A flare-up in tensions between South Korea and Japan marks at least a temporary setback for the United States, which has sought to boost cooperation between its allies as part of its focus on Asia.

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak on Friday paid an unprecedented visit to uninhabited but resource-rich islands that are controlled by Seoul and claimed by both countries, infuriating Japan, which recalled its ambassador.

The new Spanish-language broadcast network MundoFox -- a joint venture of News Corp and RCN Television Group of Colombia -- began broadcasting Monday with the goal of reaching the growing U.S. Hispanic market.

The company, which says its programming is aimed at providing "Latino entertainment" with an "American attitude," will break the duopoly held by Univision and Telemundo in providing broadcast Spanish-language news and entertainment in the United States.

The evening turban-tying class in the Sikh-dominated Indian city of Amritsar is packed with pre-teen boys learning a centuries-old tradition -- that religious leaders fear is under threat.

Over the next 90 minutes, the instructors unfurl long strips of cloth in vibrant hues from indigo to burgundy, and proceed to knot, pleat and finally tie them carefully around the boys' heads.

Oil prices were higher in Asian trade Tuesday buoyed by an expected crude supply cut in the North Sea and intensifying talk of an Israeli military strike against Iran, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, gained 23 cents to $92.96 a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude for September advanced two cents to $113.62.

A top Taiwanese museum has been fined for preventing a woman from breastfeeding, the first such case since a law was enacted to protect the right to breastfeed in public, authorities said Tuesday.

The director and an employee of the National Palace Museum were each fined Tw$6,000 ($200) for violating the public breastfeeding law passed in 2010, said the Taipei city health department.

Toshiba plans to sell some of its controlling stake in nuclear-power unit Westinghouse Electric as it looks to form an alliance to tap demand in emerging markets, reports said Tuesday.

The Japanese engineering giant, which holds about 67 percent of Westinghouse, said it would sell as much as 16 percent of the U.S. firm to buyers with a foothold in nations eager to build nuclear plants, after demand in post-Fukushima Japan fell away.

Google on Monday announced that it will let users of its online social network have verified accounts with names or brands in a manner similar to that offered at Facebook and Twitter.

Custom Google+ page addresses were rolled out to a limited number of profiles including the footballer David Beckham, actor Hugh Jackman, singer Britney Spears, and Japanese car maker Toyota, the company said in a blog post.

A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck in the Sea of Okhotsk off the east Russian coast early Tuesday, U.S. and Japanese monitors said, with the tremor felt as far away as Tokyo.

The quake occurred at 0259 GMT some 158 kilometers (100 miles) east of Poronaysk, Russia, with the epicenter a comparatively deep 625 kilometers (390 miles) down, the U.S. Geological Survey said in an initial report.

U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon warned Tuesday that "intimidation and violence" could threaten the selection of a Somali parliament before a looming deadline, his spokesman said.

Ban highlighted a threat by the U.N. Security Council to take measures against any group or individual who undermines the stumbling reconciliation process in Somalia, which has not had a stable government in more than two decades.

The United States called Monday on Lebanon to ensure transparency in any action against former minister Michel Samaha, fearing a spread of violence from neighboring Syria.

Samaha was arrested on Thursday and a Lebanese judge has accused him and Syria's security chief, General Ali Mamlouk, of planning sectarian killings and explosions in the North.