Asia | featured news

Executive chairman Eric Schmidt is accompanying former U.N. ambassador Bill Richardson on a "private humanitarian mission." The State Department wishes that they'd stayed home.

It's no surprise the Indian street wants faster, harsher justice for sexual crimes after a horrific gang rape that rocked the nation, but some activists worry the government will trample fundamental rights in its rush to be in tune with popular rage.

Temperatures in China have plunged to their lowest in almost three decades, cold enough to freeze coastal waters and trap 1,000 ships in ice, official media said at the weekend. Since late November the country has shivered at an average of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius (25 degrees Fahrenheit), 1.3 degrees colder than the previous average, and the chilliest in 28 years, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday, citing the China Meteorological Administration.

Vodafone said Indian officials sent another notice that it owes more than $2 billion in taxes on the 2007 purchase of a stake in an Indian telecommunications company.

Companion of Indian woman who died from gang-rape says passersby ignored them.

Frustrated by his adult son's incessant gaming habit, a man in China reportedly hired a number of in-game master "hitmen" to annihilate his son's avatar over and over again in an attempt to deter him from playing.

The US state department says a planned visit to North Korea by Google chairman Eric Schmidt is not "particularly helpful".

U.S. sales of warplanes, anti-missile systems and other costly weapons to China's and North Korea's neighbors appear set for significant growth amid regional security jitters.

Several of India's car makers reported a drop or a modest increase in sales for December, despite year-end discounts and the recent introduction of new models.

Thousands in Hong Kong protested on Tuesday against the city's leader Leung Chun-ying as pressure mounts against the Beijing-backed politician who has been embroiled in an illegal construction scandal since taking office in July.