CULTURE AND SPORT

The first qualifying round of the World 9-Ball Beijing Open tournament opened in Shoho commercial centre in China on April 25.

Syria bolstered its troops in the flashpoint town of Daraa as a rights group appealed for UN intervention in a bloody crackdown.

The Ari Roland famous jazz quartet will give two performances at the Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi on April 26 and April 28 respectively.

Resurgent global food prices are again threatening to push millions of people in developing Asia into extreme poverty, says a new report from the Asian Development Bank.

Chilean shellfish farmers are facing an uncertain future after a giant wave traveled the seas and washed away their scallop beds.

Syrian troops backed by tanks rolled into the flashpoint town of Daraa Monday, killing at least 25 people, witnesses said.

The Ari Roland famous jazz quartet will give two performances at the Ho Chi Minh City Academy of Music and Youth Theatre in Hanoi.

Thai and Cambodian troops faced off along their jungle frontier after 12 soldiers died in the bloodiest fighting since a bitter border dispute flared up almost three years ago.

NATO bombs destroyed Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's office in his immense Tripoli residence on Monday.

An outdoor rock show sponsored by Tiger Beer will be held in Hoa Lo Street, Hanoi on April 29.

England's Luke Donald missed a chance to claim golf's World No. 1 ranking, losing a tension-packed Heritage playoff to American Brandt Snedeker.

At least 17 people were killed and 24 injured in a Beijing building blaze, the latest accident to highlight China's dismal fire-safety record.

Private US company SpaceX hopes to put an astronaut on Mars within 10 to 20 years, the head of the firm said.  

Fierce clashes on the Thai-Cambodia border have left 10 dead and forced thousands to flee the worst bloodshed since a UN ceasefire appeal in February, officials said.

About half the United States has banned smoking in bars, restaurants or workplaces, and similar no-smoking policies could span the nation by 2020, the government said. 

Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region will grow strongly in the next few years, the head of the International Air Transport Association said.

Air Roland, a Jazz band from New York, will perform in HCM City at 7.30 pm, April 26, at the HCM City Conservatory of Music.

Syrian forces shot dead at least 72 people as they tried to disperse thousands on the streets for "Good Friday" protests to test freedoms.

Toyota, the world's biggest auto maker, said on Friday output will start recovering in mid-year but will not be back to normal until end 2011.