Japan starts building ice wall under reactors

Japan started work on an underground ice wall on Monday at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, freezing the soil under broken reactors to slow the buildup of radioactive water, officials said.

IN BRIEF (Page 10)

Palestinian unity govt sworn in

A long-awaited Palestinian unity government was sworn in before President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday after a landmark reconciliation deal with the Islamist group Hamas that has infuriated Israel.

Jewish museum shooter spent one year in Syria

A suspected French jihadist who spent time in Syria has been arrested over the shooting deaths of three people at a Belgian Jewish museum, prosecutors said on Sunday, crystallizing fears that European radicals will parlay their experiences in Syria into terrorism back home.

Taliban prisoner swap stirs debate in US

Critics say released Afghans could 'have ability to rejoin fight'

Karzai fumes over deal

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is angry at being kept in the dark over a deal to free five Taliban leaders in exchange for captured US soldier Bowe Bergdahl, a senior source said on Monday.

Dragon boat delights

A look at the origins and traditions of Duanwu Festival and how people celebrate across the country

Specialist bookstores respond to expat tastes

Yandi Mbeki (pseudonym), the 39 year-old wife of a diplomat from South Africa, Googled "English bookshops in Beijing" on her arrival in the city, but found no really helpful guides. For the first five months of her stay, she went to a small community bookshop near her home and resorted to amazon.cn to find textbooks in English.

Glance

Hotspots for foreign booklovers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Nanjing

Three-man crew docks successfully at space lab

Russian, US astronauts hug when asked about tensions over Ukraine

Angelou thrived despite harsh life challenges

Undaunted writer, actress, singer, dancer dies at 86, an artistic force

Study makes 'pretty grim' find: 30% of world is fat

Almost a third of the world is now fat, and no country has been able to curb obesity rates in the last three decades, according to a new global analysis.