Mobile phone users in China will need to limit the number of Chinese New Year text messages they send during Spring Festival as part of a crackdown on spam messages.

It is natural but futile to examine the face of Frances Inglis for signs of the torment that led her to give her severely disabled son a fatal injection of heroin. Her blank, straightforward gaze and compressed lips tell us nothing. They are the features of a resigned, slightly careworn 57-year-old woman who has been asked to pose for an official photograph, knowing the camera will not be kind.

Visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of the bald eagles on Camano Island in Washington State's Puget Sound are more likely to see a different bird in the sky: a police chopper skimming the cedar forests in search of an outlaw. Colton Harris-Moore, a gangly 18-year-old with furtive eyes and a dimpled chin, has been on police blotters since he was accused of stealing a bike at the age of 8. Since then, he is suspected of having committed nearly 100 burglaries in Washington, Idaho and Canada. Police allege that he graduated from bikes to cars, then to speedboats. Lately, he is suspected of stealing three small aircraft — all the more impressive given that he has never taken a single flying lesson.

Virtual entertainment sites let you chat, dress-up, feed the dog and shop in a way that feels real. In fact, it's all just a mirage, a lot of pixels on a web page, but these little pixels are the gateway to a whole universe – of real-world trouble.

In late August, at the 12th session of the 11th Standing Committee of Heilongjiang Provincial People’s Congress regulations regarding the protection of minors were amended with the addition of provisions relevant to so-called “puppy love”. The provisions state that: “Parents or other guardians should criticize, educate, stop and correct minors.”

There seems to be no end to the problems of Zhou Senfeng, believed to be China's youngest mayor. On June 21 he was elected mayor of Xiangfan City, Hubei Province. However, his elevation mayoral office has sparked heated debate, both in cyberspace and traditional media, with questions being raised over his family background, the fairness of the election, and even the honesty of his relations.

China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Centre (CIIRC) has strongly criticized the well-known search engine in response to a large amount of pornographic content on Google China. In addition, relevant authorities have also punished Google China, instructing the search engine to suspend its foreign web search and associative-word search functions and to purge pornographic and vulgar content immediately and thoroughly.

Many women taking the crowded train in Tokyo opt for women-only carriages during the rush hour to avoid gropers.

The "Green Dam" filtering software that the Chinese government is reportedly requiring for all PCs sold there contains pirated code, a U.S. software manufacturer claimed on June 12.

RAO: Talk to me about what the experience has been like for you of coming back to Hong Kong.

SUN Jianxin, 21, was just getting out of his Volkswagen car as his professor walked by on the way to the teaching building.