Asia Pacific

The Japanese parliament has approved a bill to ratify the Hague Convention on international child abduction.

The International Labour Organisation says it will give one last chance before 'naming and shaming Cambodian garment factories that refuse to comply with safety requirements.

Australia is being urged to sign up for mandatory reporting of commercial mining revenues.

In Solomon Islands the annual Forum Ministerial Standing Committtee on the Regional Assistance Mission RAMSI has wrapped up.

President Thein Sein, now in Washington, is the first Myanmar leader to visit the United States in 47 years.

Myanmar's government says it's being unfairly judged on the record of the past.

In the world of telecommunications, Myanmar remains one of the world's last remaining untapped markets.

The Second Asia-Pacific Water Summit has wrapped up, with a declaration by leaders and representatives of more than 50 countries to do more on water security.

Papua New Guinea has told a meeting of Melanesian finance ministers that it wants to pull out of regional free trade negotiations that include Australia and New Zealand.

Around 2,000 people took to the streets of Phnom Penh on Monday, demanding the reform of Cambodia's National Election Committee ahead of polls on the 28th of July.

Afghanistan expects mining revenues will replace all of its receipts from donor contributions within a decade.

The new Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, has pledged to build trust with India, on his first foreign trip since taking office in March.

Womens' rights have again been challenged in Afghanistan, after parliament blocked debate on a bill eliminating violence against women.

Papua New Guinea's government has announced plans to build a privately-run maximum security prison on Manus Island.

Australia is putting itself at the forefront of the global campaign to reduce the negative impact of extractive industries in developing countries.

Mid-term elections in the Philippines, seen as a referendum on the policies of President Benigno Aquino, appear to have delivered him a ringing endorsement.

The Australian government has again been urged to speak out against the death penalty in Indonesia, after three local men were executed by firing squad early this morning.

With the dust settling on the Federal Budget, the Government's gone on the offensive over Opposition leader Tony Abbott's plans if the Coalition wins the September poll.

In Australia, New Zealand, America and across the Pacific, doctors, dentists, and military engineers are gearing up to take their skills on tour.