‘Likes to wash dishes at home’
Tokyo, 31 AUG: Japan’s next prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, likes to wash dishes, enjoys animal movies and is secretly addicted to shrimp crackers, according to his wife, Miyuki. Hatoyama, who heads

Turnout in election reaches record 69.28%
Tokyo, 31 Aug: Turnout for Japan’s House of Representatives election that sent the opposition Democratic Party of Japan to a landslide victory reached new records of 69.28 per cent in single-seat dist

I am not anti-American: Japan’s PM-elect
;Agence France-Presse Tokyo, 31 Aug: Japan’s next prime minister Yukio Hatoyama said today he is not anti-American and that his vision of a future Asian community is not intended to exclude the Uni

Maths genius
Eight-year-old pupil Xavier Gordon-Brown looks to be following in the Prime Minister's footsteps after gaining an A* GCSE in maths. The qualification makes him the youngest ever recipient of an A* gra

Tamil scribe given 20 years for ‘supporting terrorism’
;Press Trust of India Colombo, 31 Aug: A prominent Tamil reporter, whose detention in Sri Lanka was described by US President Barack Obama as an “emblematic example” of threats to media freedom, was

Plea for unity
Kuala Lumpur, 31 AUG: Malaysia’s premier made a plea for unity in the multicultural nation today, as celebrations to mark its independence anniversary were marred by fresh racial and religious rows. N

Mush, Malik summoned in Bhutto murder case
; Press Trust of India Lahore, 31 Aug: A Pakistani court today asked former President Pervez Musharraf and Interior Minister Rehman Malik to appear before it on September 28 for the hearing of a peti

Israeli strike on Iran ‘imminent’
;Indo-Asian News Service LOS ANGELES, 31 AUG: If Iran does not accept international proposals to roll back its nuclear programme by next month, it faces an imminent Israeli strike, a newspaper article

‘Benazir targeted India’s N-facilities’
Islamabad, 31 Aug: Slain former Premier Benazir Bhutto had directed the Pakistan Air Force to be ready to attack India's nuclear facilities in case Pakistan’s atomic installations were targeted in 199

Gaddafi’s 40th turns into a diplomatic minefield
; Daniel Howden Tripoli, 31 AUG: Britain has refused to reveal who it will send to the biggest party in Libya's history, a celebration of the rise to power of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in a coup d'etat

‘I admire Brad’
London, 31 AUG: Actor Jennifer Aniston has revea-led she still maintains good relations with her former husband Brad Pitt. “In contr-ast to what people say, Brad and I have a very cordial relationship

Putin blames WWII on Nazi-Soviet pact
Warsaw, 31 Aug: Russia’s prime minister today condemned Moscow’s 1939 treaty with Berlin carving up Europe, as well as British and French pacts with the Nazis, in remarks published before the 70th ann

Muslim model
Kuala Lumpur, 31 AUG: The father of the Malaysian woman who was sentenced to be caned for drinking beer in public hopes to hear some “good news” that his daughter would be spared the punishment. Shuka

Prisoners
Hanoi, 31 AUG: Vietnam will release more than 5,000 prisoners as part of an annual prison amnesty, but not a Catholic priest whom US senators have campaigned to have freed, an official said today. Pr

Koreas to restore regular cross-border traffic
;Associated Press Seoul, 31 AUG: Regular traffic across the heavily fortified border dividing North and South Korea will be restored this week, officials in Seoul said today amid further signs of imp

Myanmar refugees begin returning from China
Nansan (China), 31 AUG: Myanmar refugees began heading home from China today as fighting between government troops and a rebel militia that left more than 30 people dead appeared to be over. More tha

Dalai Lama encourages democracy in Taiwan
;Associated Press Shiao Lin (Taiwan), 31 Aug: The Dalai Lama said Taiwan should have “very close and unique links” with China but also enjoy democracy, as he arrived at a devastated village today to

‘Mona Lisa’ comes to life
;Reuters BEIJING, 31 Aug: For centuries, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” and her enigmatic smile have inspired as much speculation as admiration. Now she’s ready to answer questions ~ in Mandarin. A

ASIAN VOICES: Conflict flare up in Golden Triangle
Something is brewing in the Burmese corner of the Golden Triangle and it’s more than just the chemicals boiling in the clandestine heroin and methamphetamine labs. Bluffing between the military gover

ASIAN VOICES: North Korean ship seized
For the first time since the United Nations Resolution 1874 came into force on June 12, a North Korean ship carrying weapons has been seized. The United Arab Emirates on August 14 seized a North Korea

‘Afghan strategy must change’
;Reuters KABUL/WASHINGTON, 31 AUG: The United States and its allies must change strategy and boost cooperation to turn around the war in Afghanistan, the commander of Western forces in the country sa

Shooting kills 8
Sinaloa(MEXICO), 31 AUG: Authorities say gunm-en open fire on a crowd partying at a seaside boulevard, killing eight people in northwestern Mexico. Prosecutors’ spoke-sman Martin Robles says a 15-year

Lightbulbs
Brussels, 31 AUG: The EU will start making the transition from power-draining lightbulbs to more energy efficient ones tomorrow, the European Commission said. Several nations including Australia, New

Disney to acquire Marvel in $4 bn deal
;Reuters NEW YORK, 31 AUG: Walt Disney Co said on Monday it plans to buy Marvel Entertainment Inc for $4 billion in a deal that would add characters like Iron Man, Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four t

Mwah! Hmm, twittering make it to Collins lexicon!
;Press Trust of India London, 31 AUG: ‘Mwah’ (sound of a noisy kiss)! ‘Hmm’, ‘hey’ and ‘twittering’ are among the 267 new words that have made it to this year’s Collins English Dictionary, thanks to

California wildfire doubles in size, two firefighters killed
;Agencies LOS Angeles, 31 AUG: A deadly wildfire burning out of control for a sixth day in the parched mountains north of Los Angeles doubled in size overnight on Monday and posed a continuing threa