Asia
Bali suspect’s birthday behind bars
AUSSIE mum Sara Connor was said to be ‘sad’ and ‘reflective’ as she celebrated her 46th birthday in a Bali jail while facing murder charges.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong ...
AS IMAGES of election parties pour out of the US, on the other side of the world crowds are forming for a very different reason.
Giant sinkhole swallows five-lane road
A GIANT sinkhole has appeared in the middle of a busy Japanese city, swallowing part of a five-lane street and causing a major blackout.
How landlord nets $120k a month
A LANDLORD in the world’s most expensive city is raking in thousands of dollars a month with a simple but popular investment.
Protests turn ugly in Hong Kong
PROTESTERS have clashed with police in Hong Kong after thousands demonstrated against Chinese moves to crackdown on pro-independence advocates.
Jokowi cancels visit after violent protest
THE Indonesian President has cancelled a visit to Australia after a massive rally in Jakarta by Muslim hardliners descended into violence, leaving one dead and 12 injured.
Playboy prince could do serious damage
THAILAND’S Prince, who once made his pet poodle ‘Foo Foo’ the official Air Chief Marshall, could cause some serious headaches for Australia.
Why The Punisher hates America
HE’S known for calling President Obama a “son of a wh*re” and swearing at Catholics. What’s driving his hatred for America?
More doubt over MH370 theory
A NEW report promised answers about how the doomed flight went down but a veteran pilot says he’s far from convinced.
Wild orang-utans shot with air rifles
AN orang-utan has been found barely alive, riddled with pellets from an air rifle, some of which have caused him to go blind. But this is not a rare case.
Hero pilot avoids huge runway collision
A CHINESE pilot is an internet sensation after making a quick decision which saved the lives of 439 people.
Alibaba sales growth soars into the cloud
ALIBABA’S sales soared 55 per cent in the last quarter, thanks in part to a more than doubling of revenue from cloud computing.
Overcrowded, illegal boat capsizes
AT least 20 people are dead, including a baby, after a boat carrying nearly 100 undocumented migrant workers from Malaysia capsized and sank in Indonesian waters.
Karaoke lounge blaze kills 13
AUTHORITIES are investigating a massive blaze that gutted an eight-storey karaoke lounge in Vietnam, killing 13 people.
Man crashes digger in government protest
A PROTESTER used a bizarre choice of weapon in an apparent attempt to kill a woman at the centre of the corruption scandal engulfing South Korea’s president.
Tapes go inside mind of paranoid dictator
SECRET recordings of Kim Jong Il made by a couple kidnapped by the late North Korean despot reveal his disgust for his own countrymen.
Minister presses China on detained Aussies
JUSTICE Minister Michael Keenan has raised concerns with Chinese counterparts over the four Australians held in detention in Shanghai.
Autopsy could be key to murder case
ASPECTS of key prosecution evidence could provide hope for a convicted killer appealing the murder of her best friend.
‘Star Wars’ weapon targets N Korea
IT looks like a giant floating golf ball. But this is the Pentagon’s weird, secret weapon being used to intercept North Korean nuclear missiles.
Fart causes fire during surgery
A PATIENT who passed gas during a medical procedure in Japan was badly burned when a fart started a fire in the operating theatre.
China is not going to be happy about this
A NEW proposal accepted by the Australian government could spark tensions with China amid the ongoing South China Sea dispute.
Where has Kim Jong-un’s wife gone?
FEARS are growing for the safety of North Korea’s first lady who has vanished from public view — unseen for seven months.
Pakistan stays hanging of mentally ill man
PAKISTAN’S Supreme Court has issued a last minute reprieve to a mentally ill man set to face the gallows this week.
Final insult to broken sex victim
A BACKPACKER who was molested by her deranged guide as she lay paralysed after falling off a cliff has copped another blow.
What China stands to lose
WHILE it may look like we’re on the verge of a war over the South China Sea, China has billions of reasons not to.
South Koreans: ‘She must step down’
THOUSANDS have rallied in Seoul demanding that President Park Geun-hye resign as a crisis deepened over corruption allegations.
