REFINERY TROUBLES: A US plant that processes 180,000 barrels of crude a day shut down for unplanned maintenance and a fire broke out at a Royal Dutch Shell facility
Crude oil prices rose to a new record above US$99 a barrel yesterday, lifted by worries about inadequate supplies as the Northern Hemisphere enters winter and on news of refinery problems.

[ FULL STORY ]

Japan detained five people matched against a blacklist in the first day of its controversial new system to fingerprint all foreigners entering the country, immigration officials said yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

US President George W. Bush will host a key conference next Tuesday aiming to revive the Middle East peace process and pave the way towards a separate Palestinian state, US officials said.

[ FULL STORY ]

A human rights body to be set up by ASEAN should not intervene in human rights issues, but instead protect countries from foreign meddling, according to the contents of a confidential report.

[ FULL STORY ]

Scientists have created the equivalent of embryonic stem cells from ordinary skin cells, a breakthrough that could someday produce new treatments for disease without the explosive moral questions of embryo cloning.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Shelley Shan
A survey by the Bureau of Food Safety found that 43 percent of lunchboxes sold by restaurants, stalls and convenience stores exceeded the Department of Health's recommendation for calorie intake per meal.

[ FULL STORY ]