China now has more than 500 million people on the Internet and nearly half use weibos, microblogs similar to Twitter that can circumvent the country’s powerful censors, official data showed on Monday. The weibos have become hugely popular platforms for people to vent their anger over perceived injustices or corruption and organize and spread news [...]

China, the world’s second biggest economy, posted growth of 8.9 per cent in the last three months of 2011, beating economist forecasts even as export demand moderated. China’s growth for the quarter, though, slowed for a fifth consecutive quarter as the government reversed some of its stimulus policies in a bid to keep inflation in [...]

U.S. President Barack Obama took a break from the affairs of state to rub shoulders with Hollywood royalty Wednesday, meeting Angelina Jolie and her beau Brad Pitt at the White House. Jolie was in Washington for the launch of her new movie “In the Land of Blood and Honey” and the couple were seen through [...]

A total of 150 non-Japanese took part Friday in an annual emergency drill for foreign residents in Tokyo looking to learn or reaffirm how to deal with a disaster like the one that hit March 11. With the help of 80 volunteer translators covering eight languages, the participants went through eight simulation “zones,” including a [...]

Japanese manufacturers of medical devices are counting on a China sales surge to lead growth as the economic rebound fades and the domestic market continues to shrink as the population ages. Sysmex Corp., the world’s largest manufacturer of blood analysis devices, predicts sales in China will rise 129 percent to more than ¥10 billion in [...]

Facebk is on the market for $1.2 million. Not to be confused with the world’s largest social media website, expected to be worth as much as $100 billion by the end of the year, FACEBK is a personalised Victorian number plate. Its current owner, Ballarat-based web developer Tai Tran, is selling the plates for $1.2 [...]

Apple agreed to let outside monitors into factories of partners, such as Foxconn Technology Group, and listed suppliers for the first time to counter criticism about conditions of workers making its gadgets. The iPhone maker becomes the first technology company to join the Fair Labor Association. The Washington-based FLA was set up in 1999 to [...]

A sense of self-defence in addition to fitness can be quite addictive. That’s why lots of people are opting for martial arts nowadays… Mallika Sherawat learns kickboxing, Priyanka Chopra mastered the ‘gatkha’ form of martial arts, Akshay Kumar owes everything he is today to his training in taekwondo and karate. When our Bollywood actors revel [...]

Beijing has officially invited Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako to visit China this year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the two countries normalizing diplomatic ties, sources close to bilateral relations said Saturday. The visit is also aimed at easing anti-Japanese sentiment in China, which remains strong on account of Japan’s past military [...]

The United States has announced it will restore full diplomatic relations with Burma, a landmark in the Obama administration’s drive to reward democratic reforms by a government the US previously treated as a pariah. The decision to exchange ambassadors with Burma for the first time in two decades followed the release of hundreds of political [...]