China

Payment to settle claims that bank violated US curbs on Iran.

Asian markets edge higher led by Japanese stocks.

BBC4 Documentary shows how private companies prey on the poorest people in the country.

Spy jailed for four years in South Korea after posing as defector to carry out espionage.

Windows Phone will take a clear third place in the global smartphone market by 2016, according to figures released by research firm IDC.

Guinness World Records certified Chinese woman giant, plagued by health problems throughout short life, at 7ft 8in.

Nokia's Lumia 920T will launch in China this month, making it the first Windows Phone to go on sale in the country.

Remains of an imperial palace, believed to be of King Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, have been unearthed near his famous mausoleum that is surrounded by "terracotta army"

A US-backed proposal which is trying to protect a free and open internet has failed to win widespread approval.

Arcadia Group billionaire reportedly selling 25% of Topshop in bid to expand in US and China.

European stocks edged up in early trading after China's new leaders assured that the regime will continue efforts to maintain economic stability

Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont buys HSBC's 15.7 percent stake in China's second-largest insurance group

China's services PMI fell to 52.1 in November from 53.5 recorded for October, a second straight month of decline, indicating slow pace of growth in the world's second largest economy.

The country's economic growth slows on a sequential as well as year-over-year basis in the third quarter contributed by government spending cuts and lower demand from China.

Asian markets gain in the morning but traders remain cautious of the continuing deadlock over the fiscal cliff talks

Former Chelsea star denies signing pro-Palestine petition with 60 top footballers .

London's In & Out club hosts 20th annual awards marking flaccid prose, unsexy images and clumsy verbal technique.

In the southern Philippines 50,000 people were evacuated due to heavy rains and winds by typhoon Bopha

PIMCO's Bill Gross says debt and demographics will act as a drag on global economic growth for years to come as investors navigate a "new normal" of lower returns.

"We are not making reforms because I want to. We are merely responding to the people's desire for reform. Therefore my future depends on the people and their wishes."

US regulator charges China affiliates at KPMG, Deloitte, BDO, PwC and Ernst & Young with securities violations

European stocks have eased in early minutes of trading as concerns on the US 'fiscal cliff' negotiations overshadowed hopes of progress in the Eurozone.

Asian markets slip in the morning trade after data showed that US manufacturing contracted in November

Google, governments and the International Telecoms Union will go head-to-head in Dubai as new rules regarding the regulation of the internet are debated.

Kyoto Protocol expires on 1 January but global carbon emissions are to reach a record high.

Activist tells new Beijing leader that he should embark on urgent programme of reform.

Wang jailed for impersonating police officer after Sina Weibo users complain about photoshoot.

Traders remained upbeat as the Euro hit a six-week high as improved manufacturing data from China added to hopes of economic recovery in the world's second largest economy.

Asian investors remain upbeat after the Chinese PMI rose to 50.6 in November.

Chinese manufacturing expands to a 13-month high in November, according to an HSBC survey of manufacturing firms.