Deadly tornado hits Chinese city
At least 23 people die as a tornado hits the city of Chongqing in south-western China.

N Korea leader Kim 'in Beijing'
North Korea's Kim Jong-il is in Beijing where he is set to meet Chinese leaders on his secretive visit to the country, say reports.

Philippines refiles murder charge
The Philippines reinstates murder charges against two regional leaders over the country's worst massacre in living memory.

Row mars Australian sailing bid
An Australian teenager is told she has not gone far enough to be the youngest person to sail solo and unaided around the world.

Strong earthquake hits Indonesia
A 6.3-magnitude earthquake strikes west of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, but no major tsunami alert is raised.

N Korea denies assassination plot
Pyongyang denies sending spies to kill Hwang Jang-yop, the most senior official ever to defect from North Korea.

Indonesia minister wins Bank post
Indonesia's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati resigns after being appointed managing director of the World Bank.

Maori heads to return to NZ
The French parliament votes to return the heads of at least 15 tattooed Maori warriors to New Zealand.

Indonesia treasure auction fails
An auction of treasure from a ship wreck off Indonesia fails to attract a single bidder, after no-one paid the $16m deposit.

Spider-Man and Jedi knights join forces to foil comic book thief
A comic book shop owner in Australia becomes a real-life superhero as he foils a robbery at his store in Adelaide.

FROM BBC SPORT >>
Australia's Robertson vows to be role model
Newly crowned world snooker champion Neil Robertson says he wants to be a role model for the sport.

FROM BBC SPORT >>
Australia and South Africa aim for Super Eights
Australia overcome a shaky start to beat Bangladesh and reach the Super Eight phase of the ICC World Twenty20.

'Not fair!'
Japanese views on US military bases in Okinawa

Deadly attack
Kyrgyz lawlessness drives rise in ethnic tensions

Ming makeover
Chinese city's bid to resurrect the glory of its imperial past

Seoul searching
What to do if North Korea did torpedo the Cheonan?

Thai red-shirts in poll response
Thailand's red-shirt protesters set out conditions for reconciliation talks with the government but say they are staying put.

Japan PM scraps US base move plan
Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama says it is not "feasible" to move a controversial US base out of Okinawa.

Philippines vote machine 'errors'
Some of the Philippines new vote-counting machinery has malfunctioned in tests ahead of 10 May polls, say officials.

FROM BBC SPORT >>
Japan abandons World Cup bid
Japan drops its bid to host the 2018 World Cup after Sepp Blatter hints the tournament will be staged in Europe.

S Korea 'resolute' over sunk ship
South Korea's president says resolute action and an international probe is needed after the sinking of a naval ship.

Honda sees profits and sales rise
Japanese carmaker Honda reports a profit for the first three months of the year, following losses a year ago.

Exports boost South Korea economy
South Korea's economy grew by a faster-than-expected 1.8% in the first quarter of the year, figures show.

Child migrant's 'stolen life'
A child migrant on the trauma of being sent Down Under

Xinjiang's 'internet prison'
Blogger in China's Xinjiang describes restrictions

Anger in China over censorship
Internet censorship has been one of the most widely discussed subjects in blogs, message forums and social media networks in China over the past month.

Thai red-shirts' staying power
Anti-government protests have degenerated into violent clashes in Bangkok - and the bloodshed looks set to continue while the government refuses to back down, Rachel Harvey reports.

Grand ambitions at Beijing show
Buyers and sellers flock to the Beijing Car Show to corner what could become the world's biggest auto market.

Economic chaos in Kyrgyzstan
Economy hit by looting and land seizures

Yuan beats boredom factor
Currency talks beat Boao Forum boredom factor

Kyrgyz questions over US base
Paul Reynolds of BBC News Online looks at the competition between the US and Russia in Kyrgyzstan.

China's first entrepreneur
The button seller who was China's first entrepreneur