Nation's teenagers ready for right to vote

Japan is set to take a baby step toward rebalancing the age scales when lawmakers lower the voting age to 18 from its current 20, allowing teenagers into polling booths for the first time.

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Vietnam celebrates 40th anniversary of liberation

Thousands of troops and civilians marched in a huge parade in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday to mark the 40th anniversary of the liberation of South Vietnam and the culmination of the Vietnamese people's long struggle for national reunification.

Teenager rescued five days after quake

A long-absent noise - cheers - rang out in Nepal's capital on Thursday as rescuers pulled a teenager alive from the earthquake rubble he had been trapped in for five days. The joy interrupted a dreary and still fearful day in which thousands worried about aftershocks lined up to board free buses to their rural hometowns.

Baltimore death sparks protests in New York, Boston

Hundreds of people rallied and marched in New York and Boston to protest the death of a Baltimore man who was critically injured in police custody as Philadelphia activists prepared for their own demonstration.

DPRK, ROK furious at lack of apology from Abe

In a rare display of political unity, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea on Thursday both condemned Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for failing to apologise during a US visit for the wartime use of sex slaves.

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Cases to be chosen as guide for judges' tough decisions

Judge Li Xiao always had questions about how to sentence a man who kills another when the victim had also committed a grave error. But thanks to some guidance issued by China's top court, using specific cases to advise grassroots courts, he found an answer.

Steps in selecting a guiding case

1. Departments of the Supreme People's Court, provincial high people's courts and military courts recommend cases they handled to the top court's office specializing in selection.

Antelope habitat is Heritage contender

A field survey on the habitat of the Tibetan antelope in the Hoh Xil area of China's Qinghai province has started, another step toward its 2017 application as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.

Strawberry sales hit by herbicide scare

Agricultural authorities in Beijing are investigating reports that excessive amounts of herbicide residue have been detected in strawberries grown in the capital's suburban areas, and farmers were hit by a slump in sales amid consumer fears.

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