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Testing times (+recipes)
A trip to northern Thailand brings exotic experiences and confronting flavours.

India through the photographer's lens
Herald photographer Babiche Martens explores the world outside the glitzy hotels and spectacular mausoleums.

Book Review: <i>Granta 112</i>
This issue of the British literary journal is dedicated to Pakistan.

Couple's natural disaster-plagued honeymoon
Honeymoons aren't always easy for newlyweds, but six natural disasters?

Honeymooning couple attract disasters
A honeymooning pair claim to have run into not one, but six natural disasters as they followed their itinerary around the globe.

Netball: Aussie skipper out of world champs
Australian netball's worst fears were formalised today with inspirational captain Sharelle McMahon ruled out of July's world championships.

AirAsia helping Christchurch
AirAsia is doing its bit to help with the restoration of Christchurch.

Troubling truths in the tracks of Chernobyl
As nuclear fears rise around the world, Robin McKiere visits the scene of Ukraine's 1986 explosion.

Thai man deported hours after appeal fails
A Thai overstayer who has been living in New Zealand illegally for 10 years has been deported to Thailand, after a failed bid to stay with his partner and New Zealand-born daughter.

Uzbekistan: A conqueror's imposing legacy
In the ancient city of Samarkand stands a monument to the grandiose vision of a brutal warlord. Jim Eagles writes.

Thailand warning after unexplained deaths
The parents of a New Zealand woman who died in mysterious circumstances while on holiday in Thailand are setting up a website to make others aware of the "very real dangers" in the Southeast Asian nation.

Leaking plutonium adds to problems at plant
Plutonium has been detected in small amounts at several spots outside the Fukushima power plant.

Ancient Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Monuments stand stoically to remind visitors of a grand civilisation.

JAL leaves court care smaller and less independent
Japan Airlines, once the world's largest international carrier, is set to emerge from bankruptcy administration this week as a smaller company more reliant on Asian routes and global partners.

Traces of plutonium found near reactor
Plutonium has been detected in soil samples taken from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Don't miss: Rainforest World Music Festival
India, Iran, Canada and Kenya are just some of the countries represented at the Rainforest World Music Festival, which takes place in the heart of the lush Borneo jungle.

Tears flow at quake memorial service in London
Prince Charles has comforted grieving family members of Christchurch earthquake victims in London.

<i>Anthony Doesburg</i>: Nuclear power likely casualty in tide of change
Tsunami has swamped one energy trend but the sea is ushering in another.

Liam Dann: Britain opts to take its medicine now
British Prime Minister David Cameron and his Chancellor, George Osborne, this week delivered a Budget that was unambiguous in backing business to lead the nation out of the economic doldrums.