CULTURE AND SPORT

ROCKHAMPTON, Australia (Reuters) – Australia's record floods are causing catastrophic damage to infrastructure in the state of Queensland and have forced 75 percent of its coal mines, which fuel Asia's steel mills, to grind to a halt, Queensland's premier said on Wednesday.

MANILA (AFP) – A murdered Philippine politician caught his killer on camera just moments before he was shot dead, with the photograph leading to the arrest of the suspected gunman, police said Tuesday.

MANCHESTER, England — Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, saw his team successfully meet his target of opening the new year in first place in the English Premier League and then fired a warning to their title rivals after a 2-1 victory over Stoke.

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang held talks with Spain's finance minister at the start of a visit focusing on economic issues, including the crisis in Spain, and business deals.

China is estimated to have made a record 1.5 billion dollars in box office takings in 2010, as a growing number of well-off urbanites flock to the cinema.

An art exhibition featuring Vietnamese folklore paintings and antiques are on display in the Vinh Long Province as part of a series of activities to mark the upcoming Tet.

Australian residents fled their homes as a major town was threatened by a worsening flood disaster which unleashed a plague of snakes and crocodiles.

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson said it is partnering with US doctors to improve a blood test that could replace biopsies and transform the field of cancer treatment.

The Haiti earthquake and floods in Pakistan and China helped make 2010 an exceptional year for natural disasters, killing 295,000 and costing $130 billion.

Two Afghan policemen stand paralysed by fear in front of a plastic cup. But this is not some farcical scene from the battle against the Taliban -- it is a sketch from a new clown show in Kabul.

Macau's gaming revenue hit a record 23.5 billion US dollars in 2010, according to official figures released Monday, cementing the city as the world's biggest gaming hub.

Le Khoi Nguyen is now Mister Vietnam 2010 and will attend Mister International 2011 in the Philippines.

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak reached out to North Korea, saying Seoul was open to talks and offering closer economic ties despite high tensions on the peninsula.

The bells weren't ringing for many iPhone users this New Year's weekend, when thanks to a glitch the alarms on Apple's iconic mobile phones failed to go off.

Top Vietnamese badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh will compete at the BWF Super Series, the most reputable championship, with seven other world’s top players.

A magnitude-7.1 earthquake shook southern Chile on Sunday, prompting tens of thousands to flee the coast for higher ground.

Smokers took a last legal puff in tapas bars and restaurants across Spain on Sunday as one of Europe's strictest anti-tobacco laws came into force.

Flood waters swept through vast areas of northeastern Australia in a disaster one official said was of "biblical proportions".

Brazil's hugely popular President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is to step down in a lavish ceremony ushering in his successor and protegee, Dilma Rousseff.