Earthquake hits south New Zealand
A state of emergency is declared in Christchurch after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake strikes New Zealand's South Island, injuring two people seriously.

Japan imposes new Iran sanctions
Japan imposes new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme but maintains its oil import schedule.

China warships end Burma visit
The first visit of Chinese warships to Burma ends as top Burmese leader Than Shwe prepares to visit Beijing, highlighting the two country's close ties.

Thai workers 'trafficked to US'
Six recruiters are accused of luring 400 Thai workers to the US with promises of farm jobs, confiscating their passports and demanding high fees.

Independent Wilkie backs Gillard
One of four key independent lawmakers endorses Australian PM Julia Gillard, leaving her two seats short of the majority needed to form a government.

Tajikistan suicide bomb wounds 25
A suicide bomber has driven a car packed with explosives into police offices in Khujand, Tajikistan, injuring 25 people.

Japan charges jewel gang 'thief'
Japanese prosecutors charge an alleged member of the Pink Panther gang of international jewel thieves with stealing a tiara and other jewellery worth £2.2m in Tokyo in 2007.

Typhoon hits South Korean capital
Three people die as Seoul is hit by its strongest typhoon in 15 years, while storms continue to cause heavy rain and landslides in China.

Thousands stuck in China traffic
More than 10,000 vehicles are stuck in a 120km (75-mile) traffic jam on China's Beijing to Tibet motorway.

Manila in hostage coffin 'mix-up'
The Philippines vows to probe claims that coffins of three of Hong Kong's eight victims of last week's hijacking in Manila were wrongly labelled.

Chinese accused of honey smuggling
US authorities indict 11 German and Chinese executives for conspiring to illegally import $40m worth of honey from China.

School in gay kookaburra song row
An Australian head teacher is under fire after removing the word gay from the famous song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.

Facial cancer hits Tasmanian Devil vaccine hope Cedric
A Tasmanian Devil who experts hoped was immune to a facial cancer that threatens the marsupial species is euthanised after developing tumours.

US and China manufacturing grows
Positive data eases concerns over the strength of the global economic recovery.

US drops China currency inquiry
The US drops a probe of China's currency policy, averting a trade row.