Asia Pacific

Australia's Foreign Minister, Bob Carr has welcomed the outcome of the election in Malaysia, saying that Canberra was prepared to work with either the opposition or Barisan.

Despite hurdles like generous government handouts, a readymade electoral machinery and now claims of electoral fraud the opposition Pakatan Rakyat won seven extra parliamentary seats and indeed, a larger share of the popular vote than BN.

The economic challenges facing the government remain the same and they are substantial.

Much was made of Malaysia's youth vote and indeed, many of them returned from overseas to vote.

Australia has unveiled its defence strategy for the next few decades with the release of the latest Defence White Paper.

So what does the White Paper mean for Australia's role in the Pacific?In the past, the region has been characterised as an "arc of instability" stretching from East Timor to the South-west Pacific states.

Malaysia goes to the polls this Sunday in what looks to be the most tightly fought election campaign in the country's history.

The lead prosecutor investigating the 2007 assassination of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been murdered.

The new man in charge of the Asian Football Confederation has vowed to usher in a new era of transparency.

East Timor's national oil company; Bougainville and copper; manufacturers leaving China; Kaesong closed perhaps permanently.

In the lead up to Malaysia's watershed national elections on Sunday, the Election Commission has responded to opposition charges that it's not doing its job properly.

The Election Commission has failed to allay some Malaysian NGOs' fears about the integrity of the polling process.

Australia's foreign minister Bob Carr is visiting Papua New Guinea this weekend, beginning Friday.

Newly released Australian Departmental advice has failed to back Government claims of widespread rorting of the 457 foreign worker visa system.

Scientists say Rio Tinto will have to improve its environmental record if it plans to re-open its mine on Papua New Guinea's island of Bougainville.

East Timor's dream of becoming a significant player in oil and gas processing has taken some steps forward.

Under a UN ratified agreement 50 years ago today .

With four days to go before Malaysia's national elections, regional media watchdog has voiced concern that voters are being denied fair and credible information.

The Solomon Islands government has criticised the early release online of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report into the ethnic tensions.