CHINA

The summer sports lifted the host nation's mood as Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis, and David Weir were cheered on in the centre of the city.

Prince Harry has been asked by the British Foreign Office to visit China in an effort to improve diplomatic relations between the two countries, which have suffered over the U.K.'s relationship with the Dalai Lama and the murder of a British national by the wife of a prominent Chinese politician.

The public absence of key officials breeds rumor in China, where transparency at the top is scant and netizens are quick to throw out scenarios.

Venerable forecaster IDC predicted global spending on information technology this year will rise six percent to about $3.6 trillion, despite sluggishness in sector like PCs. The market also includes telecommunications services.

Confrontations in karaoke parlors have culminated in murderous violence in parts of Asia.

Two bombs exploded near army compounds in the Syrian city of Aleppo Sunday night, killing more than 20 people and injuring around 60 of President Bashar al-Assad's forces and residents.

Asian stock markets mostly ended higher Monday on hopes that major economies including the U.S and China would soon announce a new round of stimulus measures to spur growth.

Crude oil futures slightly declined Monday as weak economic reports from the U.S. and China weighed on the sentiment.

Most of the Asian markets rose Monday as investors remained hopeful that stimulus measures would soon be announced by China to boost its economy as its industrial production growth rate slowed down in August compared to previous month.

China reported a trade surplus of $26.66 billion in August amid the slower-than-expected growth in exports and imports, raising concern that the world's second largest economy isn't doing enough to stimulate the economy and avert a slowdown.

Hong Kong residents went to the ballot box on Sunday, and early exit poll results show that pro-democracy, anti-Beijing candidates are likely to win the majority of generally-elected seats.

China's factories ran at their slowest rate for 39 months in August, the government reported Sunday.

Chances are there few personalities as creative, disruptive and rich in the technology sector as Jeff Bezos, the founding CEO of Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), the No. 1 e-retailer. He's put Borders Books out of business and could even put Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) in its place.

From Daimler trucks in Germany to tractors in Brazil, Rohit Saboo's Indian automotive parts are making their way into vehicles all over the world. But as he scales up exports to compensate for slowing growth at home, a lack of spending on innovation is undermining his sales pitch.

Even before Apple (AAPL) could unveil its next-generation iPhone, the Chinese seem to be in a tearing hurry as a company by name GooPhone has released a new phone GooPhone I5 that bears strong resemblances to leaked images of the next-generation iPhone, often referred to as iPhone 5.

A slowdown in exports, a slump in the earnings of domestic companies and surging food prices cast downward pressure on the world's second-biggest economy in August as the China's National Bureau of Statistics reported Sunday that the Consumer Price Index rose 2 percent.

China's factories ran at their slowest rate for 39 months in August while a double-digit rise in fixed asset investment showed that infrastructure spending remained key to economic growth.

Asian stock markets ended with gains last week after the European Central Bank (ECB) announced plan to reduce borrowing costs of struggling euro zone countries’ and news that Chinese regulators had approved another batch of infrastructure projects, which should stabilize and restore growth in the world's second largest economy. Market participants’ are likely to focus on Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) interest rate decision on September 13th.

The Yangtze River, the third longest river in the world, sometimes called the "golden watercourse," mysteriously blushed for the first time on Sept. 6. Residents in the surrounding area near the city of Chongqing, where the Yangtze connects to the Jialin River, literally stopped in their tracks when they noticed their once golden river had turned a shocking shade of red. For photos of the once golden river, check out the pictures in the photo gallery.

The death toll in a series of earthquakes that struck southwest China's Yunnan and Guizhou provinces Friday has mounted to 80. Over 730 people suffered injuries.

Asian stock markets posted their first weekly gains in three weeks as the European Central Bank's (ECB) announcement about its widely anticipated bond-buying program, and Chinese stimulus measures, triggered a rally on Friday.