Asia Pacific

Amnesty International says it's disappointed Nauru's Supreme Court has dismissed a case challenging the legality of detaining asylum seekers.

Will the world be worse off with a weakened multilateral trading system?Should the Doha Round of world trade talks be saved or abandoned? Who do you call when time is running out?These questions are concerning Mark Thirlwell, the Director of the International Economy Program at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney.

Twenty years ago, the World Health Organisation declared tuberculosis a global emergency.

Consider this - a network of giant balloons in the stratosphere, beaming the internet to the most far-flung places on earth.

Southeast Asia is suffering its own pollution woes, with severe air pollution from forest fires on Indonesia's Sumatra island choking Singapore and parts of Malaysia.

Indian officials are investigating claims one of the country's top actors has used an illegal gender test to determine the sex of his unborn child.

The Pacific regional bloc - the Melanesian Spearhead Group - has deferred a decision on whether to allow a group of West Papuan independence activists to join the organisation.

They're seen as a growing threat to Vietnam's once-booming tourism industry - the swindlers and scam artists who rip off overseas visitors.

Archaeologists in Cambodia have discovered evidence of a lost civilisation near the famous Angkor Wat complex.

The United States has welcomed North Korea's proposal for high-level talks, but says Pyongyang must first end its nuclear program.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's stated policy of negotiating with insurgents is under pressure after a terrorist attack on a bus killed 14 female students.

The Indonesian parliament has approved measures that pave the way for the government to end fuel subsidies, which could lead to price rises of around 33 per centIf approved, it would be the first hike in fuel prices since 2008.

European MPs have jointly condemned the violence against Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims, and called on the government to do more to protect them.

It's six months since the disappearance of prominent Lao civil society leader, Sombath Somphone.

In about a year's time, Indonesians will vote to elect a new president, as Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono completes his second and final term.

Working effectively in different cultures has often been cited as a prerequisite for success.

A Veteran Australian radio star has been sacked for asking the Prime Minister Julia Gillard if her partner was gay.