November 18, 2012
BANGKOK--For President Barack Obama, expanding U.S. influence in Asia is more than just countering China or opening up new markets to American businesses. It's also about building his legacy.
November 17, 2012
YANGON, Myanmar--When Arker Kyaw heard President Barack Obama was coming to Myanmar, he gathered 15 cans of spray paint and headed for a blank brick wall under cover of darkness. Kyaw, whose passion is graffiti, labored from 3 a.m. until the sun came up. Passing taxi drivers and the occasional pedestrian gave him signs of encouragement as Obama's grinning, uplifted face took shape against a background of the American and Myanmar flags.
November 17, 2012
YANGON--Myanmar's president blamed nationalist and religious extremists for the violence between Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine State in October that killed at least 89 people, and the United Nations said he had promised to address the underlying problems.
November 17, 2012
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia--Disputes over South China Sea territories are expected to overshadow a summit of Southeast Asian countries that has opened, with host Cambodia seeking damage control after the previous regional meeting it hosted collapsed over how to handle the territorial conflicts involving China.
November 17, 2012
The territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands between Japan and China has hurt the Japanese economy, cast doubt on exchange programs between the two nations and led to a wave of animosity from both Chinese and Japanese citizens.
November 17, 2012
U.S. gaming regulators are investigating millions of dollars paid by affiliates of Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada's Universal Entertainment Corp to a former consultant for the Philippine gaming authority around the time the company was lobbying to win concessions for a $2 billion Manila casino.
November 15, 2012
YANGON--Myanmar released prisoners on Nov. 15 in a goodwill gesture ahead of a historic visit to the former military state by U.S. President Barack Obama, but activists and the main opposition party said there seemed to be no political detainees among them.
November 15, 2012
NEW DELHI--Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi urged India on Oct. 14 to stand by Myanmar on its journey to democracy, on her first trip to Myanmar's neighbor since it dropped its support for her democracy movement two decades ago in favor of the ruling junta.
November 13, 2012
Japan Mint has won its first order in the postwar era to produce coins for another country, in this case Bangladesh.
November 13, 2012
YANGON--An earthquake struck near Myanmar's new capital of Naypyitaw on Nov. 13, state television reported, but there were no immediate reports of damage, while the death toll from a weekend quake to its north rose to 26, according to an aid organization.
November 12, 2012
YANGON--A strong earthquake collapsed a bridge and damaged ancient Buddhist pagodas in northern Myanmar, and piecemeal reports from the underdeveloped mining region said mines collapsed and as many as 12 people were feared dead.
November 10, 2012
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka--A shootout between rioting prisoners and security forces at a prison in Sri Lanka's capital killed at least 27 inmates, while police said Nov. 10 that they arrested five prisoners who had managed to escape and were searching for others.
November 10, 2012
ISLAMABAD--The families of more than 3 million poor children in Pakistan will receive cash stipends if their children go to school, the government said as officials prepared to mark "Malala Day" on Nov. 10 in support of a schoolgirl shot by the Taliban.
November 09, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--The sister of a Malaysian man who has been charged with insulting a state sultan on Facebook said Nov. 9 that he is innocent and will lodge a complaint over his detention.
November 08, 2012
BANGKOK--Countless lives were uprooted by last year's flooding in Thailand that inundated industrial parks where a host of Japanese-affiliated enterprises operated.
November 08, 2012
JABABEKA, Indonesia--Vanya Sunanto never used any makeup until she was 25. But now, at 30, she uses 10 layers of cosmetics on her face every day.
November 08, 2012
YANGON--U.S. President Barack Obama plans to visit Myanmar on Nov. 19 and meet both his counterpart, Thein Sein, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, a senior government source in the Southeast Asian country said on Nov. 8.
November 07, 2012
BEIJING--China's official media said on Nov. 7 that ties with the United States were uneven in President Barack Obama's first term and mutual trust was "whittled down", but his re-election offered an opportunity to put the relationship back on track.
November 06, 2012
NEW DELHI--Canadian firms will soon be able export uranium and nuclear reactors to India for the first time in almost four decades following an agreement between the two countries, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Nov. 6.
November 06, 2012
VIENTIANE, Laos--China's premier told a summit of Asian and European leaders on Nov. 5 that major economic institutions need a clear and reliable plan to solve Europe's sovereign debt crisis.