December 8, 2015 Japan police bust sex home-delivery service Japanese police have arrested the alleged ringleader of a sex home-delivery service specialising in women weighing up to 150 kilograms (330 lbs), a spokesman said.
December 8, 2015 Syria's Assad sends congratulations to N. Korea's Kim Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has sent a message of congratulations to North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un as the communist country marks its 65th anniversary, state media said Friday.
December 8, 2015 Taiwan seizes 1,800 pounds of dolphin meat Taiwan coastguards Thursday said they have arrested two people and seized 1,800 pounds of dolphin meat as the island steps up efforts to protect endangered animals.
December 8, 2015 Indonesian journalist awarded AFP prize Indonesian journalist Stefanus Teguh Edi Pramono was on Monday awarded the Agence France-Presse Kate Webb Prize for his brave reporting on Syria's bloody civil war and the Jakarta drugs trade.
December 8, 2015 New Zealand capital shrugs off severe quake Building inspection crews worked their way through Wellington Saturday amid constant aftershocks, a day after a powerful 6.5-magnitude earthquake rocked central New Zealand.
December 8, 2015 Japan to launch satellites to monitor oceans Japan is planning to launch satellites to monitor the world's oceans, a report said Sunday, as Chinese government ships plied waters around islands controlled by Tokyo and claimed by Beijing.
December 8, 2015 Aid reaches Indonesia villages after deadly quake Aid began to trickle in to devastated villages in Indonesia's Aceh province on Thursday where thousands have been left homeless after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 30 people.
December 8, 2015 Vietnam to clamp down on social media news postings Communist Vietnam is to ban bloggers and social media users from sharing news stories online, under a new decree seen as a further crackdown on online freedom.
December 8, 2015 Fukushima workers checking 300 tanks for more leaks Workers at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday scrambled to check 300 tanks storing highly radioactive water after one sprang a leak that is feared to have spread into the Pacific.
December 8, 2015 Four police killed in Thai nursery school attack Four police officers were killed in a gun and grenade attack in front of a nursery school in Thailand's insurgency-hit south Friday, an official said, as bloodshed continued to dampen hopes for peace talks.