All Asia Pacific
First LookSingapore names, by default, its first female presidentHalimah Yacob is now the first woman to rise to the office of president in Singapore. However, no election was held as rigid eligibility rules disqualified all other candidates, leaving would-be voters disgruntled with the electoral process.
As Myanmar's Rakhine crisis deepens, so does state bid for media controlDuring Aung San Suu Kyi's years of house arrest, her fight for democracy was sustained by independent media. Now in power, her administration is accused of clamping down on the press in favor of official outlets.
First LookJapan helps to ready India's first bullet train, edging out ChinaJapan and India are joining forces to compete with China as that nation targets infrastructure investments across Asia. The 311-mile-long high-speed rail will link the financial hub of Mumbai and the industrial city of Ahmedabad in western Gujarat.
First LookDriverless cars could help connect aging rural communities in JapanJapan looks to driverless public transportation for its growing elderly populations in isolated areas. If successful, the trial run started this month could launch a nationwide network of driverless cars.聽
First LookWorld leaders take a stand together against North KoreaUN unanimously approves strongest sanctions yet against North Korea. Country leaders are working together toward pinning its nuclear threats under control.聽
China's North Korea stance: laggard or leader?Beijing's caution risks undermining its growing reputation as a global player. But seeming weakness is a price it appears willing to pay now, in the interests of a long-term leadership goal: to take over America's old mantle as the dominant power in Asia.
In Cambodia Daily鈥檚 shuttering, ill winds for country鈥檚 democracy?The English-language newspaper is just one outlet forced to close in recent weeks. Analysts view a surge of restrictions as part of long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen's increasingly authoritarian game plan ahead of elections next year.
First LookSouth Koreans turn out to protest US efforts to strengthen THAAD defense systemUS added two launchers to the high-tech missile-defense system聽in South Korea while聽President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe met in eastern Russia and repeated their calls for stronger punishment of North Korea over its nuclear ambitions.聽
In rush of tests, North Korea鈥檚 timing chafes China 鈥� and its US relationsStability is key for Chinese leader Xi Jinping ahead of a major leadership conference next month. Pyongyang may be attempting to turn up the pressure on China-US relations this fall before Beijing considers harsher options, analysts say.
North Korea claims 'perfect success' in sixth nuclear testPyongyang聽claimed the device it tested was a thermonuclear weapon聽鈥撀燾ommonly called a hydrogen bomb. The test comes one week after North Korea launched a midrange missile over northern Japan in response to ongoing U.S.-South Korea military exercises.
On heels of reform report, Myanmar violence muddies prospects for Rohingya minorityA militant attack has renewed violence in Rakhine state, home to a Muslim minority group whose treatment has drawn international criticism. Advocates argue that greater economic development and social justice are prerequisites for progress.
First LookNorth Korea's unprecedented missile test draws ire of Trump and AbePresident Trump has said that "all options are on the table" after a North Korean ballistic missile, designed to carry a nuclear payload, was fired over Japan and into the northern Pacific Ocean.
Cover StoryHow Kim rules: What the North Korean leader's unexpected directions for his country mean for the USAfter his nearly six years in power, it鈥檚 clear there are some significant differences between Kim Jong-un and his forebears, and that he is exhibiting a ruling style that has evolved in unexpected ways.
Eying next generation of patriots, Beijing propaganda tries a new lookA recent hit film film and video put the spotlight on Beijing's efforts to package propaganda for young, 21st-century audiences聽鈥撀燼 campaign with pop idols frequently on the frontlines.
First LookFilipinos caught in the crossfire of anti-drug campaign: 'we're the victims.'Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte's controversial anti-drug, anti-crime campaign has left a 17-year-old high school student dead. Neighbors, activists, and parents have voiced their opposition to the presidents brutal crackdown, feeling victimized by heavy police shootings.聽
Cover StoryFollowing damage caused by economic rise, China tackles ambitious conservation experimentThe government intends to combine three separate regions of Sanjiangyuan to create China鈥檚 first national park, setting aside an area the size of Pennsylvania.聽China is also working to set up a series of other trial national parks around the country.
First LookStudent leaders of 2014 Hong Kong protest receive prison sentenceYouth protestors who organized a 2014 pro-democracy 'Umbrella' protest in Hong Kong will be imprisoned for eight months, a high court ruled on Thursday.聽
First LookMore casualties in Philippines president's anti-drug, anti-crime campaignThere was a second night of heavy bloodshed this week in an intensification of President Rodrigo Duterte's fierce war on drugs and crime.聽Although the violence has been criticized by much of the international community, Filipinos largely support the campaign.
FocusIn call to cancel debt, Cambodia asks: When war is over, who cleans up the mess?About 130 square miles of Cambodia are thought to be contaminated with unexploded ordnance dropped by US forces during the Vietnam War聽鈥� one reason the prime minister says the country should not have to repay a wartime debt of $500 million.
First LookKorean leaders, US signal tentative shift toward diplomacyEarly signs of deescalation follow rising combative rhetoric between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump over the Hermit Kingdom's threats to launch missiles into the waters near Guam.
