| Afghan civilian death toll rises
The number of civilians killed and injured in the Afghan conflict has risen for the fifth year in a row, a UN report reveals.
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| Europe 'at risk of early grave'
Australia's Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd warns Europe faces an "early grave" if it continues to ignore Asia's rise.
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| England players go unsold at IPL
Seven England players and Ireland batsman Kevin O'Brien fail to attract bids at the Indian Premier League auction.
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| Oil spurs Canadian PM China visit
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will visit China next week to discuss the future of Canada's oil products.
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| Saigon fall reporter dies at 79
George Esper, who reported on the fall of Saigon for the Associated Press during the last days of the Vietnam war, dies at the age of 79.
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| Life term for Khmer Rouge jailer
Cambodia's UN-backed genocide court rejects an appeal by Khmer Rouge jailer Duch and increases his sentence to life imprisonment.
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| Nepal former rebels leave camps
Thousands of former Maoist fighters in Nepal begin the process of demobilisation, five years after they ended their armed revolt.
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| Malaria toll 'is twice as high'
The number of deaths worldwide from malaria has been underestimated, according to data published in the medical journal the Lancet.
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| Philippines seeks militant's body
Troops in the Philippines are still searching for the body of top militant Marwan who was reported killed on Thursday, a military spokesman says.
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| VIDEO: Australian summer floods swamp homes
Flooding in the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales has forced thousands of families from their homes.
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| VIDEO: Afghan civilian deaths rise again
The number of civilians killed and injured in the Afghan conflict has risen for the fifth year in a row, a UN report reveals.
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| VIDEO: Banned Chinese books popular in Taiwan
The Chinese government keeps a tight control on the publishing and importation of books, especially those on what it deems sensitive subjects. But in Taiwan, the trade in Chinese language books is thriving.
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| VIDEO: Thailand's teen piano prodigy
At the age of 14, Gun Chaikittiwatana is already playing some of the hardest pieces ever written for classical piano.
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| AUDIO: 'There are people floating in life jackets'
A ferry has sunk off the eastern coast of Papua New Guinea with around 300 people on board.
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| VIDEO: Top court to charge PM Gilani
Pakistan's Supreme Court is to charge Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani with contempt for failing to reopen corruption cases against the president.
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| VIDEO: 'Little Brazil' in Pakistan
The Karachi neighbourhood where playing football helps prevent boys from joining a life of crime.
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| VIDEO: Bus boss gives staff $16m sale share
Australian Ken Grenda may have sold his bus company, but his staff of almost 2,000 are smiling.
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| Fireman stands in for air control
A fireman guides a plane to land at an airport in India after air traffic controllers fail to turn up for work, it emerges.
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| Monkeys fed wine 'to fight flu'
A zoo in Kazakhstan, where overnight temperatures have dipped to nearly -40C, is giving monkeys a wine concoction as a remedy against flu.
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| Bus company boss gives staff $16m
A bus company owner in Australia thanks loyal employees by giving them $16m (£10m) cash after the firm is sold to another company.
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| Burma's foreign debt put at $11bn
Burma reveals it owes more than $11bn in foreign debt - a figure much higher than the previous estimate.
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| Anger over pig's head in Malaysia
A pig's head is found outside a mosque in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur - the third such incident in the country in a month, police say.
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| Top court to charge Pakistani PM
Pakistan's Supreme Court is to charge Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani with contempt for failing to reopen corruption cases against the president.
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| India cancels telecom licences
India's Supreme Court cancels 122 telecommunications licences awarded to several companies, amid an ongoing corruption scandal.
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| S Korea activist held over tweet
Amnesty International demands the release of a man held by South Korean authorities after re-tweeting a North Korean "propaganda" message.
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| New name for S Korea ruling party
South Korea's ruling party decides to change its name, in an apparent bid to combat voter alienation ahead of elections in April.
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| China 'considering' eurozone help
Premier Wen Jiabao says Beijing is "considering" contributing to European rescue funds, during a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
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| Trumpets of outrage over outback
An Australian biology professor causes a row by suggesting his country should import elephants and even Komodo dragons into its wild interior.
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| Karthikeyan completes HRT line-up
Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan joins Pedro de la Rosa at HRT for the 2012 season.
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| China miner gets gold price boost
Chinese mining group Zijin says it expects a 20% jump in profits for 2011 boosted by higher gold prices during the year.
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| China box office tipped to surge
China's box office takings surged 29% to $2.1bn in 2011 and are forecast to rise by around 20% this year, new figures show.
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| HK ad calls mainlanders 'locusts'
A group of Hong Kong residents fund an advert in a newspaper calling Chinese mainlanders "locusts", amid tensions in the city.
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| Delhi questioned over army chief
India's Supreme Court questions the government's decisions in its row with the army chief over his retirement age.
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| India corruption 'long way to go'
India PM Manmohan Singh says progress has been made on corruption but admits there is "still a long way" to go.
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| No show by Pakistan's Mumbai team
Pakistan fails to send a team of officials to India to investigate the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Indian officials say.
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| Fears grow for PNG ferry missing
The search continues for more than 100 people still missing after a ferry sank off Papua New Guinea, amid fears they were trapped inside.
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| Towns cut off in Australia floods
Severe flooding threatens parts of New South Wales and Queensland in eastern Australia, with towns cut off and thousands of residents evacuated.
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| Six arrests in Occupy Sydney raid
Six people are under arrest following an early morning police raid at the Occupy Sydney protest site in Australia's largest city.
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| US 'will cut' Afghan role in 2013
The US will seek to wind down combat operations in Afghanistan in 2013, the defence secretary says, more than a year before a deadline for withdrawal.
