Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Wednesday said the root of Europe's debt woes lay partly in the irresponsible parenting of Germany and France during the bloc's infancy.

Monti told reporters in

Asian shares drifted lower on Wednesday, after rallying the previous session on hopes for further stimulus from the Federal Reserve, as investors waited for more clues on the state of the U.S. economy

A 6.0-magnitude quake struck northeastern Japan on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, but Japanese authorities noted that no tsunami warning was issued.

The quake hit at 8:00 pm (1100 GMT), off

Another Japanese nuclear reactor was taken off line for maintenance on Monday, leaving the country with only one of its 54 reactors operational following last year's devastating earthquake and tsunami

Japan's defence minister on Friday ordered missile defence systems to be prepared so the military could shoot down a North Korean long-range rocket if it threatened the country.

"I have ordered offic

Japanese firms are looking at building several geothermal plants in a volcanic zone in the area worst hit by last year's nuclear disaster, a project that could gain momentum after the government eased

Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony said on Thursday it was selling its chemical products division to the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) as part of a massive overhaul of its business.

The euro on Wednesday rose to its highest level in nearly five months against the yen and also gained ground on the dollar in Asian trade, as worries over the eurozone's debt crisis eased.

The euro f

The dollar moved narrowly against the yen and euro in Asia on Monday amid a mixed bag of US data that failed to give a clear picture of the health of the world's biggest economy.

The dollar fetched 8

Japan's nuclear safety watchdog on Monday said a leakage of about 1.5 tonnes of low-level radioactive water occurred at a plant of Japan Atomic Power Co. in the village of Tokai in Ibaraki Prefecture.