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He Pingping seen beside the world's tallest man, Sultan K�sen. Picture: AFP/ Getty Images

World's shortest man dies from heart problems at 21

THE world's shortest man, He Pingping, has died at the age of 21, a 'Guinness World Records' spokesman said yesterday.

Troubled Toyota forced to cut Prius output

By Robert Lea in London

THE worldwide collapse in sales of Toyota's bestselling Prius has forced the Japanese car giant to make a significant cut in production.

Thailand's leader rejects protesters' call to quit

By Andrew Buncombe in Bangkok

THAILAND'S prime minister has decided to call the bluff of tens of thousands of red-shirted protesters who have swamped the streets of Bangkok demanding the dissolution of parliament.

Parents win right to have child sterilised

By Bonnie Malkin in Sydney

The parents of a profoundly disabled 11-year-old girl have won a court case to have her sterilised, prompting claims that the ruling amounted to an "abuse of human rights".

China builds railway to Europe

By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai

Railway passengers will be able to travel from King's Cross in London to Beijing in just two days on a journey that would be almost as fast as by aeroplane under ambitious new plans from the Chinese.

Rebel nun named Australia's first saint

POPE Benedict XVI approved sainthood for Mother Mary MacKillop yesterday, making the woman known for her work among the needy Australia's first saint.

India blames Pakistani militants for bomb blast

By Rituparna Bhowmik in Pune

INDIAN police were investigating the possible involvement of Pakistan-based militants in a bomb blast that killed nine.

Hackers hit Australian PM with porn attack

By Kathy Marks in Sydney

AUSTRALIA IS poised to introduce some of the most severe internet restrictions in the democratic world -- and the hackers don't like it. Yesterday, they shut down government websites in co-ordinated attacks and plastered the prime minister's home page with pornography.

Huge army of 'spies' keeps tabs on Chinese

By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai

A Chinese police chief uses more than 12,000 spies to inform on a remote county of just 400,000 people.

'My Way' killings -- now, the end is near

By Andrew Buncombe in Tokyo

IN KARAOKE bars around the world, few songs are belted out with more relish than the Frank Sinatra standard 'My Way'. Except, that is, in the Philippines.