With Foster's main local rival Lion Nathan already Japanese-owned - Lion Nathan owns Tooheys, Castlemaine and Emu, to name but a few - it would mean that most of Australia's most famous beer brands would no longer be Australian owned.

BBC: The amber nectar

China's small and medium enterprises, for example, paid a dear price as state-owned entities and local governments received the lion's share of the limited supply of loans from commercial banks.

BBC: Viewpoint: Will Asia see further price growth in 2012?

As with schools and medical services, the central government makes the plans but leaves it to local governments to put up the lion's share of funding.

ECONOMIST: The consequences of an ageing population

To drive away evil spirits, 500, 000 rounds of eardrum-testing pyrotechnics will be set off at Sara Roosevelt Park in Chinatown at the New Year Firecracker Ceremony and Cultural Festival on 10 February, before lion and dragon dance troupes make the rounds to local businesses to ring in the Year of the Snake.

BBC: Celebrate Lunar New Year in New York City

The venue has seen up-and-coming local talent and bigger bands such as Gallows, King Creosote and Rebel Lion Sound System perform.

BBC: Norfolk - The Queen Charlotte suspends gigs