December 8, 2015 New Zealand quake city opens cardboard cathedral Christchurch's cardboard cathedral officially opens on Thursday, replacing the neo-Gothic structure destroyed in a 2011 earthquake that killed 185 people in New Zealand's second largest city.
December 8, 2015 Marshall leans towards Auckland Blues The Auckland Blues emerged Saturday as the frontrunner to snap up rugby league star Benji Marshall who said the prospect of becoming an All Black could motivate him to switch codes.
December 8, 2015 Okinawa marks 68th anniversary of bloody WWII battle Okinawa marked Sunday the 68th anniversary of a bloody World War II battle, with Japan's prime minister vowing to "lighten the burden" of local residents opposed to a heavy US military presence on the southern Japanese island.
December 8, 2015 US blames captain for ship loss on Philippine reef A US warship that ran aground on a protected coral reef in the Philippines was doomed by its top officers' "lack of leadership", the US Navy has concluded in a report released Friday.
December 8, 2015 Singapore sunny, Malaysia gloomy from Indonesian smog Singapore woke up to clear blue skies on Monday thanks to favourable winds but Malaysia was still being suffocated by smog from forest fires in Indonesia, where cloud-seeding flights have produced little rain.
December 8, 2015 S.Korea top North envoy heads to US South Korea's top envoy on North Korea left on Tuesday for a meeting in Washington with his US and Japanese counterparts, two days after Pyongyang proposed direct, high-level talks with the United States.
December 8, 2015 N.Zealand's Vettori sidelined but won't call it quits Injury-plagued New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori announced on Friday he will be sidelined for at least six months but refused to call time on an international career stretching back 16 years.
December 8, 2015 Thailand, Muslim rebels aim for Ramadan peace The Thai government and Muslim rebels have agreed to try to curb violence during Ramadan, a Malaysian official said Friday, marking a new step towards ending nearly a decade of conflict.
December 8, 2015 Nintendo to stop making Wii console for Japan market Japanese game console maker Nintendo said Wednesday it will stop making its Wii console for the Japanese market, but will keep producing it internationally.
December 8, 2015 Thai opposition MPs in parliament brawl with police Thailand's parliament briefly descended into chaos Tuesday as opposition lawmakers brawled with police during a debate on controversial proposals to amend the constitution.