TOKYO - JAPAN'S swine flu epidemic spread to the capital Tokyo as a 16-year-old high school girl there tested positive for the virus on Wednesday with the number of confirmed cases topping 250, officials said.

'The girl lives in the western suburbs of Hachioji and has recently visited the US city of New York,' said Mr Toyomi Harada, a spokesman for the city's welfare and health department.

YANGON - SMILING throughout, Aung San Suu Kyi gave a show of quiet confidence for diplomats and journalists who were allowed into her trial on Wednesday for a rare glimpse of the pro-democracy icon.

The slender 63-year-old wore pink and maroon Burmese dress and appeared in good health at the court inside Yangon's notorious Insein prison, despite a series of recent medical scares and the rigours of her detention.

WITH just 15 months to go before the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore, preparations for the inaugural sports extravaganza are on track.

This was the assessment given by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s coordination commission for the YOG after it concluded a two-day meeting in Singapore on Wednesday.

KUALA LUMPUR: Singapore and Malaysia must not allow thorny 'legacy issues' to hamper closer cooperation in other areas such as Johor's Iskandar development, said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in an exclusive interview with The Straits Times ahead of his visit to Singapore on Thursday and Friday.

He said he was hopeful of putting Iskandar high on the agenda of the visit even though there were no specific issues to discuss and the visit is to establish a working relationship with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.