Gardner: ‘I never want to do that again’
MOTORCYCLE ace Wayne Gardner has expressed his relief to be on Australian soil after what he describes as two “horrendous” weeks in a Tokyo jail.
Lovers unite in Bali prison hell
AS SARA Connor and her boyfriend are united in a Bali jail, friends have written character references for the Byron Bay mum as she awaits trial for murder.
Unmarried couples caned for sex
ONE of Australia’s closest neighbours has seen a surge in public canings for sex outside of marriage, despite human rights groups branding it ‘inhumane’.
Coffee killer says verdict was ‘unfair’
JUDGES dubbed her “sadistic”. But Australian resident Jessica Wongso is appealing her 20-year jail term for putting cyanide in her friend’s coffee.
‘You can’t imagine it, we’re so far behind’
ONCE considered a technological backwater, China has undergone a massive change. Here are the Chinese businesses changing our world.
Bali cop murder suspects to face trial
AUSTRALIAN woman Sara Connor and her British boyfriend David Taylor could face up to 15 years in jail if found guilty under a murder trial in Denpasar next month.
Ex-Corby advisor held over gold bullets
A ONE-TIME advisor to Schapelle Corby has been detained at a Bali airport after authorities allegedly discovered 11 gold-coloured bullets in his luggage.
Aussie making waves in China
AT JUST 24, Jessica Wilson is founder of a million-dollar company, now she’s announced a potentially game-changing partnership with a Chinese company.
Tragic fate of girl in this iconic image
SHE was immortalised on the cover of National Geographic magazine as a green-eyed 12-year-old girl. Her life has taken yet another a tragic turn.
Bali bombing mastermind loses appeal
THE suspected terrorist mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombings will remain in detention at Guantanamo Bay after his bid for freedom was rejected.
Paedophile jailed in ‘toughest’ sentence
AN Australian man has been found guilty of multiple paedophile crimes against young girls in one of the heaviest sentences ever handed down in Bali for this type of offence.
Alibaba’s bid for world domination
HUNDREDS of millions of people are shopping, reviewing, and selling through online giant Alibaba every day. But it’s only the start.
Cadets slaughtered in terror attack
PAKISTAN is reeling from its latest terror atrocity, after 58 people were gunned down and over 100 injured in a raid on a police training centre. WARNING: Graphic
Deadly blast rocks Chinese city
RESCUERS are hunting for survivors who may be trapped in the rubble after a powerful explosion tore through a building in Yulin, China, killing 10 and injuring 150.
Star’s ‘shame’ over flight weigh-in
BRITISH actress Lisa Riley has described feeling “mortified” after she was weighed before being allowed to board a flight.
Bomb blast rocks Thai night market
A BOMB has ripped through a noodle shop at a night market in southern Thailand, killing one person and injuring 18.
Elite banker’s victim ‘tortured for days’
A UK banker tortured sex workers using pliers and a knife, before killing them and filming his sick exploits, a Hong Kong court has heard. Warning: Graphic.
China’s creepy ‘Big Brother’ system
IT’S the kind of thing you’re only supposed to read about in dystopian novels, but the Chinese government is turning it into a chilling reality.
Husband-and-wife assassins tell all
WARNING: Graphic images. With four children to support, this couple have turned to the only way they can make money — killing.
Pensioner blows himself up at festival
A RETIRED soldier, aged 72, has blown himself up in a Japanese park, killing himself and injuring three other people in an apparent suicide.
Australian businesses increase vigilance
AUSTRALIAN businesses in China are expected to increase their vigilance after a raid on Crown Resorts saw three Australians detained.
Why Aus can’t escape this conflict
MANY Aussies remain concerned about the rise of China, but our country’s purpose in the South China Sea is more important than you might think.
Schizophrenia ‘not a mental disorder’
SCHIZOPHRENIA is not a mental disorder, Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ruled, closing the door on a last-ditch appeal of a man facing execution.
Hong Kong braces for Typhoon Haima
SCHOOLS have been closed and flights cancelled — including to and from Australia — as a massive storm hits Hong Kong after it battered The Philippines.
‘There are three of us against the world’
RODRIGO “The Punisher” Duterte has announced his “separation” from the US. He’s aligning himself with China and Russia “against the world”.
