All Asia Pacific
First LookTargeted attacks at New Zealand mosques kill dozensOne man has been charged with murder after at least 49 people were killed and 48 people were injured at New Zealand mosques Friday. It is the deadliest shooting in the country's history and appears to be part of a carefully orchestrated plan, with the gunman livestreaming.
First LookChina says Muslim 'training' camps will slowly disappearAn estimated 1 million people from the Uyghur and Kazakh ethnic groups are detained in China's Xinjiang region. China previously denied the existence of the internment camps, which the state calls "vocational training centers."
First LookIndonesian woman freed 2 years after killing of Kim Jong Un's half brotherThe murder charge against Siti Aisyah has been dropped. Her lawyers have argued she was trapped as a pawn in a political assassination against a man seen as a threat to the North Korean regime.
First LookAfter nuclear summit fails, N. Korea reportedly rebuilds rocket siteNorth Korea is restoring facilities at a long-range rocket launch site, according to a South Korean intelligence report. North Korea could be preparing itself if diplomacy completely collapses, or it may rebuilding the site only to destroy it as a sign of disarmament compliance.
First LookThousands rally for constitutional reform in MyanmarTension has been rising between the ruling party and the military after party leader Aung San Suu Kyi launched a bid in January to change the constitution that enshrines the Army’s role in politics. It's the Nobel Laureate's biggest challenge to the Army's power in three years.
First LookKindergarten diplomacy: children in Hanoi prepare to greet KimWhile the communist state of Vietnam has embraced trades and investment from South Korea, a kindergarten in Hanoi gifted by North Korea, is excited by Kim Jong-un's visit to the capital this week for the summit meeting with President Trump.
First LookWorry about US alliance with South Korea grows before Trump-Kim summitAs the second meeting between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un draws near, uncertainty clouds the future of a decades-long military alliance between the US and South Korea, say security analysts.
First LookChina bars millions from travel over 'social credit' offensesThe ruling Communist Party uses a "social credit" system it says will improve civic behavior. Slated for a nationwide roll-out by 2020, the system marks another example of China's controversial use of technology to control and penalize its citizens.
First LookJournalist and Duterte critic freed on bail after libel arrestAward-winning journalist Maria Ressa has aggressively covered President Rodrigo Duterte's administration. Media watch dogs decried her arrest as the government's latest attempt to muzzle press freedom.
First LookAustralia to reopen detention camp after refugees allowed medical accessFollowing a defeat for the Australian government in Parliament, where it passed a bill to grant easier hospital access to asylum seekers, Prime Minister Scott Morrison's conservative government announced the decision to reopen an island detention camp.
First LookFancy sneakers and better TV dramas: winds of change under Kim Jong-unAs North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's regime becomes aware that the public is increasingly familiar with foreign pop culture despite severe restrictions, producers of domestic media and consumer goods have been instructed to study global samples to "learn from their example."
First LookThai king blocks sister's bid to be prime ministerThe prospect of Thailand's Princess Ubolratana Mahidol standing in the election for prime minister was quickly dashed after the king called the move inappropriate and unconstitutional. It is unlikely that what had happened behind the scenes will ever be known.
First LookPrincess shakes up Thai politics by entering race for prime ministerPrincess Ubolratana Mahidol became the first member of the royal family to enter party politics on Friday in a bid to be prime minister. Ms. Ubolratana was stripped of her royal titles more than 40 years ago when she married an American, but is still called and regarded a princess.
First LookSouth Koreans eye second Trump-Kim summit with caution, hopeAfter a year of mostly fruitless talks, South Koreans have mixed feelings about whether tangible steps can be achieved to reduce the North's nuclear threat when President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meet in Vietnam at the end of the month.
First LookSurge in support for Taiwan's president as Xi's call for unification backfiresFollowing Chinese President Xi Jinping's call for unification with Taiwan earlier this month, Tsai Ing-wen's firm stance on maintaining the self-governing island's democratic freedoms has earned her a surge in popular support.
First LookSouth Koreans pay tribute to Kim Bok-dong, an activist for WWII 'comfort women'Kim Bok-dong, who died Monday, was one of the first sexual slavery victims to speak out and break the silence over Japan's wartime atrocities. Hundreds of protesters turned out in South Korea to pay their respects and demand reparations from Japan.
First LookPresident Duterte visits Catholic cathedral bombing site, Abu Sayyaf suspectedThe Islamic State has claimed responsibility for blasts at a church in southern Philippines on Sunday where Abu Sayyaf militants have carried out violence for years. The country's defense secretary has called the attack an act of terror, not a religious war.
First LookChina imprisons leading human rights lawyerA Chinese court sentenced prominent human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang to a jail term of 4-1/2 years on Monday. Mr. Wang was charged with subversion of state power, a vaguely defined crime in China.
First LookMalaysia begins early discussions on anti-stalking lawMalaysia is one of more than a dozen countries in the Asia-Pacific region that doesn't have an anti-stalking law, but organizations are pressuring the government to introduce it to protect primarily its female citizens from threats and intimidation.
First LookChinese pressure grows over US extradition request with CanadaAs China and the United States struggle over the fate of Meng Wanzhou – a top executive at tech giant Huawei arrested in Canada and whom the US wants to stand trial for alleged crimes – critics around the globe call for China to release the two Canadians detained in retribution.
