Boko Haram pledges loyalty to IS

Nigeria's home-grown Boko Haram group, newly weakened by a multinational force that has dislodged it from a score of northeastern towns, reportedly pledged formal allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Registration-based IPOs likely this year

The registration-based system for initial public offerings, a key driver of the nation's capital market reform, is likely to be implemented this year and the Shanghai Stock Exchange is getting ready to handle the responsibility, the bourse's Chairman Gui Minjie said on Friday in Beijing.

Pursuit of growth 'won't spark financial crisis'

The nation can achieve its GDP growth target of "around 7 percent" this year without any risk of a systemic financial crisis, said members of the country's top political advisory body on Friday.

Easing seen for property policies

Industry insiders anticipate eased policies covering the realty market after the Government Work Report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday featured a softer tone on the industry.

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Fosun buys stake in Thomas Cook

US ambassador healing after knife attack in Seoul

US Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Mark Lippert was recovering from surgery on Thursday after his face and arm were slashed by a knife-wielding activist opposed to ongoing US-ROK military drills.

PM hints at scaling down search for plane

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Thursday suggested the search for missing Flight MH370 may be scaled back, while expressing hope the jet would be found a year after it vanished.

German graffiti painters sentenced to prison term, caning

A Singapore court sentenced two Germans to nine months in prison and three strokes of the cane on Thursday after they pleaded guilty to breaking into a train depot and spray-painting graffiti on a commuter carriage.

32 bodies found after mine blast

Rescuers found 32 bodies of miners in the Zasyadko mine in eastern Ukraine a day after a blast ripped through the shaft, a rebel official said on Thursday.

Prisoner swap deal for death row pair rejected

Indonesia rejected on Thursday an Australian proposal for a prisoner swap made in an eleventh hour effort to save the lives of two Australian drug smugglers expected to face a firing squad within days.

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ROK anti-graft law gets mixed reviews

A sweeping new anti-corruption law in the Republic of Korea drew mixed reviews on Wednesday, with supporters hailing an overdue offensive on a persistent scourge but critics bemoaning a rushed bill open to abuse.