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| Pakistan dismisses Taliban links
Pakistan's foreign minister says her country has no hidden agenda in Afghanistan, as a leaked Nato report accuses Islamabad of links to the Taliban.
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| Tamil refugees 'in Togo ordeal'
About 200 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees tell the BBC that they are enduring miserable conditions in the West African state of Togo.
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| Afghanistan - Country profile
Key facts, figures and dates.
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| Australia country profile
Provides an overview of Australia, including key facts and events
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| Country profile: Bangladesh
Key facts, figures and dates
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| Country profile: Bhutan
Key facts, figures and dates.
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| Brunei profile
Provides an overview of Brunei, including key events and facts.
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| Burma profile
Key facts, figures and dates
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| Cambodia profile
Provides an overview of Cambodia, including key events and facts.
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| China profile
Provides an overview of China, including key events and facts.
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| Cook Islands profile
Provides an overview of the Cook Islands, including key events and facts.
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| East Timor country profile
Provides an overview of East Timor, including key events and facts about this former Portuguese colony which won independence from Indonesia in a long civil war
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| Fiji country profile
Provides an overview of Fiji, including key events and facts about this tropical island and ethnically diverse former British colony in the Pacific.
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| French Polynesia profile
Provides an overview of French Polynesia, including key events and facts
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| Regions and territories: Guam
An overview of Guam, including key facts, political leaders and the media
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| Regions and territories: Hong Kong
An overview of Hong Kong, including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media
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| Country profile: India
Details of the key facts, figures and dates.
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| Indonesia profile
Provides an overview of Indonesia, including key events and facts about the world's fourth most populous nation
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| Japan country profile
Provides an overview of Japan, including key events and facts about this earthquake-prone country on the western rim of the Pacific.
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| Kashmir profile
An overview of the former princely state of Kashmir, which has been partitioned between India and Pakistan since 1947.
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| Kazakhstan profile
Provides an overview of Kazakhstan, including key events and facts about this vast, mineral-rich Central Asian country.
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| Kiribati profile
Provides an overview of Kiribati including key events and facts.
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| North Korea country profile
Provides an overview of North Korea, including key events and facts.
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| South Korea profile
Provides an overview of South Korea, including key events and facts
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| Kyrgyzstan profile
Provides overview, key facts and events, timelines and leader profiles along with current news about Kyrgyzstan
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| Laos profile
Provides an overview of Laos, including key events and facts
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| Regions and territories: Macau
An overview of Macau, including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media
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| Malaysia profile
Provides an overview of Malaysia, including key events and facts.
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| Country profile: The Maldives
Key facts, figures and dates.
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| Marshall Islands profile
Provides an overview of the Marshall Islands, including key events and facts.
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| Micronesia profile
Provides an overview of Micronesia, including key events and facts
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| Mongolia profile
Summary: Provides an overview of Mongolia, including key events and facts.
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| Nauru profile
Provides an overview of Nauru, including key events and facts about the world's smallest republic
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| Country profile: Nepal
Key facts, figures and dates.
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| Regions and territories: New Caledonia
An overview of the Pacific territory, including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media
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| New Zealand profile
Provides an overview of New Zealand, including key events and facts
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| Regions and territories: Niue
A profile of the South Pacific island - the world's smallest self-governing territory
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| Regions, territories: Northern Mariana Islands
A profile of the US commonwealth territory in the north-west Pacific
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| Country profile: Pakistan
Key facts, figures and dates.
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| Palau country profile
Provides an overview of Palau , including key events and facts about this tropical island nation in the northern Pacific.
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| Papua New Guinea profile
Provides an overview of Papua New Guinea, including key events and facts
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| Philippines profile
Provides an overview of Philippines, including key events and facts.
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| Samoa profile
Provides an overview of Samoa, including key events and facts.
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| Singapore profile
Provides an overview of Singapore, including key events and facts.
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| Country profile: Sri Lanka
Key facts, figures and dates.
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| Solomon Islands country profile
Provides an overview of Solomon Islands, including key events and facts.
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| Taiwan profile
Provides key background, including facts and figures
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| Tajikistan profile
Provides an overview of Tajikistan, including key events and facts about this mountainous Central Asian republic.
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| Thailand profile
Provides an overview of Thailand, including key events and facts.
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| Regions and territories: Tibet
An overview of Tibet, including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media
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| Regions and territories: Tokelau
A profile of the three-island territory in the South Pacific
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| Tonga profile
Provides an overview of Tonga, including key events and facts.
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| Turkmenistan profile
Overview of Turkmenistan, including key events and facts.
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| Tuvalu Profile
Provides an overview of Tuvalu, including key events and facts.
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| Uzbekistan country profile
Provides an overview of Uzbekistan, including key events and facts about the country.
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| Vanuatu country profile
Provides an overview of Vanuatu, including key events and facts
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| Vietnam country profile
Provides an overview of Vietnam, including key events and facts about this east Asian country
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| Regions and territories: Xinjiang
An overview of Xinjiang, including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media
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| Air India asked to pay fuel bill
Air India asked to pay fuel bill as supplies cut
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| Hutchison to buy Orange Austria
Hong Kong's Hutchison 3G agrees to buy Orange Austria
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| Close encounters with Filipino witches
Searching for witches on a tropical island
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| In pictures: Hope returns to Kandahar
City of hope in the heart of the Taliban's spiritual homeland
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| Uttar Pradesh battles voter apathy
India's most populous state battles to boost poll turnouts
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| Rolls-Royce opens Singapore plant
Rolls-Royce starts up engine production in Singapore
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| The exiles in 'temporary' homes for 50 years
The exiles still in temporary housing after 50 years in France
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| Why Taliban are so strong in Afghanistan
Why Taliban are so strong in Afghanistan 10 years on
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