18 March 2014 Last updated at 03:55 ET

Afghan suicide bombing at market leaves many dead

A suicide bomb attack in northern Afghanistan has killed at least 15 people including women and children, officials have told the BBC.

Another 27 were wounded in the attack in Maymana, the capital of Faryab province, provincial governor Mohammadullah Batash said.

The bomber is believed to have detonated his explosives near the entrance to a busy market.

The attack comes as Afghans prepare to hold presidential elections on 5 April.

Bangladesh opposition's Khaleda Zia faces corruption trial

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and other leading opposition members are to go on trial next month on corruption charges.

Ms Zia and her associates deny embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in charitable funds.

The court in Dhaka set 21 April as the start of the trial after rejecting her lawyers' pleas for more time.

The trial is likely to stoke tension in Bangladesh after Ms Zia's BNP boycotted disputed elections in January.

20 March 2014 Last updated at 13:27 ET

Tamil doctor 'was pressured to recant war reports by Sri Lanka'

By Saroj PathiranaBBC Sinhala Service

A doctor who worked in Sri Lanka's combat zone in the final days of the civil war has told the BBC he was forced by the government to recant his claims about casualty figures.

Sri Lanka's army defeated the Tamil Tiger separatist rebels in May 2009.

Dr T Varatharaja was one of five doctors who spoke regularly to the media during the war, giving far higher casualty figures than the government.

The doctors were arrested and later said the rebels had forced them to lie.

New radioactive leak at Fukushima nuclear plant

News of the leak at the site further undercut public trust in a utility rocked by a string of mishaps

Highly contaminated water leaked from a storage tank is seen at the H6 area at the Daiichi nuclear power plant.

5:46AM GMT 20 Feb 2014

One hundred tonnes of highly contaminated water has leaked out of a tank at the Fukushima nuclear plant, the worst incident since last August, when a series of radioactive water leaks sparked international alarm.

Tokyo Electric Power Co told reporters the latest leak was unlikely to have reached the ocean. But news of the leak at the site, devastated by a 2011 earthquake and tsunami, further undercut public trust in a utility rocked by a string of mishaps and disclosure issues.

"We are taking various measures, but we apologise for worrying the public with such a leak," said Masayuki Ono, a spokesman for the utility, also known as Tepco.

"Water is unlikely to have reached the ocean as there is no drainage in that tank area."

Tepco said water overflowed from a large storage tank at the site late on Wednesday after a valve had remained open by mistake and sent too much contaminated water into a separate holding area.

Japan moves close to beating 15 years of falling prices

BUSINESS

27 December 2013 Last updated at 02:01 ET

Japanese consumer prices have risen at the fastest pace in five years, showing government policies to end its deflation problem may be taking effect.

Core inflation excluding food rose 1.2% in November from the previous year, surpassing market expectations.

Japan is now more than half-way towards meeting the central bank's goal of achieving 2% inflation by about 2015.

This has been due to a massive monetary stimulus policy aimed at weakening the currency and spurring more spending.

Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said earlier this week that policymakers have been looking to break the country's "deflation equilibrium".

Japan has faced nearly two decades of stagnant growth and falling prices because companies and households have held off on spending, based on the assumption that prices will not rise.

"The BOJ's monetary policy differs from that of other central banks in that it focuses on changing public expectations," Mr Kuroda said on Wednesday.

"We're seeing broad improvements in the economy, markets, public sentiment. This is the best opportunity to end deflation."

China official Yang Gang investigated for corruption

CHINA

27 December 2013 Last updated at 05:06 ET

China is investigating a top political adviser and former deputy Communist Party chief in Xinjiang for corruption, the party's discipline watchdog says.

Yang Gang, who is currently deputy director of an official economic committee, is being probed for "serious disciplinary and legal violations".

The term is used to refer to corruption by Communist Party members. Mr Yang has not commented publicly on the claims.

President Xi Jinping has vowed to eradicate corruption in China.

Mr Yang is believed to be the 17th senior official to be investigated since China's once-in-a-decade leadership handover in November 2012, which saw Xi Jinping confirmed as China's leader.

Mr Xi has warned that corruption could topple the Communist Party, and launched an anti-corruption campaign he said would target both "tigers and flies" - high and low ranking officials in the government.

There have also been bans on new government buildings and lavish banquets amongst officials.

Internet users are also increasingly pursuing those perceived as having done wrong through online exposes and campaigns.

But there have been signs that this has worried the authorities, with a number of journalists arrested for "rumour-mongering" and a high-profile blogger arrested.