Princess Aiko, granddaughter of the Japanese emperor, has missed several days of classes because of bullying by boys at her elementary school, according to a spokesman for the royal family. The news provided a rare glimpse into the private affairs of the world's oldest hereditary monarchy, which usually abides by strict, formal protocols and is tight-lipped about personal matters.

This is a picture of a homeless guy who has been roaming the streets of Ningbo, Zhejiang province in China. With his tattered clothes, lost gaze and dirty locks, he is now one of the most searched-for figures on the Internet, reported Mingpao.com.

Two Beijing guys, Liu Chang and Gu Yue spent 3 and a half months hitch-hiking over 16,000 km across 13 countries to see one of the guy's girl friend in Berlin, Germany. Altogether they took 88 hitch rides, including tricycle, tractor and carriage. Their journey was dubbed "the most romantic hitch-hike in history" by netizens.

Japanese speed skater Miho Takagi, just 15 years old and still a student, is currently the eye-catching athlete at the Richmond Olympic Oval. The super talent made quite the entrance on the ice rink in a black and gold coloured suit - with an unusual detail which is causing quite a stir...

"Amour," the French word for love, has been voted the most romantic word in the world in a pre-Valentine's Day survey of language experts, while in the same poll, linguists were asked to pick the least romantic-sounding way to say, "I love you" in any language, the winner was Japan's "watakushi-wa anata-wo ai shimasu."

There are seven colors in a rainbow and 64 in a box of crayons. So why, some people in Atlanta are asking, did the transit authority have to pick yellow? "Hotlanta" is living up to its name this winter as Asian-Americans and the city's transit officials debate the decision to rename a train route into the heart of the city's Asian community. It used to be called "Doraville," now it's the "yellow line."

A new exhibition at the Merseyside Maritime Museum in Liverpool this month includes almost 150 photographs of China taken by the renowned Scottish photographer and travel writer John Thomson. Here is a preview of some of the images on show. A Manchu bride in Qing dynasty

Did you know that one of the tallest linebackers in the NFL is named Scott Fujita? He's a white guy, when he was just 6 months old, he was adopted by a third generation Japanese-American father, Rodney Fujita, who was born inside an Arizona internment camp during World War II.

Imitation is not the sincerest form of flattery for Jessica Alba. The Hollywood beauty says she is distressed at reports a woman in China plans to undergo extensive plastic surgery to look like her, in an attempt to win her ex-boyfriend back.

Chinese girl Xiaoqing, whose boyfriend insisted she wore her make-up like actress Jessica Alba is now planning the drastic step of changing her entire face to look like the Hollywood star. Desperate to win back her obsessed boyfriend, who had insisted she wore a blonde wig and copy Miss Alba in every way, the girl, 21, is prepared to spend a fortune on the very physical make-over.