NEWS & ANALYSIS ON DEMAND

South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak (L), China's Premier Wen Jiabao (C) and Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda shake hands ahead of the fifth trilateral summit in Beijing on May 13, 2012. [AFP: Pool]

China, Japan, S.Korea agree to free-trade talksPhoto

Last Updated: Sun, 13 May 2012 17:18:00 +1000

The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea have agreed to start talks this year on a free-trade area.

Maulvi Arsala Rahmani was one of the most senior members on Afghanistan's High Peace Council. [Reuters: Mohammad Ismail]

Top Afghan peace negotiator shot deadPhoto

Last Updated: Sun, 13 May 2012 17:34:00 +1000

Police say a top Afghan peace negotiator has been shot dead by gunmen in the capital, Kabul.

Mr Thomson, who is now sitting on the crossbench, has denied any wrongdoing. [ABC]

Gillard flags code of conduct for Australian MPsVideoPhoto

Last Updated: Sun, 13 May 2012 16:43:00 +1000

The Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, says she would welcome a code of conduct for members of Parliament.

A male fruit fly sits on a branch. A single fruit fly has been found in New Zealand. [ABC]

NZ to spend millions preventing fruit fly outbreakPhoto

Last Updated: Sun, 13 May 2012 19:51:00 +1000

New Zealand says it will spend millions of dollars to prevent an outbreak of Australian fruit flies in the country.

Greek president faces crunch time over coalition

Greece makes last attempt to form cabinetVideoPhoto

Last Updated: Sun, 13 May 2012 18:18:00 +1000

The Greek President, Carolos Papoulias, will hold talks with the three major parties to try and form a governing coalition.

Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr is on an official visit to China. [ABC: Newsline]

Australian foreign minister travels to Beijing for talksPhoto

Last Updated: Sun, 13 May 2012 19:29:00 +1000

Australia's Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, has left Shanghai and has boarded a new high-speed train for the Chinese capital, Beijing.

The group Doctors For The Family say children are better-off when they have a mother and a father. [Getty Images]

Heterosexual marriage better for children: doctors' groupVideoPhoto

Last Updated: Sun, 13 May 2012 20:37:00 +1000

The Australian Medical Association has distanced itself from a statement made by a group of doctors who say heterosexual marriage is better for children.

Chinese villagers salvage their belongings after a storm in Gansu province. Forty people have been killed in heavy rain and storms in north-west China. [China Out: AFP]

Bridge collapses in China after heavy rainPhoto

Last Updated: Sun, 13 May 2012 15:26:00 +1000

A bridge in China's Hunan province has collapsed after days of torrential rain across the country.

A firefighter inspects the burnt-out hotel in Fukuyama city in Hiroshima prefecture on May 13, 2012. [AFP: Jiji Press]

Deadly hotel fire in JapanPhoto

Last Updated: Sun, 13 May 2012 18:57:00 +1000

Six people have died and three others have been injured after a fire swept through a Japanese hotel in Fukuyama, west of the capital Tokyo.

Protesters demonstrate around the closed City Hall square in Valencia. [AFP: Jose Jordan]

Spanish police break up 'indignant' protestVideoPhoto

Last Updated: Sun, 13 May 2012 16:24:00 +1000

Police in Spain have evicted thousands of people occupying Madrid's central square to protest against the country's deep austerity cuts.

Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops attend a military ceremony. China has denied preparing its military to go to war against the Philippines. [ABC]

China denies preparing military for Philippines conflictPhoto

Last Updated: Sat, 12 May 2012 14:50:00 +1000

China has denied it's preparing to go to war with the Philippines over a disputed part of the South China Sea.

Relatives mourn Indonesia air crash victims. [AFP]

Bodies of jet crash victims being returned to JakartaVideoPhoto

Last Updated: Sat, 12 May 2012 15:54:00 +1000

Rescuers have started returning the bodies of those who died when a Russian jet crashed into an Indonesian mountain to Jakarta.

Militia returns to Qusayr

Syria violence kills 15 as UN mission growsPhoto

Last Updated: Sun, 13 May 2012 07:58:00 +1000

Violence in Syria cost at least 15 lives as a UN force to oversee a truce neared half its planned strength, monitors said.

Australian billionaire Clive Palmer is at odds with the Australian Government over taxation. [ABC]

Australian unions call for millionaires' taxPhoto

Last Updated: Sat, 12 May 2012 16:25:00 +1000

Australia's trade unions are calling on the government to introduce a millionaires' tax similar to US President Barack Obama's so-called "Buffett Rule".

Burmese president Thein Sein has invited migrants to return home. [ABC]

Burma asks emigrants to return homePhoto

Last Updated: Sat, 12 May 2012 16:09:00 +1000

Burma's president has urged his country's diaspora to return home to help rebuild the country.

