CHINA

From behind a computer keyboard at his London home, student Younes Tsouli used the Internet to spread al Qaeda propaganda, recruit suicide bombers and promote Web sites that encouraged the killing of non-Muslims.

North Korea's first steps to roll back a nuclear arms program launched about 40 years ago are going well, a U.S. official said on Tuesday after visiting the North's plutonium-producing atomic complex.

Asian markets were volatile on Tuesday with indexes shifting between gains and losses after a turbulent Monday.

Shares of Alibaba.com more than doubled in its debut in Hong Kong debut, marking the largest initial public offering by an e-commerce company since Google Inc.

Nufarm said on Monday that it has received an acquisition proposal from China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) for $2.75 billion.

PetroChina Co. shares more than doubled in their Shanghai debut Monday, giving the oil giant a $1 trillion market capitalization and easily surpassing Exxon Mobil as the world's largest company.

Global hoteliers are riding a building boom in Asia, and using plush new hotels as giant, living advertisements to lure newly rich Chinese and Indians to their U.S. and European properties.

Floods have killed at least 46 people in central Vietnam in the last 10 days and a typhoon making its way across the South China Sea is forecast to dump more rain this week, reports said on Monday.

Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Monday his firm's acquisition of a 1.6 percent stake in socializing Web site Facebook for $240 million was an important investment, not a mistake.

The United States and Britain heaped pressure on Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf on Monday, urging him to hold elections on time, as police detained hundreds of lawyers angry at his imposition of emergency rule.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing , the world's most highly valued exchange with a staggering $36 billion capitalization, is still an attractive investment, given its strategic value will rise as its ties with mainland China inevitably deepen.

China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) and U.S. private equity firms offered up to A$3 billion ($2.75 billion) on Monday for Australia's Nufarm Ltd, a deal that would create the world's largest generic farm chemicals firm.

Shares in PetroChina more than doubled in their market debut on Monday after it raised $9 billion in the world's biggest IPO this year, surging past analysts' expectations as crude prices neared $100.

A senior executive at Yahoo Inc has apologized for failing to give U.S. lawmakers additional information about the Internet company's alleged role in the imprisonment of a Chinese dissident.

Gold dipped but held firm above $800 an ounce on Monday because of surging oil and prices and a weak U.S. dollar and dealers said strong fundamentals could help the metal retest a record high of $850 soon.

Asian stocks eased on Monday with financial shares extending their slide as persistent credit worries offset a positive U.S. employment report, which showed twice as many jobs as expected were added last month.

Shares in PetroChina, which raised $9 billion in the world's biggest initial public offer this year, nearly tripled in their market debut and far exceeded analysts' forecast, buoyed by the company's position in the world's second-biggest energy market.

Six world powers agreed on Friday to push ahead with a third round of U.N. sanctions against Iran relating to concerns about its nuclear program.

Shares in PetroChina, which raised $9 billion in the world's biggest initial public offer this year, are set to double their price when they list in Shanghai on Monday, buoyed by the company's position in the world's second biggest energy market.

Mazda Motor Corp posted a 1.5 percent rise in quarterly operating profit as a weaker yen, cost cuts and sales growth offset a cutback in shipments to North America, and kept its full-year profit forecast unchanged.

Asian markets fell sharply Friday, hurt by a sell-off on Wall Street.