East Asia

"We suspected drugs," Panamanian President Martinelli said, but "found containers we suspect contain sophisticated missile equipment". Pyongyang is under an embargo for illegal nuclear tests, and cannot import or export weapons.

The storm killed two people in Taiwan and is causing damage worth millions of dollars. Currently it is over the provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang: authorities have evacuated the population, canceled flights and grounded more than 31 thousand boats. The area is under military command with more than 6 thousand soldiers deployed for rescue operations.

Luxury fashion brand Gucci chooses Sendaihira traditional silk factory to produce bags of the highest quality. Proceeds from the sales will be donated for the reconstruction of Sendai, which was hit by the 2011earthquake.

The child was identified only after the picture was posted on the internet and shared by thousands of users. Now along with her father, who is mentally disabled, she has been sent back to her native village where, however, there is no help available "because they do not have papers." Experts denounce the ineffectiveness of child protection laws.

The musician was the first pianist of the Pyongyang Symphony Orchestra, but fled after realizing that North Korea "is the only place in the world where art is exploited for repression." Engaged in the battle for human rights in his country of origin, he performs "to show that our people do not hate each other."

The National Bureau of Statistics says that the indices "are within the preset objectives." But economists and institutions are pushing for a change in the economic model, based on the exploitation of cheap labor, and on exports. The real estate bubble reaches bursting point.

The government publishes data on new HIV infections, which have tripled in 10 years. Although the absolute numbers remain low, fortunately, civil society and the Church are launching the "zero tolerance" towards risk behaviour.

The German branch of the Roman Catholic organization, thanks to donations from Europe and from South Korea, has already immunized more than 430,000 minors to preserve them from the Japanese strain of the disease. By the end of the year about 3.2 million will have been vaccinated in the southern areas of the country.

The Government of the Western Province of Xinjiang has placed mosques under monitoring and prohibited groups of study and prayer. After the invitation to lunch, charges of "premeditated offenses" when they do not eat. Activists denounce: "these policies are new fuel to the fire".

On the sidelines of a bilateral meeting, Vietnam's Foreign Minister says New Delhi has the right to explore and develop resources in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea. A trading partnership turns into an economic alliance as India funds Vietnam's energy projects.

The venerable Jangju – one of the most important members of the Jogye Order, the largest and most important Buddhist denomination in the country - sounds the alarm: "Some monks are even go to Macau and Las Vegas to gamble. One of us has sold temple land to pay off debts. A cleanout is needed".

Chinese archaeologists and scholars believe they have identified writing dating back to the Neolithic. If confirmed, the discovery would mark a turning point in the history of human writing with artefacts older than those of Mesopotamia.