In a separate survey among 3,600 households by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, 75 percent of those who answered said the comments were "problematic," while 20 percent said they had little or no problem with them.

TURKISH riot police fired tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators yesterday, injuring dozens in a bid to break up a four-day protest against a major construction project in Istanbul's iconic Taksim Square.

The Brotherhood's television station, Misr 25, has been taken off the air along with several TV networks run by Islamists. Morsi's critics have long accused the stations of sowing divisions among Egyptians.

CHINA Eastern Airlines said today it has agreed to introduce two new investors to China Cargo Airlines and consolidate three air cargo carriers to bolster its cargo business.

China's economy grew 8.9 percent from a year earlier in the third quarter, accelerating from the advances of 7.9 percent in the second quarter and 6.1 percent in the first three months.