CHINA

Tajikistan blocked local access to Facebook and two Russian-language sites that published an article critical of its long-serving president on Saturday, representatives of two Internet providers said.

China's top grain trader, COFCO Group , will seek to list its commercial property unit in Hong Kong, its chairman told Reuters on Saturday, without clarifying the timing or scale of the offering.

A faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility on Thursday for the killing of a Chinese woman this week, saying it was in revenge for China's killing of Muslims in its troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang.

Nomura Holdings and billionaire investor George Soros have cut their stakes in Taishin Financial to about 1 percent each from about 3 percent last year, marking the latest exodus by foreign investors from Taiwan's over-banked market.

The week ahead will largely be defined by two major events. First, on Friday, the February U.S. nonfarm payrolls report will be released, providing important data about the economic recovery. Second, also on Friday, euro-zone finance ministers will hold a conference call to decide whether Greece can get its second, €130 billion ($175 billion) bailout.

The International Committee of the Red Cross calls Syria's actions to block much needed aid to Homs district unacceptable.

Rising liquidity on both sides of the Atlantic boosted global bond prices Friday but equities took a breather after climbing in recent months, in one case to a four-year high, on light volume.

A stolen NASA laptop contained security codes to the International Space Station. It was one of 48 laptops stolen between April 2009 and April 2011.

Ocean acidification is worst it has been in 300 million years and could cause the extinction of coral reefs and other species, according to a new study.

A renewed drop in housing prices could thwart the U.S. economic recovery in the short term while Washington's lack of a credible, comprehensive fiscal plan poses a major medium-term risk, a top IMF official said.

Toyota's February sales in China, where the auto maker aims to double business by 2015, went up 51.3 percent. Toyota is seeking to push its Chinese sales past 1 million units this year.

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (NYSE: BUD) and two Chinese brewers are in the hunt for the operations on sale by China's Kingway Brewery Holdings.

Apple is currently auditing the Foxconn factories in China which manufacture many of its products like the iPhone, following a spate of bad publicity over working conditions there. As demand for higher wages and increased safety regulations at the factories goes up, so will the price of Apple's products, some industry analysts are saying.

Throughout his career, right-winged radio host Rush Limbaugh could counted on for controversial moments, the latest being calling Georgetown Law School student Sandra Fluke a “slut” for testifying to Congress that religious institutions should cover birth control.

Things are getting ugly as Apple’s March 7 event draws closer. The event is highly expected to display, for the first time, the Apple iPad 3, but with a lawsuit between Apple and Proview looming, there could be a problem getting the iPad 3 on the store shelves. Proview first sued Apple in China over the iPad trademark, which saw the device being pulled from store shelves temporarily, but now the fight is spilling over onto Apple’s backyard, a fight that could hamper sales of the iPad 3.

Rebel fighters were finally driven out of the Baba-Amro district in Homs when forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad launched a final assault on the beleaguered city Thursday after a siege that had lasted 26 days. Meanwhile, Turkey's president said Russia and Iran will have little choice but to join diplomatic efforts toward Assad's ouster .

A Red Cross aid convoy prepared to enter the shattered Baba Amro district of the city of Homs, Syria, on Friday after a government official declared the area cleansed and the opposition spoke of a massacre by President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Rebels withdrew Thursday in a key moment in the year-old uprising.

Oil prices fell Friday following the confirmation from Saudi Arabia denying the pipeline explosion in the Kingdom.

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV , the world's biggest brewer, and two Chinese brewers are on the shortlist to buy most of the operations being sold by China's Kingway Brewery Holdings Ltd <0124.HK>, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Defeated Syrian rebels abandoned their shattered stronghold in Homs, giving way to a 26-day army assault on a city that had become a symbol of the year-long revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.

Defeated Syrian rebels abandoned their shattered stronghold in Homs Thursday, giving way to a 26-day army assault on a city that had become a symbol of the year-long revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.