan

A Japanese court Friday sentenced two American servicemen to prison for a rape committed last year while they were on duty at a U.S. military base in Okinawa.

NORTH KOREA: Dennis Rodman Meets Kim Jong Eun (photos)

Ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman hung out with North Korean leader Kim Jong Eun during his improbable journey to Pyongyang, watching the Harlem Globetrotters with the leader and later drinking and dining on sushi with him.

RUSSIAN FAR EAST: 6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes off Kuril Islands, eastern Russia

There are no reports of damage.

It's the second quake to hit the Kuril Islands this year. A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck the Isles on January 1. TheIslands were also hit with two earthquakes in November 2012, whichmeasured magnitudes of 6.8 and 5.3.

The Kuril Islands are located 90 kilometers (56 miles) fromSevero-Kuril'sk, Russia. Tokyo is located 2,204 kilometers (1,369miles) away from the Isles.

The population of the Islands is around 19,000 people, and thetotal land area is about 15,600 square kilometers (6,000 squaremiles).

CHINA: Carrier Liaoning arrives at QINGDAO home base

China's sole aircraft carrier arrived yesterday at its permanent base in the eastern port city of Qingdao, Shandong province, home to the navy's North Sea Fleet that oversees waters surrounding Japan and the Korean Peninsula, according to state media.

The arrival of the vessel, named the Liaoning, appeared to indicate that the nation's first carrier base is operational after four years of construction.

CHINA likely to appoint expert on NORTH KOREA, JAPAN as foreign minister

BEIJING (Reuters) - China is likely to appoint an expert on Japan and North Korea as its next foreign minister, three independent sources said, in a measure of Beijing's resolve to improve difficult relationships with two of its closest neighbors.

JAPAN: "Emperor" The Movie

A gripping tale of love and honor forged between fierce enemies of war, “Emperor” unfolds the story inspired by true events of the bold and secret moves that won the peace in the shadows of postwar Japan. After the war was one, the battle for peace began. Click here to watch the trailer.

MACAU: Activists call for UNESCO intervention to protect Macau heritage

A group of activists submitted a petition to the government to restrict the number of visitors, whom they said are not only overwhelming the city

SOUTH KOREA: In Seoul, Gangnam Frugal Style

The Gangnam district, newly famous thanks to the hit song, is known for its opulence. But there are bargains to be found beyond the bling.

RUSSIAN police launch criminal inquiry into US death of adopted child

Fomin came to the US with his biological parents in 2005. Threeyears later, after his father had died from cancer and his motherwas unable to care for him, allegedly due to her mental disease,Anton was placed under the legal guardianship of US citizen SlavikSinchuk.

In May 2012, the boy was killed in a fire at the home of hisguardian in Davey, Nebraska. His guardians were away at the time ofthe accident.

Initial reports suggested that Anton was locked in the basementwhen the house caught fire, but Sinchuk denied the claim, sayingthe boy was sleeping in his room in the basement and they haddecided not to wake him up as they were leaving for a shorttime.

US police found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, and nocharges were filed against Sinchuk or his wife. Shortly afterwards,Russian Children’s Rights Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov urged Russianauthorities to launch a criminal investigation into theaccident.

Russian officials have requested more information on Anton'sdeath. The US reportedly pledged to cooperate with Moscow and share“all available information.”

News of the investigation came amid the unfolding case ofanother adopted Russian child who died in the US: Maksim Kuzmin,adopted by the Shatto family, died in Texas in late January. Aninvestigation into the death is ongoing.

Last year, Russian lawmakers signed the 'Dima Yakovlev law,'banning all US citizens from adopting Russian children. The lawcame into force on January 1 as a response to the deaths of Russianchildren adopted by American families, as well as US reluctance tocooperate with Russian authorities in investigating the cases.

Yakovlev was a Russian boy adopted by an American family fromVirginia, who died after his adoptive father left him locked in acar on a hot summer day. He was 21 months old at the time of his death.

NORTH KOREA: U.S. ex-basketball player Rodman arrives in North Korea

SEOUL (Reuters) - Retired U.S. basketball player Dennis Rodman arrived in North Korea to film a television documentary on Tuesday with representatives of the Harlem Globetrotters celebrity team, North Korean state television reported.

ASIA’s 50 Best Restaurants Unveiled

Les Créations de Narisawa, a Tokyo restaurant that applies French technique to local Japanese ingredients, topped the inaugural S. Pellegrino Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list, announced Monday night in Singapore.

NE ASIA: Permanent Dokdo Exhibition to Open in Beijing

A permanent Dokdo exhibition will open at the Korea Center in downtown Beijing early next month to publicize Korea's sovereignty over the islets.

Korean overseas missions and cultural centers have distributed PR booklets on Dokdo, but this is the first permanent exhibition.
The mov...