Tokyo bans the sale and lease of anime films and manga comics depicting rape, incest and other sex crimes to under-18s.

A bomb attack in the south-eastern Iranian city of Chabahar kills at least 38 people and injures many more, Iranian news sources say.

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is under investigation for allegedly misusing public funds, and has been told she cannot leave Kiev.

A young bear which escaped from a zoo in South Korea is safely re-captured after nine days on the run.

IBM prepares for a artificial intelligence showdown which will see one of its supercomputers take on two human contestants on a TV quiz show.

Two new assessments paint bleak pictures of the US-led war in Afghanistan, the day before the White House unveils a key review of US strategy.

Mexican president Felipe Calderon says police were led to La Familia Michoacana boss Nazario Moreno when they learned of the drug cartel's plans to hold a party.

Former Kosovo Liberation Army commanders are accused of organ and drug trafficking in a draft report from the human rights body, the Council of Europe.