Asia Pacific Topics

Hotel-style prison likely awaits Bo

Sep 22, 2013

Hotel-style prison likely awaits Bo

Fallen highflier Bo Xilai can expect hotel-style treatment at a jail for China’s political elite, where he will enjoy comfortable surroundings but be constantly monitored by government agents, former prisoners say. Hidden in wooded hills north of Beijing, guards stand outside the red gate ...

Sep 22, 2013

Indian lawmakers held over unrest

Police said Saturday they had arrested four state opposition lawmakers for allegedly inciting clashes between Hindus and Muslims that killed 48 people earlier this month. The four, members of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and the regional Bahujan Samaj Party, were charged with ...

Sri Lanka Tamils see hope in provincial election

Sep 21, 2013

Sri Lanka Tamils see hope in provincial election

Ethnic Tamil voters in Sri Lanka’s war-ravaged north went to the polls Saturday to form their first functioning provincial government, hoping it will serve as the first step toward wider regional autonomy after decades of struggle and a bloody civil war. The elections are ...

Sep 18, 2013

Abbott sworn in as Australia's new leader

Tony Abbott was sworn in as Australia’s new prime minister Wednesday and immediately ordered the scrapping of the nation’s carbon tax and the halting of boats carrying asylum seekers. The 55-year-old conservative pledged to knuckle down immediately after the ceremony at Government House in ...

Cambodia rivals meet after protest bloodshed

Sep 16, 2013

Cambodia rivals meet after protest bloodshed

Cambodia’s political rivals held fresh crisis talks Monday as thousands of people massed for a second day following violent clashes against a disputed election that left one demonstrator dead and several wounded. Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy met at the ...

Can Abbott match Rudd's close rapport with Obama?

Sep 15, 2013

Can Abbott match Rudd's close rapport with Obama?

The United States expects smooth relations with Australian Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott, but it remains to be seen if he can match his predecessor’s good rapport with President Barack Obama. Abbott, a conservative who was born in London and has spoken of the importance ...

N.Z. opposition party elects leader

Sep 15, 2013

N.Z. opposition party elects leader

New Zealand’s main opposition Labor Party elected David Cunliffe as its new leader to contest next year’s general election and try to prevent Prime Minister John Key from winning a third term. Cunliffe, 50, won the vote among caucus colleagues, party members and affiliated ...

Sep 15, 2013

India's BJP taps Modi as candidate

India’s main opposition party has chosen controversial Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate in parliamentary elections set for next year. The choice of Modi, chief minister of the western state of Gujarat, was long expected but opposed by many even within ...

Taiwan president, party hit by scandal and rifts

Sep 13, 2013

Taiwan president, party hit by scandal and rifts

A widening political scandal is threatening to split Taiwan’s ruling party and potentially set back efforts to build closer economic ties with China. Recent allegations of influence-peddling by Taiwanese politicians, driven in part by investigators’ wiretaps of one lawmaker’s cellphone conversations, have stirred fear ...