Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe heads to Burma for economic talks - in the first visit by a Japanese PM since 1977.

Three soldiers are killed in an ambush by suspected militants in the Pulwama district of Indian-administered Kashmir, officials say.

A North Korean envoy visiting China says Pyongyang is ready to open up "dialogue with all the relevant parties", Chinese state media report.

A Bangladesh government report into the collapse of a multi-storey factory building, which killed more than 1,100, uncovers a series of violations.

European aid agencies in North Korea say US financial sanctions are severely restricting their attempts to improve agriculture and nutrition there.

Shares in Japan have fallen again, adding to the global sell-off in shares seen on Thursday.

Chinese scientists trace the rare white colouration in Bengal tigers to a single change in a gene that affects a host of animals, including humans.

A bomb planted in a rickshaw has killed at least 12 people in Quetta in south-west Pakistan, officials say.

Malaysian police arrest three prominent opposition figures, including Keadilan party vice-president Tian Chua, and charge a student with sedition.

A mistake by a crane operator causes a 10-hour blackout over about a third of Vietnam and parts of neighbouring Cambodia, officials say.

Ford Motor says it will shut all its Australian manufacturing plants by October 2016, after more than 85 years making cars in the country.

Disney's Iron Man 3 film is set to become China's highest-grossing film of all time, opening the door for more business from Hollywood.

Chinese tourists are replacing South Koreans in a resort which once symbolised the reconciliation of the two Koreas.

The family of a US man found hanged in Singapore have withdrawn from an inquiry into his death, saying they no longer have confidence in the system.

A number of rice mills in the Chinese province of Hunan have been been closed down after dangerous levels of cadmium were found in samples, according to reports,

An 80-year-old Japanese adventurer, Yuichiro Miura, becomes the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

The French circus performance group Mana brings their dazzling displays of acrobatics to India, a retrospective of the work of the Baroque artist Rubens in France - and other stories from the world of arts.

Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has released a music single.

Pakistani politician Imran Khan has been discharged from hospital in Lahore, two weeks after falling from a platform at an election campaign rally.

An 80-year old Japanese man has reached the summit of Mount Everest, becoming the oldest person to scale the world's highest peak.

Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing reveals he was once jumped on by a panda when he dared himself to enter its cage.

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei releases a foul-mouthed music video in which he recreates his detention and rages against abuses of state power.

A Belgian racing pigeon called Bolt is sold to a Chinese businessman for a world record price of 310,000 euros (£260,000; $400,000).

Dozens of items of Mahatma Gandhi memorabilia, including a blood sample and sandals, are to go on sale in England.

Batsman David Warner is fined for breaching Cricket Australia's code of behaviour over abusive Twitter posts.

The theft of US intellectual property is "unprecedented" and costing billions, a US report says, pointing to China as the main culprit.

Media and experts in China link a senior North Korean official's Beijing visit to escalating regional tensions.

Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang says that co-operation on power generation in Pakistan should be a priority for both countries.

Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf is withdrawn from the Champions Trophy following media reports of an Indian police investigation.

A family doctor who used a secret camera inside his wristwatch to record himself abusing female patients at his surgery is jailed for 12 years.

Police in Indian-administered Kashmir say they have killed Hilal Molvi, a suspected militant, in a gunfight.

A court in Vietnam reduces the prison sentences of four activists convicted in January of trying to overthrow the one-party communist state.

Japan's parliament votes to adopt an international treaty on cross-border child custody disputes, after years of pressure from the West.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a special envoy to Beijing, state media announces, amid cooling relations after weeks of tension.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's rugby player son Rohitha is investigated for allegedly assaulting a referee.

Up to 600 Afghan interpreters who worked alongside British troops are set to be given the right to live in the UK, in an apparent climbdown by ministers.

The number of women in Afghanistan jailed for "moral crimes" has risen by 50% in the past 18 months, says Human Rights Watch.

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Provides an overview of Australia, including key facts and events

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Provides an overview of Indonesia, including key events and facts about the world's fourth most populous nation

Provides an overview of Japan, including key events and facts about this earthquake-prone country on the western rim of the Pacific.

An overview of the former princely state of Kashmir, which has been partitioned between India and Pakistan since 1947.

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