Calm urged after N Korea missiles
Russia, China and the US call for calm after North Korea test-fires a series of missiles off its east coast, defying UN sanctions.

UK threatens new Burma sanctions
UK PM Brown threatens new sanctions against Burma after it refused to let the UN chief meet the jailed opposition leader.

Australia probes navy 'sex game'
Australia's navy is investigating claims sailors competed with each other to bed female crew, for cash prizes.

Fans and foes pray for ill Aquino
Former Philippine President Cory Aquino has stopped treatment for cancer, prompting prayer vigils by fans and foes.

Japan rethinks silent hybrid cars
Japan considers adding noise-making devices to quiet hybrid cars to improve safety for blind pedestrians.

New dinosaurs found in Australia
Three new dinosaur species are found in Queensland, Australia, and named after the Outback song Waltzing Matilda.

Deadly bus fire 'set by arsonist'
A fire on a bus in China that killed 27 people in June may have been caused by a suicidal arsonist, police say.

Policeman held for Philippine death
A policeman in the Philippines has been arrested for the murder of a journalist, Crispin Perez, on 9 June.

Flu risk for indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples, such as Aborigines and Native Americans, have a higher risk from swine flu, experts warn.

North Korea's latest launch: a new beer advert
North Korea launches television adverts for a beer, in a rare commercial move for the resolutely communist nation.

Scorpions from Hong Kong surprise Polish customs
Polish customs officers are surprised to find live scorpions in a parcel from Hong Kong supposed to contain toys.

FROM BBC SPORT >>
Cricket: Australia's smiling assassin
Why Mitchell Johnson is the biggest threat to England's batsmen in the Ashes

West meets East
UK teenagers take up Japan's fashion rebellion

Brewed 'pride'
Ex-UK brewery produces 'Pride of Pyongyang' beer

BBQ diplomacy
Unlikely middleman between North Korea and the US

Indonesian polls
Will you vote and what are the issues that matter to you?

Hong Kong worry
Disquiet ahead of annual pro-democracy march

China babies 'sold for adoption'
Baby girls removed from parents who broke China's family-planning laws have been sold for adoption overseas, it is reported.

Japan envoy wins UN nuclear post
Japanese envoy Yukiya Amano is elected the next director-general of the UN's nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, diplomats say.

Developing world faces age crisis
Researchers predict a "population time bomb" in developing world nations because of their rapidly ageing populations.

US call to free Vietnamese priest
A bipartisan group of US senators call for the immediate release of a Vietnamese priest, Father Nguyen Van Ly, jailed for dissent.

Gap dividing Aborigines growing
Grim new report shows the gaps in living conditions between Aborigines and other Australians are growing wider.

Hitachi to sell batteries to GM
Hitachi says it will supply lithium-ion batteries to General Motors to power the company's hybrid cars from next year.

Rio Tinto cash-raising supported
Rio Tinto announces that there has been strong support from shareholders for its huge cash-raising exercise.

Burma's Karen on fleeing home
Thousands of Burma's ethnic Karen have fled to Thailand after renewed fighting between Karen rebels and government forces. One man tells the BBC what forced them to flee and the difficult dilemma they now face.

Twitterers defy China's firewall
Twitterers in China discuss whether the government's attempt to censor the web has worked.

Voices: Inside Japan's recession
People in Japan on living in hard economic times

Anger in China over web censorship
Chinese netizens denounce new filtering software

Aboriginal cricketers repeat tour
Aboriginal cricketers repeat forefathers' 1868 England tour

China gets tough with N Korea
China's new attitude to North Korea

Life inside N Korea's gulags
Life inside North Korea's infamous gulag camps