TAIPEI - PROSECUTORS may indict Taiwan's former president Chen Shui-bian and his family on corruption and money laundering charges by the end of the year, a media report said on Monday.

The report was made by the Taipei-based CTI cable news network, which did not cite its source. It showed pictures of the head of the state public prosecutor's office, Chen Tsung-ming, making a rare visit to the prosecutors in charge of the investigation.

NEW DELHI - INDIA'S ruling Congress party was on track on Monday to win a number of key state polls, bucking predictions of a backlash from voters stung by the attacks in Mumbai and an economic downturn.

The Press Trust of India news agency reported that the Congress had chalked up victories in the capital area New Delhi and in the remote northeastern state of Mizoram as results from five state polls held over the past month came in.

SHANGHAI - A PASSIONATE kiss ruptured a young woman's eardrum in southern China, state media reported on Monday, in what has been dubbed the 'kiss of deaf'.

The 20-something girl from Zhuhai city in Guangdong province was treated by hospital doctors after completely losing the hearing in her left ear, the China Daily reported, citing the Guangzhou Daily.