A man has been mauled to death by a tiger after he entered its enclosure at a zoo in eastern China.

The tiger was then shot dead by a special forces unit from the local police, in the Sunday incident at the Youngor Zoo in the city of Ningbo.

Birth rates in China rose to their highest level since 2000 last year, despite a fall in the number of women of childbearing age, say officials.

The increase follows the relaxation of China's strict one-child policy a year ago.

The Iraqi army says it is preparing military operations to retake western Mosul, the last urban stronghold in Iraq of so-called Islamic State. The preparations follow a recent offensive which officials said on Wednesday had recaptured nearly all of the city's east.

At least 19 people have died in India's eastern state of Bihar after a boat sank in the Ganges River, according to police.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he would consider declaring martial law if the drug problem deteriorates, adding "no one can stop" him from making such a decision.

Turkey's president says a full withdrawal of its forces from divided Cyprus is "out of the question" unless Greece also agrees to pull out troops. Hopes of reunification have been raised after talks between Turkish and Greek Cypriots in Geneva this week.

Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong has been questioned at the prosecutor's office in Seoul as a suspect in South Korea's biggest political corruption scandal. The firm is accused of giving donations to several non-profit foundations operated by Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of President Park Geun-hye.

Security forces in the Philippines have captured 40 of the 158 inmates who escaped from a prison in the country's south, in a brazen jailbreak blamed on Muslim rebels.

China has launched a direct rail freight service to London, as part of its drive to develop trade and investment ties with Europe.

China Railway already runs services between China and other European cities, including Madrid and Hamburg.

The daughter of the woman at the centre of a presidential scandal in South Korea has been arrested in Denmark, say South Korean police. Chung Yoo-ra, 20, is accused of staying in the country illegally, they said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been quoted as saying in a New Year's message that his country's development of banned intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) is in "final stages".

At least 23 people have been killed and 17 others wounded when a ferry caught fire near the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, an official said.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye has denied allegations that she conspired with a longtime friend to extort money and favours from companies, accusing her opponents of framing her.

A typhoon packing gusts of wind up to 255km/h (158mph) has made landfall in the eastern Philippines.

South Korean authorities have culled more than 22.5 million poultry this winter, according to an official, as part of intense efforts to contain its worst bird flu epidemic in recent history that has affected farms across the country.