A factory building collapses in the Pakistani city of Lahore, with dozens of people including many child workers feared trapped, officials say.

China tells its airlines not to pay charges to the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, aimed at cutting carbon emissions.

A 6.7 magnitude earthquake shakes the central Philippines, killing at least one and causing panic in nearby cities.

Floods continue to threaten Queensland in eastern Australia, with 3,000 evacuated and the town of St George expecting to be worst affected.

The chief executive of Qantas says the airline would be forced to cut services and jobs should pro-Australia airline bills be passed.

Chinese state media defend Beijing's veto of a UN resolution condemning Syria's violent crackdown on protesters, as violence continues across the country.

Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress party's star campaigner in Uttar Pradesh state elections, says brother Rahul is not focused on becoming PM.

Three Tibetans set fire to themselves in China in an anti-Beijing protest, reports say, meaning 19 people have now self-immolated in a year.

At least nine people are killed in a car bomb attack on police headquarters in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, officials say.

Australia's Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd warns Europe faces an "early grave" if it continues to ignore Asia's rise.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will visit China next week to discuss the future of Canada's oil products.

George Esper, who reported on the fall of Saigon for the Associated Press during the last days of the Vietnam war, dies at the age of 79.

Nearly a million migratory birds visit Kashmir's wetlands every year, but this time the severe winter has made it nearly impossible for them to find food.

In Australia thousands of people living in the state of Queensland have been ordered to abandon their homes because of rising floodwaters.

After 100 patients in Pakistan died from taking contaminated heart medicines, the country's pharmaceutical industry is trying to recover from the scandal.

The number of civilians killed and injured in the Afghan conflict has risen for the fifth year in a row, a UN report reveals.

The Chinese government keeps a tight control on the publishing and importation of books, especially those on what it deems sensitive subjects. But in Taiwan, the trade in Chinese language books is thriving.

At the age of 14, Gun Chaikittiwatana is already playing some of the hardest pieces ever written for classical piano.

A ferry has sunk off the eastern coast of Papua New Guinea with around 300 people on board.

Pakistan's Supreme Court is to charge Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani with contempt for failing to reopen corruption cases against the president.

A fireman guides a plane to land at an airport in India after air traffic controllers fail to turn up for work, it emerges.

A zoo in Kazakhstan, where overnight temperatures have dipped to nearly -40C, is giving monkeys a wine concoction as a remedy against flu.

A bus company owner in Australia thanks loyal employees by giving them $16m (£10m) cash after the firm is sold to another company.

Burma reveals it owes more than $11bn in foreign debt - a figure much higher than the previous estimate.

A pig's head is found outside a mosque in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur - the third such incident in the country in a month, police say.

Pakistan's Supreme Court is to charge Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani with contempt for failing to reopen corruption cases against the president.

India's Supreme Court cancels 122 telecommunications licences awarded to several companies, amid an ongoing corruption scandal.

Amnesty International demands the release of a man held by South Korean authorities after re-tweeting a North Korean "propaganda" message.

South Korea's ruling party decides to change its name, in an apparent bid to combat voter alienation ahead of elections in April.

Premier Wen Jiabao says Beijing is "considering" contributing to European rescue funds, during a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

An Australian biology professor causes a row by suggesting his country should import elephants and even Komodo dragons into its wild interior.

Seven England players and Ireland batsman Kevin O'Brien fail to attract bids at the Indian Premier League auction.

Morning newspaper round-up: Premier Wen Jiabao's comments on democracy are the top story on Lantern Festival day, followed by Syria and the UN.

China's box office takings surged 29% to $2.1bn in 2011 and are forecast to rise by around 20% this year, new figures show.

Chinese mining group Zijin says it expects a 20% jump in profits for 2011 boosted by higher gold prices during the year.

Messages of support pour in for India cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who is undergoing treatment for cancer in the United States.

A woman suspected of being the mother of a battered toddler whose plight has gripped India is brought to Delhi for DNA tests and questioning.

India's Supreme Court questions the government's decisions in its row with the army chief over his retirement age.

