NEW HISTORY: As the country begins to embrace a nationalist taboo since the end of World War II, officials said students should learn to sing the national anthem in schools
A court yesterday ruled the Japanese military had a role in wartime mass suicides in Okinawa, rejecting a libel suit by former soldiers against Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe.

[ FULL STORY ]

Vietnam will have to upgrade its sea defenses to brace for rising ocean levels and even stronger typhoons caused by global warming, state media cited a senior scientist as saying on Thursday.

[ FULL STORY ]

A senior US envoy promised Washington would not interfere in Pakistan's politics to save longtime ally Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, but he was cautious on the new government's hopes to talk peace with pro-Taliban forces.

[ FULL STORY ]

Veteran lawmaker and activist Martin Lee (李柱銘), hailed the "father of Hong Kong democracy" by supporters but branded a traitor by Beijing, will retire from politics, the chairman of his party said.

[ FULL STORY ]

Twelve North Korean asylum-seekers have forced their way into the South Korean embassy in Laos, the embassy said on Friday.

[ FULL STORY ]

Japan plans to take origami paper folding to space, launching a paper plane from the International Space Station to Earth to learn about future spacecraft design.

[ FULL STORY ]

MARSUPIAL MADNESS: New Zealand prosecutors said that alcohol played a large part in the man's life, but lawyers insisted he was not drunk at the time
A New Zealand man has been sentenced to 75 hours of community service after telling police that he had been raped by a wombat and that the experience had caused him to start speaking "Australian."

[ FULL STORY ]

REBEL IN REUNION: The Comoran Human Rights Foundation requested that France extradite the ousted leader of Anjouan on the grounds that he tortured opponents
The rebel leader of the Comoros island of Anjouan, Mohamed Bacar, arrived in Reunion yesterday to an uncertain future, two days after his ouster by Comoran and African Union forces.

[ FULL STORY ]

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, facing the toughest election battle of his 28 years in power, handed out hundreds of cars to doctors on Thursday in what opponents say is a vote buying campaign.

[ FULL STORY ]

SOUR START: Problems with a baggage conveyor system led to one flight departing with no baggage in the hold and spiraled into cancelations of many flights
Opening day at Heathrow Airport's grand new Terminal 5 turned sour on Thursday as severe baggage handling delays led to numerous flight cancelations, stranding many irate passengers.

[ FULL STORY ]

Pre-election ritual killings in Gabon are on the rise, carried out by secret networks scavenging for blood or body parts in pursuit of boundless health, wealth, success and power, residents say.

[ FULL STORY ]

An Internet campaign to ban Britain's treasury chief from the nation's pubs has struck a chord with harried drinkers around the country.

[ FULL STORY ]

INQUIRY: The US defense chief demanded sweeping reviews to discover whether the delivery of missile parts to Taiwan indicated a broader problem with nuclear security
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has ordered a full inventory of all US nuclear weapons and related materials after the mistaken delivery of ballistic missile fuses to Taiwan, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

[ FULL STORY ]

Researchers at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Thursday it is investigating a possible link between Merck's best-selling Singulair and suicide.

[ FULL STORY ]

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez refused to back down from her demand that Argentine farmers lift a nationwide strike, deepening a bitter crisis over tax hikes on export crops.

[ FULL STORY ]

Colombia's government has offered to expedite the release of leftist rebels from its prisons if the guerrilla group immediately frees ailing French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt.

[ FULL STORY ]

FOREIGN POLICY: The biggest threat to US-China relations would be if Taiwan were to declare independece, Colin Powell said at a meeting of former US secretaries of state
Five former US secretaries of state on Thursday urged the next presidential administration to close down the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and open a dialogue with Iran.

[ FULL STORY ]

Tiffany Rubin had all but given up hope of ever seeing her abducted son again when she received a tip through her MySpace page. Someone had spotted her seven-year-old son and ex-boyfriend in South Korea.

[ FULL STORY ]

■ JAPAN

[ FULL STORY ]