Asia
Women will rule OK in Chinese tourist town
Published: 27 April 2007
Men had better watch their step in Chongqing. If they don't obey their wives' or girlfriends' orders, and satisfy their every whim, they can expect to hear the crack of the whip and must cower as punishment without mercy is meted out.
The Olympic torch: China runs rings round Asia
Published: 27 April 2007
'Battling begums' warn Bangladesh won't wait for polls
Published: 27 April 2007
Wearing her familiar rimless spectacles and sipping tea from a china cup, Sheikh Hasina Wazed doesn't immediately live up to her billing as one of Bangladesh's two "battling Begums".
The world's youngest political prisoner
Published: 26 April 2007
Beijing turns to Broadway as curtain falls on oldest opera house
Published: 26 April 2007
The fat lady is about to sing for Beijing's oldest opera house. China's unstoppable long march to progress is bringing down the curtain on the Beijing Opera stage at the Guanghe tea house, which dates from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) but has fallen victim to a growing Chinese fascination with Broadway shows.
Serial rapist is cleared of Blackman murder
Published: 25 April 2007
The family of Lucie Blackman has reacted furiously after the Japanese businessman accused of killing her was found not guilty yesterday.
'It's our turn to enjoy economic growth'
Published: 25 April 2007
There were blue skies with wispy clouds over Beijing yesterday, a spring day like in the old days before the smog hit the city. Still, everyone was waiting for the next day of yellow-tinged cloud to darken the sky.
Japanese millionaire cleared of murdering Lucie
Published: 24 April 2007
A Japanese millionaire was today cleared of the murder of British bar hostess Lucie Blackman
Bangladesh turns away former PM
Published: 23 April 2007
Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was yesterday blocked from boarding a flight home from London after the military-backed government barred her from returning.
India celebrates Bollywood wedding of the century
Published: 21 April 2007
Astrologers were consulted, the gods gave their blessings, the white stallion was ready and delirious fans milled around the marigold-bedecked home. The stage was set for Bollywood's "wedding of the century."
India's star marriage: Bollywood's golden wedding
Published: 20 April 2007
Fast trains enter service in China as demand soars
Published: 19 April 2007
A fleet of 125mph trains entered service in China yesterday as part of an effort to keep up with the soaring demand for transport.
Bomb in Afghanistan hits UN vehicle
Published: 17 April 2007
A roadside bomb hit a UN vehicle in southern Afghanistan today, killing four Nepalese security guards and an Afghan driver, a police official said.
Indians angered by Gere's passionate embrace with Shilpa
Published: 17 April 2007
The evening was supposed to focus international attention on the sexual misadventures of India's famously promiscuous lorry drivers. Instead, it plunged Hollywood heartthrob Richard Gere into an unwelcome spotlight and reignited controversy surrounding the Bollywood actress and Celebrity Big Brother winner Shilpa Shetty.
Death toll rises to 37 in Thai flash floods
Published: 16 April 2007
The death toll from flash floods in southern Thailand that swept away holidaymakers at two mountainside waterfalls rose to 37 yesterday, officials said.
Beijing labourers dying in race for Olympic deadline
Published: 15 April 2007
Labourers from poor rural areas of China, some in their teens and often lacking the most basic safety equipment, are working seven-day weeks for less than £20 to complete the facilities for next year's Beijing Olympics, an Independent on Sunday investigation has revealed.
Malaysia terminates 'un-Islamic' vampire exhibition
Published: 15 April 2007
A Malaysian state has closed down an exhibition on ghosts, ghouls and supernatural beings after Islamic clerics declared it detrimental to Muslims' faith.
Bluewater architect designs a pleasure dome for Borat
Published: 15 April 2007
If Borat came to Britain for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Sacha Baron Cohen's fictional reporter would be sure to regard Bluewater, the Kent mega-mall, as one of the nation's jewels.
How biggest tiger clawed its way back from brink of extinction
Published: 14 April 2007
The largest of the world's "big cats", the Amur tiger, has bounced back from the brink of extinction after the charity WWF disclosed that it had reached its highest population for more than a century.
UK soldier killed by Taliban
Published: 14 April 2007
A British soldier was killed in Afghanistan yesterday after being hit by small arms fire during a clash with Taliban fighters in the southern Helmand province.
Japan and China agree to build a 'beautiful future'
Published: 12 April 2007
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Premier Wen Jiabao agreed yesterday to build a "beautiful future" together after the first visit by a Chinese leader to Japan in seven years. But Japan's Second World War record cast a shadow over efforts to mend relations.
Former Bangladeshi PM is charged with murder
Published: 12 April 2007
Bangladeshi politics was thrown into chaos yesterday after police filed murder charges against the country's former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
Civil servants asked for menstruation details
Published: 12 April 2007
Female civil servants in India are furious with new government guidelines that force them to list intimate details, including their menstrual history, on appraisal forms.
The Big Question: Why are relations between Japan and China so poor, and can they be improved?
Published: 12 April 2007
Why are we asking this now?
Aid agency threatens to leave Afghanistan after Kabul accuses it of al-Qa'ida links
Published: 11 April 2007
Afghanistan, reeling from the effects of war and with terrorist attacks reaching deep into the few parts notionally under government control, now faces the loss of the only hospitals in the country which offer free and universal high-quality medical treatment.
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