The search continues for more than 100 people still missing after a ferry sank off Papua New Guinea, amid fears they were trapped inside.

Severe flooding threatens parts of New South Wales and Queensland in eastern Australia, with towns cut off and thousands of residents evacuated.

Six people are under arrest following an early morning police raid at the Occupy Sydney protest site in Australia's largest city.

The US will seek to wind down combat operations in Afghanistan in 2013, the defence secretary says, more than a year before a deadline for withdrawal.

Pakistan's foreign minister says her country has no hidden agenda in Afghanistan, as a leaked Nato report accuses Islamabad of links to the Taliban.

About 200 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees tell the BBC that they are enduring miserable conditions in the West African state of Togo.

Key facts, figures and dates.

Provides an overview of Australia, including key facts and events

Key facts, figures and dates

Key facts, figures and dates.

Provides an overview of Brunei, including key events and facts.

Key facts, figures and dates

Provides an overview of Cambodia, including key events and facts.

Provides an overview of China, including key events and facts.

Provides an overview of the Cook Islands, including key events and facts.

Provides an overview of East Timor, including key events and facts about this former Portuguese colony which won independence from Indonesia in a long civil war

Provides an overview of Fiji, including key events and facts about this tropical island and ethnically diverse former British colony in the Pacific.

Provides an overview of French Polynesia, including key events and facts

An overview of Guam, including key facts, political leaders and the media

An overview of Hong Kong, including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

Details of the key facts, figures and dates.

Provides an overview of Indonesia, including key events and facts about the world's fourth most populous nation

Provides an overview of Japan, including key events and facts about this earthquake-prone country on the western rim of the Pacific.

An overview of the former princely state of Kashmir, which has been partitioned between India and Pakistan since 1947.

Provides an overview of Kazakhstan, including key events and facts about this vast, mineral-rich Central Asian country.

Provides an overview of Kiribati including key events and facts.

Provides an overview of North Korea, including key events and facts.

Provides an overview of South Korea, including key events and facts

Provides overview, key facts and events, timelines and leader profiles along with current news about Kyrgyzstan

Provides an overview of Laos, including key events and facts

An overview of Macau, including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

Provides an overview of Malaysia, including key events and facts.

Key facts, figures and dates.

Provides an overview of the Marshall Islands, including key events and facts.

Provides an overview of Micronesia, including key events and facts

Summary: Provides an overview of Mongolia, including key events and facts.

Provides an overview of Nauru, including key events and facts about the world's smallest republic

Key facts, figures and dates.

An overview of the Pacific territory, including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

Provides an overview of New Zealand, including key events and facts

A profile of the South Pacific island - the world's smallest self-governing territory

A profile of the US commonwealth territory in the north-west Pacific

Key facts, figures and dates.

Provides an overview of Palau , including key events and facts about this tropical island nation in the northern Pacific.

Provides an overview of Papua New Guinea, including key events and facts

Provides an overview of Philippines, including key events and facts.

Provides an overview of Samoa, including key events and facts.

Provides an overview of Singapore, including key events and facts.

Key facts, figures and dates.

Provides an overview of Solomon Islands, including key events and facts.

Provides key background, including facts and figures

Provides an overview of Tajikistan, including key events and facts about this mountainous Central Asian republic.

Provides an overview of Thailand, including key events and facts.

An overview of Tibet, including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

A profile of the three-island territory in the South Pacific

Provides an overview of Tonga, including key events and facts.

Overview of Turkmenistan, including key events and facts.

Provides an overview of Tuvalu, including key events and facts.

Provides an overview of Uzbekistan, including key events and facts about the country.

Provides an overview of Vanuatu, including key events and facts

Provides an overview of Vietnam, including key events and facts about this east Asian country

An overview of Xinjiang, including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

Olympus shareholders get the chance to question management

Economy grows at its fastest pace in 15 years during 2011

Searching for witches on a tropical island

Poll fight for women's rights in India's badlands

Rolls-Royce starts up engine production in Singapore

The exiles still in temporary housing after 50 years in France

Why Taliban are so strong in Afghanistan 10 years on