China's railways carried a record 221 million passengers during a 40-day Spring Festival travel rush period that ended on Sunday, the Ministry of Railways said Monday.

China's holdings of long-term U. S. Treasury securities totaled 1.16 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of December 2010, according to an annual revision report released by the U.S. Treasury Department on Monday.

Tunisia's prime minister Mohammed Ghannouchi resigned on Sunday and was replaced by Beji Caid Essebsi, a former minister, after anti-government protests left five people dead over the weekend.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged the global body's Security Council to take "decisive action" over the Libya crisis.

Japan has agreed to an “open skies” arrangement with Malaysia, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said on February 25.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has asked border guards close to Thailand, especially in the area adjacent to Preah Vihear temple, to stay alert but “exercise extreme restraint”.

In a packed General Assembly hall, the public repeatedly chanted "Women's rights are human rights" to officially launch UN Women, the newest UN organ fabricated to advocate gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Twenty-seven people were killed in renewed clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and rebel groups in Sudan's Darfur region on Thursday, said a statement issued by the SAF on Friday.

Thailand and Cambodia agreed on February 22 to accept Indonesian observers and avoid further clashes over a border dispute. 

A strong earthquake killed at least 65 people in New Zealand's second-biggest city of Christchurch with more casualties expected as desperate rescuers picked through rubble to find people trapped in toppled buildings.

When former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, Israel found itself in an embarrassed situation.

Ratings agency Moody's on Tuesday said it had changed its outlook on the government of Japan's Aa2 rating to 'negative' from 'stable' on concerns current policy may not be adequate to contain huge debt.

Multiple fatalities had been reported in New Zealand's Christchurch following a major 6.3 magnitude earthquake, including two buses that were crushed by falling debris, police said.

Deputy trade ministers from Taiwan and China will meet on the island this week in what is being hailed as a significant step forward in the normalisation of ties between the former rivals.

The value of China's currency, the yuan, hit a record high for the fifth straight trading day Monday with the central parity rate at 6.5705 yuan per U.S. dollar, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading system.