AP - An Indonesian volcano that was quiet for four centuries shot a new, powerful burst of hot ash more than 10,000 feet (three kilometers) in the air Friday, sending frightened residents fleeing to safety for the second time this week.
AP - Japan approved fresh economic sanctions against Iran on Friday after the United Nations asked Tokyo to tighten restrictions against Tehran over its controversial nuclear enrichment program, an official said.
AP - South Korea and the United States will hold joint anti-submarine exercises in another show of force against North Korea, officials said Friday, as Pyongyang renewed threats against the drills.
AP - A French skyscraper climber nicknamed "Spiderman" pleaded not guilty Friday to charges related to his bare-handed climb up a 57-story building in downtown Sydney.
AP - A Malaysian man pleaded guilty to wildlife smuggling after his bag bursting with 95 live boa constrictors broke open on a luggage conveyer belt at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, an official said Friday.
AP - Census takers counting China's more than 1.3 billion people already face a daunting task, and it's getting harder for the latest once-a-decade update.
AP - NATO said an airstrike in northern Afghanistan on Thursday killed about a dozen insurgents, but President Hamid Karzai said the victims were campaign workers seeking votes in this month's parliamentary elections.
AP - The death toll from Typhoon Kompasu, which battered the Korean peninsula with strong winds and heavy rains, rose to five in South Korea, an official said Friday.
AP - China called Thursday for a compromise among the parties to talks aimed at disarming North Korea's nuclear program in order to get the negotiations back on track.