• Japan's trial of boat captain will harm relations: China
  (ChinaPost.com.tw) - Japan will damage its relations with China if it decides to prosecute the captain of a Chinese fishing boat that collided with Japanese patrol vessels near disputed islands, Beijing warned Thursday.
  
  
• Suicide attack in Russia kills 17
  (ChinaPost.com.tw) - A suicide car bomber hit the central market of a major city in Russia's North Caucasus on Thursday, killing at least 17 and wounding more than 130 people in one of the worst attacks in the volatile region in years, officials said.
  
  
• Police shots may have killed hostages
  (ChinaPost.com.tw) - Philippine investigators admitted for the first time Thursday that police may have shot some of the tourists in a bungled operation that left eight Hong Kong residents dead on a bus in Manila.
  
  
• Taiwan slips to 13th in global competitiveness rankings
  (ChinaPost.com.tw) - Taiwan's economy ranked 13th in terms of competitiveness among 139 economies surveyed by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF), according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011, which was released yesterday in Beijing.
  
  
• Philippines vows to create elite force to deal with future incidents
  (ChinaPost.com.tw) - Philippine President Benigno Aquino said on Thursday he will form an elite force based on Britain's Special Air Service (SAS) to handle future hostage incidents, after a bungled rescue left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.
  
  
• Quran-burning plan draws worldwide condemnation
  (ChinaPost.com.tw) - Afghan police went on alert on Wednesday to guard against demonstrations triggered by a U.S. church's plan to burn a copy of the Quran on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks which has drawn global condemnation.
  
  
• Suicide attack in Russia kills 17, wounds over 130
  (ChinaPost.com.tw) - A suicide car bomber hit the central market of a major city in Russia's North Caucasus on Thursday, killing at least 17 and wounding more than 130 people in one of the worst attacks in the volatile region in years, officials said.
  
  
• Friendly fire suspected in Philippines hostage deaths
  (ChinaPost.com.tw) - Philippine investigators admitted for the first time Thursday that police may have shot some of the tourists in a bungled operation that left eight Hong Kong residents dead on a bus in Manila.
  
  
• 8 lawmakers sentenced in bribery case
  (ChinaPost.com.tw) - Eight incumbent and former lawmakers were given heavy prison sentences ranging from seven to 10 years yesterday for taking bribes from traditional Chinese medicine groups.
  
  
• Philippine massacre 'carefully planned': witness
  (ChinaPost.com.tw) - A powerful Muslim clan carefully planned and carried out the killings of 57 people -- including 30 journalists -- in the Philippines' worst massacre, a witness said Wednesday as the landmark trial began.