ASIA-PACIFIC

• SARS a Chinese weapon: Taiwan official

  Tuesday, 7th October,2008

  Taiwan's top national security chief was forced to apologise after suggesting China may have developed the deadly SARS virus a bio-weapon. read more...

• UK set to compensate Pitcairn women

  Tuesday, 7th October,2008

  The British government is expected to announce this week that it will pay compensation to nine women who were sexually abused as girls on Pitcairn Island. read more...

• NZ cheapest, best for UK expats: survey

  Tuesday, 7th October,2008

  British migrants seeking a balance of the best quality of life and the lowest cost of living should look to New Zealand, says an international bank. read more...

• Thai police fire tear gas at protesters

  Tuesday, 7th October,2008

  Sixty-five people have been wounded - seven critically - after Thai police fired tear gas on anti-government demonstrators in Bangkok. read more...

• Philippines bombing suspect escapes

  Tuesday, 7th October,2008

  A key suspect in the 2007 bombing of the Philippine parliament building that killed seven people has escaped from prison, the justice minister says. read more...

• 50,000 Afghan refugees to be deported

  Tuesday, 7th October,2008

  Pakistan has ordered the deportation of about 50,000 Afghan refugees in an insurgency-wracked tribal region amid a major military offensive against al-Qaeda. read more...

• China vows to overhaul dairy industry

  Tuesday, 7th October,2008

  China has vowed to inspect every link from farm to dinner table in an overhaul of the dairy industry that it called "chaotic". read more...

• Suicide bomber kills 18 in Pakistan

  Tuesday, 7th October,2008

  A suicide bomber killed 18 people and wounded a politician, in the latest attack to underscore the threat posed by Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. read more...

• Thai police fire tear gas at protesters

  Tuesday, 7th October,2008

  Thai police have fired tear gas to try and disperse thousands of anti-government protesters massing outside parliament, injuring at least 10 people. read more...

• Strong quake hits Tibet

  Tuesday, 7th October,2008

  A strong earthquake has struck China's Himalayan region of Tibet, seismologists and state media said, but reports of deaths could not be immediately confirmed. read more...

• Suicide blast kills 12 in Pakistan

  Tuesday, 7th October,2008

  A suicide bomber killed 12 people and wounded a Pakistani opposition politician in the latest attack to underscore the threat posed by Taliban and al-Qaeda. read more...

• Ex-Thai PM Thaksin files for UK asylum

  Monday, 6th October,2008

  Ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has applied for political asylum in UK where he has spent most of his time since he was deposed two years ago. read more...

• Asian markets endure fresh mauling

  Monday, 6th October,2008

  Asian stock markets suffered a fresh mauling with Tokyo plunging to a four-year low on growing doubts about whether a Wall Street bailout package can stem the global financial crisis. read more...

• Malaysian PM to announce departure plans

  Monday, 6th October,2008

  Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is under intense pressure to quit, said he will announce by Wednesday whether he will step down in March. read more...

• Timor police 'to stop taking guns home'

  Monday, 6th October,2008

  Police in East Timor have been ordered to set up checkpoints and step up patrols to stop officers from taking weapons home. read more...