All Asia Pacific
Why is North Korea threatening to conduct a nuclear test?First, to make up for the embarrassment of the failed missile; second, the regime's past nuclear tests didn't go very well.
As US and Vietnam get closer, human rights concerns growTies between the US and Vietnam are good, but Vietnam's human rights record has activists asking if Washington is pushing Hanoi enough on political, economic, and free speech reforms.- As sanctions ease on Myanmar, aid to refugees dries upInternational donors are jumping at the chance to aid people inside Myanmar as sanctions ease. But refugees just outside the country are on the losing end.
Blast-off: 6 recent missile advances Missiles have been prominent in the news with India鈥檚 successful test, North Korea鈥檚 failed one, and much talk of missile defense systems in Europe and the Persian Gulf. Here are six recent noteworthy missile-technology advances.
Inside North Korea's big birthday bashTo mark what would have been the 100th birthday of the North Korean founder, thousands came to Pyongyang to view elaborate displays. Most聽North Koreans got three days off for the party.
Why Iranian engineers attended North Korea's failed rocket launchIranian rocket specialists were at the launch of North Korea's failed rocket test last week, according to South Korean reports. North Korea and Iran have long cooperated on long-range missiles.- Kim 101: How well do you know North Korea's leaders?
North Korea鈥檚 supreme leader Kim Jong-un succeeded his father, the late Kim Jong-il, in late 2011. In his first six years, Mr. Kim has expanded North Korea鈥檚 nuclear weapons program and has insisted that nuclear arms proliferation is off the negotiation table. But the Kims are known as much for their eccentricities and cults of personality as they are for their iron-fisted rule. How well do you know Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un?
Kim Jong-un speaks: North Korea to keep 'military first'Speaking in public for the first time,聽North Korea鈥檚 new leader Kim Jong-un vowed to keep the military front and center in the already heavily militarized nation.聽
In rare move, North Korea admits to missile failureBut the failure, coming amid the build-up for the centennial of Kim Il-sung鈥檚 birth, does not appear to have changed North Korea鈥檚 policies. More missile tests are likely, say analysts.
Thailand's blueprint to rein in fallout from floods and droughtHundreds died and businesses lost billion in last year's floods, caused in part by overflow from dams filled to hedge against drought. This year, Thailand is testing different prevention measures.
What Chinese companies want: intellectual property protectionChinese-American business relations, long fraught with distrust for China because it was not controlling piracy, appear to be benefiting from a new Chinese respect for intellectual property rights.
How failed North Korea rocket could lead to a fresh nuclear testThe UN Security Council is likely to rap North Korea for its rocket launch, and a defiant North Korea could respond with a nuclear test 鈥� following a pattern that has played out before.聽
China, Philippines send ships to disputed island. What if they sent lawyers?Both China and the Philippines have legal grounds for its claim on the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. Here's how the arguments shape up.
As North Korea plans missile launch, South Korea's conservatives edge out liberalsConservative candidates did surprisingly well in elections seen as a test of South Korea's policies. Economy and North Korea may be factors.
North Korea bestows new title on its young leader ahead of rocket launchIn a move designed to shore up his standing, Kim Jong-un received the title of聽'first secretary' ahead of the centennial of his grandfather's birth and an anticipated rocket launch.
Japan braces for North Korean missile launchJapan has threatened to shoot down the rocket if it passes over Japanese airspace. In 1998, North Korea sent a missile over Japan's main island.
Indonesia's Aceh Province votes in test for peace processVoters in Indonesia's Aceh Province, which until recently was wracked by a separatist insurgency, cast ballots for governor today. For most, the pressing issue is stability.
Indonesia backs off plans to hike price of gas after protestsBut pressure continues to mount to increase prices from their current, government-subsidized $2 per gallon, as the subsidies sap resources from education, health care, and other programs.
As new era dawns in Myanmar, ethnic conflicts remain a challengeThe ethnic Kachin did not get a chance to vote in Sunday's historic parliamentary by-elections due to an ongoing civil war.聽
Opposition claims historic sweep in Myanmar electionsThe symbolic importance of a landslide opposition victory in Myanmar could prompt a backlash against reformist President Thein Sein by hardliners in the military.
