CHINA

China Vanke, the country largest developer by sales, said on Wednesday property sales jumped 221 percent in January from a year ago to 20.1 billion yuan ($3.07 billion).

Dozens of Chinese climbing enthusiasts scaled huge, frozen waterfalls in rural Beijing, taking part in a competition showcasing the rapid rise in popularity of outdoor sports.

China on Wednesday increased the cost for people borrowing from a fund designed to support first-time home buyers, in line with the country's latest rise in benchmark interest rates.

U.S. stocks opened modestly lower on Wednesday as investors await comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the economic outlook and monetary policy.

Gold rose back towards yesterday's 3-week peaks in London on Wednesday, pushing higher against all major currencies as world stock markets slipped.

Though the official version, and most of the media, paints a rosy picture, the reality on the ground is vastly different, with people finding it ever harder to find jobs, according to many observers. Some even say the BLS unemployment figures are an eyewash.

Gold held close to the previous session's near three-week high in Europe on Wednesday, supported by an increased focus on inflation after China's second interest rate hike in six weeks.

Social networking site Facebook on Tuesday opened shop in Hong Kong to expand its presence in Asia notwithstanding its ban in mainland China.

US top military officials on Tuesday unveiled the National Military Strategy, the first revision since 2004 and calls for redefining leadership in a changing world.

Doctors hope to treat this year's severe flu epidemic in Hong Kong by harvesting antibodies from patients who have recovered, medical experts said on Tuesday.

Macau gaming magnate Stanley Ho is set to take fresh legal action against family members, his lawyer said on Tuesday, in the latest U-turn in a dynastic tussle for control over one of Asia's largest fortunes.

China used its regulatory powers to scour the books of Citibank Shanghai in a hostile and extraordinarily intrusive 2007 audit that appeared primarily aimed at controlling Citi's growth and uncovering its secrets to success, the bank's top China executive at the time told U.S. officials.

A “severe winter drought” in China threatens to put wheat production at risk, stated a special alert from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average scores its seventh straight daily gain, as U.S. stocks seemed to shrug off another interest rate hike by the central bank of China.

The rival Koreas held their first talks since a deadly attack on a South Korean island last year amid signs of a thaw in tensions as momentum builds for a resumption of aid-for-disarmament negotiations.

Gold rose more than 1 percent on Tuesday to $1,367.60 an ounce as traders covering short positions in the New York futures market pushed spot prices through key resistance at the metal's 100-day moving average.

Thai and Cambodian troops stood on high alert on Tuesday after clashing in disputed jungle around a 11th-century Hindu temple as foreign governments urged them to lay down arms.

Australia's Sundance Resources wants Chinese companies to build a railway line and port in Cameroon vital to its Mbalam iron ore export venture, a senior executive said on Tuesday.

An 11 billion rand South African manganese building project, which includes a mine and smelter, was on track with first processed ore expected in July next year, investors said on Tuesday.

World stocks and oil prices ebbed from recent highs on Tuesday after China raised interest rates for the second time in just over a month, spurring worries of the hike's impact on global economic demand.

Nationalising South Africa's mines is not the option, mines minister Susan Shabangu said on Tuesday in her strongest comments in a year against an idea that has unnerved investors in Africa's biggest economy.