Police van rams anti-US protesters
A ROWDY anti-American protest in Manila turned bloody after a police van rammed into protesters outside the US Embassy. See the shocking pictures.
Is this the death of the daigou?
AUSSIE daigous have made millions acting as personal shoppers for people in China, but now they fear being pushed out.
Castration ‘will wipe out paedophilia’
INDONESIA’S president has defended the introduction of chemical castration for paedophiles, as doctors refused to perform the “unethical” procedure.
MH370 search: ‘Man made’ objects found
MH370 search vessels will be fitted with sensitive video cameras to focus on objects on the ocean floor that searchers say ‘exhibit man-made properties’.
‘Clinton will only heighten tensions’
A LEADING security expert has warned that Hillary Clinton winning the election could have global repercussions — namely for the US and China.
The Punisher’s smackdown to US
CONTROVERSIAL President Rodrigo Duterte has already told Barack Obama to “go to hell”. Now he has struck another blow against the US.
Scandalous life of Playboy prince
THE next king of Thailand’s scandal-plagued playboy lifestyle could tear down his family’s dynasty. WARNING: Nudity.
The murky world of high-rollers
THE jailing of Crown staff exposes the links between organised crime and high-rolling gamblers casinos want to lure to Australia.
Aussie wanted in Hells Angels slaying
THAI police are hunting an Aussie man called as a defence witness over the murder of a bikie gang leader whose body was discovered in a shallow grave.
Dozens drown in river ferry sinking
AT LEAST 32 bodies have been recovered after an overloaded ferry sank on a river in Myanmar with rescuers fearing the death toll could rise to 100.
Bali lovers hold hands in prison hell
AUSTRALIAN woman Sara Connor was nervous. Her British boyfriend has ditched his dreadlocks. Both of them held hands as they entered Bali’s Kerobokan jail.
Dreams dashed for gambling industry
CHINA’s highrolling “whales” have become a lucrative target for overseas casinos, but Australia is now facing a backlash from the Asian superpower.
‘It had such a dodgy feel to it’
AN Australian tourist has told of her concerns for a bridge in Bali that collapsed overnight, killing at least nine people and injuring dozens more.
‘Bathroom break’ doomed MH370
A NEW book claims MH370 went down after the captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, took a badly-timed toilet break.
Baby gender determination arrests
A NETWORK operating in China that illegally determined the gender of unborn babies for parents wanting a male child has been busted by police.
North Korea’s nuclear test fails
NORTH Korea has tried to test launch an intermediate ballistic missile, its sixth nuclear initiative, but it failed claims the US Pentagon.
Packer casino staff ‘detained in China’
THREE Australian employees of James Packer’s Crown Resorts casino chain have reportedly been detained by Chinese authorities.
Thailand’s new playboy king
HERE’S Thailand’s new king. The Crown Prince looked more like a court jester than a ruler, in a crop top and fake tattoos.
The people literally working to death
THOUGHT you worked long hours? Try moving to Japan, where the work culture is so intense it can cost you your life.
King’s death prompts warning for Aussies
AS THE Thai people begin one year of mourning following the death of their King, Australians on holiday in the country are being urged to behave.
Aussie who escaped The Punisher
AS DAMIEN Berg was led out of his apartment in zip ties, he thought he would be shot. He opens up about escaping death.
‘Without a heart, we cannot survive’
NEWS of the revered king’s failing health has rattled Thailand, causing stocks to plummet and the crown prince to rush home from Germany.
Aussie mum confident on murder charge
LAWYERS for Aussie mum Sara Connor say they are confident she will beat murder charges as they urge the court to call on two secret witnesses.
Nuclear move in South China Sea
CHINA is reportedly developing nuclear reactors which could help Beijing to increase its aggressive efforts in the South China Sea.
‘This really is playing with fire’
CHINA has issued another warning over the South China Sea. This time, they’ve picked a strange target: New Zealand.
Chinese mistake means big bucks
IN CHINA, hundreds of millions of people will now never be able to spell koala correctly — but Australians are laughing all the way to the bank.
