BEIJING, Nov 18 (AFP) - The website of China's defence ministry has been hacked more than two million times since it was launched three months ago, state media said Wednesday.

BEIJING, Nov 18 (AFP) - Police in southwest China are searching for a man suspected of murdering his parents and four other relatives after escaping from a mental hospital, state media said Wednesday.

JAKARTA, Nov 18 (AFP) - A helicopter belonging to Indonesia's search and rescue organisation crash-landed into the sea Wednesday, injuring five people, an official said.

MANILA, Nov 18 (AFP) - The United Nations on Wednesday nearly doubled its appeal for funds to help the Philippines cope with the effects of back-to-back storms that left over 1,100 people dead and 1.7 million homeless.

SINGAPORE, Nov 18 (AFP) - The Far Eastern Economic Review and its editor have paid over 400,000 Singapore dollars (290,000 US) to settle a defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his father, the magazine's lawyer said Wednesday.

TAIPEI, Nov 18 (AFP) - Taiwanese universities plan to admit Chinese students for the first time next year, an official said Wednesday, as warming ties break down yet another barrier separating the former rivals.

SYDNEY, Nov 18 (AFP) - Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd voiced "concerns" about the Church of Scientology Wednesday after a senator detailed explosive allegations including torture, imprisonment and coerced abortions.

SEOUL, Nov 18 (AFP) - South Korea will disclose the identities of paedophiles on the Internet from next year in a bid to curb rising sex crimes against minors, officials said Wednesday.

MANILA, Nov 18 (AFP) - The United Nations on Wednesday nearly doubled its appeal for funds to help the Philippines cope with the effects of back-to-back storms that left over 1,100 people dead and 1.7 million homeless.

WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (AFP) - NASA and Microsoft launched an interactive website on Tuesday that allows Web surfers to become Mars explorers.