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March 25, 2014 11:20 AM NEW DELHI (AFP) - He is a hardline Hindu nationalist who was boycotted by the West for years and has been a vocal critic of "expansionist" China, India's arch-rival.         ...

March 25, 2014 12:27 PM TOKYO (REUTERS) - Fishermen working off Japan's destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant have agreed to allow the release of uncontaminated groundwater around the facility into the ocean, Jiji news agency reported on Tuesday, in a rare victory for the site's operator.         ...

March 25, 2014 12:37 PM TOKYO (AFP) - Japan is to give up to US$1.5 billion (S$1.9 billion) in financial aid to Ukraine, the government in Tokyo confirmed on Tuesday, as the club of rich nations booted Russia off the membership list.         ...

March 25, 2014 3:20 AM BEIJING (REUTERS) - Chinese President Xi Jinping told US President Barack Obama on Monday that the United States should adopt a "fair" attitude on the East and South China Seas, where China is involved in a series of increasingly bitter territorial disputes.         ...

March 25, 2014 3:34 AM WASHINGTON (AFP) - The International Monetary Fund approved Monday a fresh aid disbursement to Pakistan after the country passed the second review of its ongoing US$6.8 billion (S$8.6 billion) support program.         ...

March 25, 2014 2:58 PM SEOUL (AFP) - South Korean activists launched about 600,000 anti-North Korean leaflets across the border on Tuesday, a move that will anger Pyongyang which insists Seoul should forcibly prevent such events.         ...

March 25, 2014 2:42 PM NEW DELHI (AFP) - India's Supreme Court Tuesday urged the powerful head of the country's cricket board to stand down while an investigation is conducted into illegal betting, saying his refusal to quit so far was "nauseating".         ...

March 24, 2014 1:20 PM NEW DELHI (REUTERS) - Despite India's prohibitions on gambling, anyone keen to bet on who will be the next occupant of the prime minister's residence at 7, Race Course Road can call a closely guarded phone number, or find the right doorway in a city backstreet.         ...

March 24, 2014 1:31 PM BEIJING (AFP) - A Chinese farmer was burned to death during a protest over local land seized for development, state-run media said on Monday, highlighting struggles over compensation for land.         ...

March 24, 2014 1:58 PM BANGALORE (AFP) - Employees at Toyota's auto assembly plants in southern India failed to return to work on Monday at the end of a week-long lockout after refusing to sign codes of conduct, their union said.         ...

March 24, 2014 2:03 PM SEOUL (REUTERS) - South Korea expects to pay around 7.34 trillion won (S$8.6 billion) for 40 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday, as Seoul boosts its air defences amid simmering tensions in the region.         ...

March 24, 2014 2:09 PM BEIJING (AFP) - A Chinese court on Monday jailed for 18 months a man who applied to hold a protest on the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square killings, his lawyer said.         ...

March 24, 2014 3:20 PM NEW DELHI (AFP) - An Indian cabinet minister found himself at the centre of a vote-rigging row Monday, after he asked supporters to vote twice for his party in elections which begin next month.         ...

March 24, 2014 4:01 PM BEIJING (AFP) - Visiting US First Lady Michelle Obama, along with her daughters and mother, came face-to-face with China's Terracotta Warriors on Monday on a week-long tour which has taken in several major sites while skirting politics.         ...

March 24, 2014 4:07 PM BEIJING (REUTERS) - China wants a clear explanation from Washington over a report that the US National Security Agency (NSA) infiltrated servers at the headquarters of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co., a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday.         ...

March 24, 2014 4:21 PM BEIJING (REUTERS) - China plans to launch a nationwide market to trade pollution permits within three years as part of efforts to tackle its environmental crisis, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Monday.         ...

March 24, 2014 4:57 PM Almost exactly a year ago, First Lady Peng Liyuan, 50, set off on her first state visit to Russia with her husband, President Xi Jinping. That marked the start of China's fascination with what she wore.         ...

March 24, 2014 5:09 PM TOKYO (REUTERS) - The ageing parents of a 13-year-old Japanese girl abducted nearly 40 years ago by North Korea urged the Japanese government on Monday to heed signs of change in Pyongyang in order to find out what happened to their daughter.         ...

March 24, 2014 11:08 AM TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan riot police used water cannon on Monday to dislodge hundreds of demonstrators who stormed government headquarters, escalating a protest over a China trade pact that has seen parliament occupied for nearly a week.         ...

March 24, 2014 12:59 PM BEIJING (AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un strikes fear into some hearts, but photos of a Chinese street food vendor with a distinct resemblance to the Pyongyang strongman have fuelled online mirth.         ...