381-AAP Key defender Ljubo Milicevic will be staying with A-League club Newcastle until the end of the 2010-11 season. The former Socceroo joined the Jets prior to their Asian Champions League campaign in 2009, going on to become a fan favourite in the Hunter Valley. The 29-year-old has rebuilt his career after a disastrous spell with the Melbourne Victory from 2007 to 2008.

405-AFP Thai tourism is taking a battering as the latest gruesome protests in Bangkok have frightened off visitors to the kingdom, better known for its white sands and smiles. Would-be tourists considering massage, temples and spicy food in the Thai capital this week may have been put off by scenes, televised worldwide, of red-clad protesters throwing bottles of their own blood at government offices.

452-BANGKOK, Mar 19, 2010 (IPS) - For exiled journalists working on shortwave radio programming aimed at Burmese and Tibetan listeners, dodging the 'enemy' in the name of freer speech is often a cat-and-mouse game. Seeing their radio frequencies jammed, undertaking clandestine reporting and sourcing, dealing with poor signals and being spied upon are daily fare for the Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and India-based Voice of Tibet (VOT).

129-Asian stock markets turned in a mixed performance Friday, fluctuating as uncertainty over debt-laden Greece weighed on investors.

208-Sensex moves higher; PSU stocks gainAll sectoral indices in green led by pharma, capital goods & PSU stocks. Top 5 picks | Top gainers & losers | Wall St's latest rally flawed | S&P upgrades India to 'stable'

172-The rupee opened slightly weaker on Friday tracking some losses in the euro versus the dollar overseas and lack of clarity on fund flows from a choppy domestic sharemarket.

107-World Bank has approved a record $1.05 billion credit line to help get more children into schools in India.

441-HONG KONG - Asian stock markets turned in a mixed performance Friday, fluctuating as uncertainty over debt-laden Greece weighed on investors. A number of markets were little changed, while oil prices slipped below $82 a barrel and the dollar gained against the yen and weakened against the euro. Investors were unnerved overnight by new signs European indecision and discord were hampering a quicker resolution to Greece's fiscal crisis.

422-WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama dramatically postponed his trip to Indonesia and Australia until June, so he can battle for a historic health reform bill that could shape his legacy. The decision, which will slow Obama's effort to intensify US engagement with the dynamic Asia Pacific region, was forced by the need to woo wavering Democratic lawmakers with a knife-edge vote on the plan expected on Sunday.

361-A TOURIST who spent five days behind bars on drugs charges for bringing lemon-flavoured iced tea into Australia has called for an apology from the officials who arrested her. Wedding planner Maria Silva, 29, from the Philippines, was facing charges of concealing 2.4kg of amphetamine within three containers of iced tea she brought as a gift for a friend.

365-AAP A tourist who spent five days behind bars on drugs charges for bringing lemon-flavoured iced tea into Australia has called for an apology from the officials who arrested her. Wedding planner Maria Silva, 29, from the Philippines, was facing charges of concealing 2.4kg of amphetamine within three containers of iced tea she brought as a gift for a friend.

403-US President Barack Obama dramatically postponed his trip to Indonesia and Australia until June, so he can battle for a historic health reform bill that could shape his legacy. The decision, which will slow Obama's effort to intensify US engagement with the dynamic Asia Pacific region, was forced by the need to woo wavering Democratic lawmakers with a knife-edge vote on the plan expected on Sunday.

401-AFP Socceroos midfielder Richard Garcia has admitted he faces a tense few months to see whether he will be included in Australia coach Pim Verbeek's plans for the World Cup in South Africa. A combination of form, fitness and the insecurity surrounding his club, Hull, means Garcia is the only one of Verbeek's Premier League-based Socceroos who's sweating on his place in the 23-man final squad.

443-HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on Friday, led by Japanese exporters and consumer-related shares, with investor expectations of a steady economic recovery helping markets close in on a sixth straight week of gains. Japan U.S. labor and inflation reports supported a prevailing view that monetary policy will remain growth-friendly and liquidity abundant while confidence builds, helping Wall Street stocks to an eighth day of gains.

427-HONG KONG - Asian stocks rose on Friday, led by Japanese exporters and consumer-related shares, with investor expectations of a steady economic recovery helping markets close in on a sixth straight week of gains. U.S. labor and inflation reports supported a prevailing view that monetary policy will remain growth-friendly and liquidity abundant while confidence builds, helping Wall Street stocks to an eighth day of gains.

192-Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said Thursday that she did not support changing magnet-school admissions requirements to increase diversity, and declared the proposal dead.

192-City school district officials formally acknowledged Thursday that 17-year-old Hao Luu was not connected to a street gang - an allegation that was used to ban him from South Philadelphia High.

472-A Chicago man pleaded guilty to using his Western appearance as a cover while checking out sites for the deadly 2008 Mumbai siege and plotting to kill a Danish cartoonist. The Washington-born son of a former Pakistani diplomat and American woman, David Coleman Headley reportedly befriended Bollywood stars and even dated an actress during his lengthy surveillance trips to India. Headley, 49, began cooperating with investigators immediately after his October arrest.

469-PHILADELPHIA - A woman accused of trolling the Internet as Jihad Jane and agreeing to marry a suspected terrorist and kill a Swedish artist targeted by radical Muslims cooperated with authorities, a congressman said. Colleen LaRose pleaded not guilty Thursday to the four-count indictment at a brief arraignment in federal court in Philadelphia. The hearing marked her first public appearance after six months of detention following her unannounced arrest in October.

404-Suggestions of 'guerrilla broadcasting' as song by 70s rockers The Undertones intrudes into Radio 4 scheduling The battle to save BBC 6 Music may have just turned ugly. Supporters of the threatened digital station, which has been earmarked for closure by BBC bosses, claimed a direct hit on the corporation last night after a three minute segment of a song from 6 Music intruded into Radio 4 scheduling.