Australian Attorney-General Nicola Roxon supports gay marriage. [ABC]

Australian attorney-general says 'time is coming' for gay marriageVideoPhoto

Last Updated: Sat, 12 May 2012 20:02:00 +1000

Australian Attorney-General Nicola Roxon says she will vote for gay marriage when the chance comes later this year, as protesters marched across the nation.

Pakistani soldiers patrol the mountainous area of Pash Ziarat. [AFP: File]

Pakistan bomb attack kills two peoplePhoto

Last Updated: Sat, 12 May 2012 18:22:00 +1000

Bomb and mortar attacks killed at least two people and wounded 21 others in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar.

Israel Folau crashes through a tackle during GWS's game against the Suns. [ABC]

Giants clinch historic winPhoto

Last Updated: Sat, 12 May 2012 16:43:00 +1000

A magnificent fourth-quarter effort has given the Greater Western Sydney Giants their first AFL victory, downing the Gold Coast Suns by 27 points in Canberra.

Yulia Tymoshenko is under guard in hospital. [ABC]

Yulia Tymoshenko denied visits from daughterPhoto

Last Updated: Sat, 12 May 2012 15:22:00 +1000

The daughter of the jailed former prime minister of Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko, says she has been refused access to her mother.

Black Caviar is ready to race overseas after notching up yet another win in Australia. [ABC]

Celebrations for Black Caviar's sweet 21stPhoto

Last Updated: Sat, 12 May 2012 18:41:00 +1000

The world now awaits Black Caviar after the invincible mare farewelled Australian racing this season with an effortless win.

Prime Minister Peter O'Neill (C) has received the final report by Task Force Sweep, the body he set up last year to investigate government corruption.[ABC]

PNG corruption 'institutionalised': inquiryVideoPhoto

Last Updated: Fri, 11 May 2012 10:49:00 +1000

A task force has found corruption has become widely entrenched in Papua New Guinea's government.

Chen Guangcheng says his family is being harassed by Chinese officials.

Chen accuses Chinese authorities of reprisalsPhoto

Last Updated: Sat, 12 May 2012 00:07:00 +1000

Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng says his nephew is facing a charge of 'intentional murder', after attacking officials who broke into his home.

Activists demand Chinese withdrawal from claimed Philippines waters. [Reuters]

Chinese cancel Philippines travel as tensions riseVideoAudioPhoto

Last Updated: Fri, 11 May 2012 11:34:00 +1000

Chinese travel agencies have stopped sending tourists to the Philippines as national tensions escalate over territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra won't push for changes to her countries royal defamation law. [Reuters]

Thai PM rejects lese majeste reform callPhoto

Last Updated: Fri, 11 May 2012 20:07:00 +1000

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra says she will not seek to change the country's royal defamation law despite outcry over the death of a grandfather jailed for the offence.

Cadet charged with indecency leaves court

International cadet faces Canberra court over shower videoPhoto

Last Updated: Fri, 11 May 2012 15:16:00 +1000

A Canberra court has heard an Australian Defence Force Academy cadet who was allegedly secretly filmed while showering "freaked out" when she discovered the video.

Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith says something has to be done to stop the foreign takeover of Australian food companies. [Getty Images]

Australian food producers need protecting: Dick SmithPhoto

Last Updated: Fri, 11 May 2012 13:32:00 +1000

Australian businessman Dick Smith has criticised foreign-owned food companies that advertise their products as Australian.

Rebekah Brooks with Rupert and James Murdoch. [ABC]

British PM sent commiserations after Brooks resignationPhoto

Last Updated: Fri, 11 May 2012 20:55:00 +1000

Former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks has told the Leveson inquiry into press ethics she received commiserations from British Prime Minister David Cameron after resigning over the phone hacking scandal.

Thousands show support to North Korea's regime. [ABC]

Reports several North Koreans executed for cannibalismPhoto

Last Updated: Fri, 11 May 2012 18:09:00 +1000

A new report quoting eyewitnesses in North Korea says officials have publicly executed several people for cannibalism in recent years.

Blowing in the wind, The Pacific nations will take their message to the Rio Plus 20 Earth Summit in Brazil in June. [ABC]

Pacific pledge to switch to renewable energyAudioPhoto

Last Updated: Fri, 11 May 2012 15:24:00 +1000

Pacific Island nations have pledged to dump diesel and similar fuels they use to produce energy and replace them with renewable power sources.

Uighur leader Rubiya Kadeer during a media interview in Melbourne, Australia. [ABC]

Japan grants Uyghur leader visaPhoto

Last Updated: Fri, 11 May 2012 17:48:00 +1000

Japan has granted exiled Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer a visa, despite China's reported request not to.

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