New leader Xi Jinping has urged China to pursue the "Chinese dream" but experts say behind the grandiose words he is single-minded in his aim to bolster Communist Party rule.

New leader Xi Jinping has urged China to pursue the "Chinese dream" but experts say behind the grandiose words he is single-minded in his aim to bolster Communist Party rule.

Australia boosted aid and eased restrictions on defence cooperation with Myanmar as Thein Sein became the southeast Asian country's first head of state to visit Canberra since 1974.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard vowed not to buckle after a fresh poll showed her badly lagging in an election year, insisting she was "a hard bastard" who could take the pressure.

European aerospace giant Airbus will sign Monday what would mark one of its biggest orders ever from Indonesia's Lion Air for more than 200 A320 medium-haul jets, business daily Les Echos reported.

US President Barack Obama will effectively begin to build the global legacy he will leave behind on the first foreign trip of his second term next week to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan.

A Tibetan Buddhist monk has died after setting himself ablaze in China, Western rights groups said, the latest in a string of self-immolations in protest against Chinese rule.

Pakistani politicians on Sunday were deep in consultations over the formation of a caretaker administration to lead the country in the run-up to elections due by mid-May.

Pakistan's government has become the first in history to complete a full term in office, but a raft of key achievements has been overshadowed by mismanagement, economic decline and worsening security.

Nuclear-armed North Korea has a ballistic missile that could hit the United States, the leading lawmaker on the US House of Representatives intelligence committee warned Sunday.

Bank of China chairman Xiao Gang resigned from his post after he was chosen to head China's top securities regulator, reports said late Sunday.

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou was due to leave for the Vatican on Sunday to attend the inauguration mass of Pope Francis in a move that has stoked tensions with China.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Sunday he hoped to meet the Chinese and South Korean leaders soon to improve relations strained by separate territorial rows.

China's new President Xi Jinping will fight for a "great renaissance of the Chinese nation", he said Sunday as the world's most populous country completed its once-in-a-decade power transition.

Bentleys and McLarens could become a more common sight alongside three-wheeled pedicabs and Japanese cars on Jakarta's roads, with European auto giants making a push into the Indonesian market.

Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan on Sunday warned of a "dramatic" hit to the government's bottom line due to commodity price falls, steeling voters for an austere budget in an election year.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on new graduates of Japan's National Defence Academy on Sunday to guard the country against "provocations" as tensions simmer with China over the sovereignty of an island chain.

Sri Lanka is turning its newest international airport, opening Monday, into a tax-free zone to attract aviation-related industries, a top official said.

A former Hong Kong politician sold off part of his rare wine collection for over $6 million, auction house Christie's said on Sunday, after a scandal over a wine cellar at his home was partly blamed for his loss in last year's leadership race.

Residents of a South Korean island closest to the tense sea border with North Korea have shrugged off a warning from Pyongyang urging them to flee ahead of "thunderous attacks", an official said on Sunday.