BANGKOK, Thailand

Two anteaters at Bangkok's main zoo have been given a three-month holiday to recover after violent clashes between police and protesters erupted near their enclosure. The other animals in the park, however, had been there a long time and are used to Thailand's shaky political situation, with noisy protests often held in the Dusit government district, zoo officials said. Two people were killed and more than 400 injured when the anti-government protesters tried to surround parliament, prompting police to try and break up the rally with tear gas.

DILI, East Timor

A Filipino student expelled from his school for misbehavior killed the school principal in the southern Philippines. The suspect, who is a minor, allegedly waited for the victim outside the school gate in Surralah town in South Cotabato province, 980 kilometres south of Manila, and shot him once on the chest. The suspect was a third year high school student but was expelled from the school last month due to several cases of serious misbehaviour, including involvement in two previous shooting incidents.

BEIJING, China

The number of people sickened by contaminated water in southern China has risen to 450, more than double the previously reported figure, state media said. The residents of two villages in southern Guangxi province began showing symptoms of poisoning last week, including swelling in the face and eyes, vomiting and blurred eyesight, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. An investigation indicated the villagers' water source had been polluted by industrial waste. China's double-digit economic growth has come with a surge in toxic industries. The country has 16 of the world's 20 most heavily polluted cities.

TOKYO, Japan

Prosecutors have indicted a man for killing seven people in a stabbing spree in one of Japan's worst crimes in years after deciding he was fit for trial, a court official said. The indictment means Kato will likely face the death penaltyT. Kato was arrested on the spot on June 8 after he rammed a rented truck into pedestrians in the crowded Akihabara district and then got out to randomly slash people. Seven people died and ten others were injured. Japan is the only major industrial nation other than the United States to administer the death penalty, which enjoys widespread public support.

NEW DELHI, India

India's parliament speaker has cancelled a planned trip to Britain after being informed he would be frisked like everybody else. The ability to avoid airport security checks is seen as a status symbol in India and there are frequent controversies over who should be included on a special exemption list that is posted at airports across the country.The Hindustan Times quoted the speaker as saying: "It's a matter of principle for me. I cancelled the trip because it involves the honour of the constitutional office I hold."

HONG KONG

Hong Kong's city-wide anti-smoking drive is facing a serious setback after three popular bars won a court ruling that may allow them to let smokers back indoors. The bars successfully argued in the High Court that health inspectors were wrong to ban them from allowing smokers inside on the basis that they make most of their money from serving food not drink. Currently, only bars that make most of their money from drink sales are allowed to admit smokers while those that make most of their money from serving food are not.Smoking was banned in all Hong Kong restaurants and bars at the beginning of 2007 but nightclubs and bars making most of their revenue through drink sales were exempted until June 2009.

KATHMANDU, Nepal

A small airplane crashed and caught fire as it tried to land in foggy weather at a tiny mountain airport near Mount Everest, killing 18 people, including 16 tourists from Germany, Australia and Nepal. The 19-seat Yeti Airlines plane, which had taken off from the capital Kathmandu , snagged its wheels on a security fence during its landing at Lukla airport, about 60km from Mount Everest. The tiny Lukla airport, little more than a runway carved into the side of the Himalayas at an altitude of 2 800m, is famous among travellers for its dramatic scenery, stomach-churning landings - and occasional crashes. The runway ends in a steep drop of a few hundred metres.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia

A Filipino refugee living in Malaysia's eastern state of Sabah blew up himself and his wife with explosives, leaving their 13 children orphaned, a news report said. Babin Isang, 35, Babin, who had ordered his children to leave the house, was heard shouting at his wife when the blast went off, the Star daily said. Hiw wife was believed to have threatened to divorce her husband, the report said. None of the children, aged between three and 20, were hurt, the report said.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

Sir Elton John, has told a US magazine he is planning a visit to Cambodia. Sir Elton and partner David Furnish have raised more than 150 million dollars for projects to assist people living with the virus through the Elton John Aids Foundation since it was set up in 1992. Although Cambodia has reduced its rate of HIV/AIDS in recent years, it still has one of the highest in the region and people with the virus continue to face stigma and discrimination.

TAIPEI, Taiwan

A species of rare land crab has been spotted in Taiwan, the third time that the species has been observed by scientists. The sesarmid crab, named labuanium trapezoideum, was spotted in the Kenting National Park in south Taiwan, the Taipei Times reported. The park's biologists said that the species was first spotted on Andaman Island in the Indian Ocean in 1837 and biologists did not find another such crab until 166 years later. Park biologists said the finding indicates the species still exists, and there may be a new habitat inside the national park, the newspaper reported.

HANOI, Vietnam

Vietnamese authorities have temporarily barred two pop singers from performing after they sang politically sensitive songs while on tour in the US without government approval. The two singers from Ho Chi Minh City, Bao Yen and Kim Tieu Long, have been suspended from performing in Vietnam for violating the regulations of cultural authorities. The songs performed at the concerts included some dealing with the lives of Vietnamese refugees who fled the country after it was unified under Communist rule in 1975, long a taboo subject inside Vietnam. All Vietnamese singers who want to travel overseas to perform must ask permission from local authorities and have all songs to be performed approved in advance.