Girl found alive in dead dad’s embrace
GRAPHIC IMAGES: A young Chinese father died saving his three-year-old daughter by sheltering her in his embrace after the building they were in collapsed.
Aussie mum to face murder charges
BALI prosecutors have confirmed that Aussie mum Sara Connor will face murder charges alongside her British boyfriend when the case comes to court next month.
Horror over ‘serial killer’ leader’s blitz
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte has been labelled a “psychopath” and a “serial killer” as the death toll from his war on drugs rises.
Aussie’s Bali drugs charges get murky
AN Australian man arrested on drugs charges in Bali has allegedly told police he had used drugs for eight years after getting cancer.
‘In a split second, my life was gone’
EXPAT Aussie Damian Berg has spoken about the nightmare that unfolded when police in The Philippines accused him of a drug crime he did not commit.
Aussie held in Bali drug charge
AN Australian man and his British friend have been locked up in Bali, accused of possession of 17.41 grams of hashish.
What ‘Budgie Nine’ drama means for relations
AUSTRALIA has long had a testy relationship with Malaysia. That has recently improved but will the ‘Budgie Nine’ incident set things back again?
Truth about China’s rise to power
CHINA has one position on the South China Sea — it’s in charge. And there are four reasons why China will never change its mind.
‘Budgie Nine’ back on home soil
THEY were facing up to two years in jail for indecent exposure. But after just four nights in a Malaysian jail, eight of the disgraced “Budgie Nine” are home.
Budgie Nine‘s warning to travellers
REPENTANT Budgie Nine members have delivered a serious message to fellow travellers as they landed at Sydney Airport after their Malaysian stripping stunt.
‘I didn’t poison my best friend’
A HIGH profile murder trial involving two Aussie residents — one accused of killing the other — has taken another twist.
How China has eclipsed Australia
THIS is the graph that shows how China has managed to dominate Australia for the past 25 years.
‘Budgie Nine’ set to return home
AFTER four days in a police lock up, the ‘Budgie Nine’ will soon arrive home from Malaysia after escaping conviction.
Budgie Nine members set free
THE young Aussies dubbed the ‘Budgie Nine’ have been cautioned and freed after a dramatic appearance in a Malaysian court that saw one of them collapse.
Budgie Nine families show support
THE first of the families of the so-called Budgie Nine have arrived in Malaysia as the group faces an uncertain wait for a decision on what charges they will face.
Heartache for bombing tragedy survivor
AT THIS time of the year, every year, a feeling of dread starts to build in the pit of Maria Kotronakis’s stomach. A family tragedy is haunting her.
First pics: where Budgie Nine are held
NINE Australians arrested in Malaysia for stripping down to their budgie smugglers emblazoned with the country’s flag will most likely face a Kuala Lumpur court on Thursday.
Duterte suggests ‘break up’ with US
PHILIPPINE leader Rodrigo Duterte has told US President Barack Obama “you can go to hell” and that he considers China and Russia better partners.
Sky turned pink before typhoon hit
INCREDIBLE footage shows the sky over Okinawa turn pink before Typhoon Chaba hit Japan’s southern islands, sparking evacuations and power outages.
Sushi chain accused of ‘wasabi terrorism’
A SUSHI chain has been rocked by claims it engaged in “wasabi terrorism”, which some described as “racist” and a “hate crime”.
‘Budgie Nine’ could face six months
A STAFFER for Christopher Pyne is one of nine young Aussies who could face six months in prison after they stripped down to their swimmers at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
‘America’s best-kept secret’
THE beaches of this beautiful island should make it a tourist mecca. Instead, it plays host to military bases that its people have no say over.
Alarm bell in China property bubble
CHINESE cities have announced new restrictions on property purchases as the government tries to cool soaring home prices stoked by property speculators.
‘Australia must send armed forces’
AS TENSIONS escalate between China and the US, experts warn Australia can no longer avoid getting tangled up in the conflict.
Poisoning deaths fuel serial killer fear
THEY died within two days of each other. Both patients stayed on the same floor and both were poisoned via an IV drip.
Man kills 17 to cover up killing parents
A “SOCIALLY awkward” 27-year-old gambling addict has slaughtered 19 people including a three-year-old girl in a remote Chinese mountain village.
