All Asia Pacific
- Indians stashing 'black money,' beware. High court wants your nameSupreme Court in Delhi tells lawmakers that a list of secret foreign bank account holders that may be hiding illegal funds must be handed over Wednesday.
- Afghanistan: Out with NATO, in with China?Afghan President Ashraf Ghani arrives in Beijing today to talk minerals and stability. China is not ready to fight the Taliban but wants a regime that doesn't foment jihadi trouble in Xinjiang.
- PM Abe sees opening to replace Japan's 'comfort women' apologyOver 200,000 women were forced to have sex with Japanese soldiers from the 1920s until defeat in 1945. A newspaper's recent retraction of a purported eye-witness account has reignited聽far-right debate.
- Is Jeffrey Fowle's release a bid to end North Korea's isolation?Release of US 海角大神 who left a Bible in a nightspot in the totalitarian society may be part of effort for isolated regime to start engaging.聽
- Hong Kong leaders can be 'heroes' or 'villains,' say student protestersStudents met with Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's No. 2, in talks broadcast on big screens around the city. Ms. Lam said the government would pass on the grievances of the Occupy Central movement to Beijing.
- Does China's leader Xi Jinping wield total control? Party confab may offer cluesThis week's four-day Fourth Plenum in Beijing is one indicator of President Xi's consolidation of power in the party-state. The fate of security czar Zhou Yongkang, who has been detained during an anti-graft probe, is on the agenda.
- US Marine accused of murder in Philippines. A blow to Obama's Asia pivot?Philippine authorities want to question five US service personnel over the death of a transexual in a hotel room. The US recently upgraded its military alliance with the Philippines in the face of perceived Chinese maritime aggression.
- Indonesia swears in Widodo as president amid stiff political resistanceThousands of Indonesians poured into the streets of Jakarta on Monday to welcome the new president. Joko Widodo's populist agenda has made him a star among the middle-class and poor, while driving a wedge between him and Indonesia's traditional elite.
- Double-whammy for Japan's Shinzo Abe: Two female cabinet ministers resignIndustry minister and pro-nuclear advocate Yuko Obuchi and Justice minister Midori Matsushima were both appointed last month but stepped down today amid allegations of impropriety. They were part of Abe's effort to raise the profile of professional women.聽
- Sensing subversion, China throws the book at kids' librariesPresident Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign is beginning to encompass all forms of thought and expression, even moderate ones, not approved by the ruling party.聽
- Hong Kong leader confesses that real democracy is 'impossible'But he's willing to talk to the kids anyway.
- Hong Kong's embattled leader cancels public meeting, citing dangerThe chief executive's fortunes appear tied to a peaceful resolution of the 'Occupy Central' protests. Leung Chun-ying has remained largely quiet during democracy protests and today cancelled an appearance before Hong Kong's legislature.
- The forgotten journalist executed by Islamic StateWestern correspondents are not the only ones being murdered.
- Clashes at Hong Kong pro-democracy protests after police barricades removedAngry crowds, opposed to pro-democracy protests that have paralyzed parts of Hong Kong for two weeks, tried Monday to charge barricades used by demonstrators.
- How Hong Kong protests are a big problem for Beijing 鈥 even if they fizzleThe city's youth increasingly identify themselves as 'Hong Kong people' rather than Chinese.聽An effort to bring the mainland's 'patriotic education' to Hong Kong in 2011 failed 鈥 resulting in wide gaps in core values.
- North Korean leader misses key anniversary as rumors still swirlKim Jong-un's absence from public view extended into Friday when he was a no-show at the聽69th anniversary of the founding of North Korea's ruling Workers鈥 Party.
- Hong Kong cancels student talks. Will more protests follow?The government of Hong Kong canceled meetings scheduled Friday with student leaders, creating the possibility of renewed protests.
- Nobody knows what's up with Kim Jong-un. Cue frenzied speculationNorth Korea's secretive young leader hasn't been seen in public for more than a month. He may show up tomorrow at a political gathering in Pyongyang.
- FocusXi Jinping emerges as forceful No. 1 鈥 rewriting China's power playbookNot since the days of Mao Zedong has any one individual in China been so visible a leader or held so much control. He's changing China by scrapping 'rule by consensus' and targeting civil society.
- Myanmar, once a pariah, pardons prisoners ahead of regional summitOver 3,000 prisoners were released Tuesday, the latest in a series of gestures by a reformist government that has opened the doors to Western investment and political engagement. President Obama is due to attend a regional summit next month.