Rolling out the red carpet for presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.
Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP
It’s good to talk − just don’t expect it to result in a reset in relations between Beijing and Washington.
Breaking up is hard to do.
Glasshouse Images/Getty Images
Hawkish foreign policy wonks have called for a breakup of Russia. But would that fall into Beijing’s hands?
Hindu devotees prepare to scatter ashes of the deceased into the sea as part of Ngaben, a mass cremation ceremony, in Surabaya, Indonesia.
Juni Kriswanto/AFP via Getty Images
Across cultures, death rituals give mourners a chance to grieve. But they also offer one last opportunity to help the deceased as they transition to the next stage of existence.
Women in diplomacy.
Freepik
Although there have progress to achieve gender equality, women are still under-represented in diplomacy in Asia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) shake hands with Chinese Presiden Xi Jinping.
plavi011/Shutterstock
Following deteriorating relations with the West, Russia has shifted focus to Asia, and hold China to help expand its influence.
Too few children means China needs to look outside the country for new blood.
Zhang Peng/LightRocket via Getty Images
Chinese politicians have looked toward policies to encourage couples to have more children to offset population decline. It hasn’t worked.
The first specimen of Bipalium admarginatum was found by George Verdon in the jungle of a tropical island.
George Verdon
A strange worm found in the jungle, then harvested and preserved in… gin, provides a better understanding of the evolution and genetics of flatworms.
The world turned upside down.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Terms like ‘Third World’ and ‘developing nations’ have long fallen out of fashion.
Cambodian PM Hun Sen takes a selfie – but where will he post it now?
Rang Xhhin Sothy/AFP via Getty Images
Social media account of Cambodia’s long-serving leader was deleted amid a spat with Facebook over videoed threats of violence against opposition supporters.
An aging population, a tired economy.
Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images
South Korea’s fertility rate fell below the level needed to sustain a population in the mid-1980s – and it never recovered. It is now below one child per woman during her reproductive years.
Rainbow ears, but is Japan’s parliament listening?
Lucas Calloch/@dreiimos/Unsplash
Japan has a rich queer history and is seeing societal changes in favor of greater LGBTQ recognition. That said, national politicians have yet to catch up.
A devotee bathes a Buddha statue during celebrations of the Buddha’s birthday in Malaysia.
Wong Fok Loy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Buddha’s birthday has not always been a major holiday for Buddhists, but is now celebrated in diverse ways throughout Asia.
Supporters of Imran Khan protest the former prime minister’s arrest.
Sabir Mazhar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Protests took hold across Pakistan following the detention of the opposition leader and former cricket star – raising tensions in an election year.
Habitat loss has driven Asian elephants, like these foraging at a garbage dump in Sri Lanka, into human areas.
Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP via Getty Images
A new study looks back into history to assess human impacts on the range of Asian elephants and finds sharp decline starting several centuries ago.
South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol is only the second leader to travel to the U.S. for a state visit during the Biden administration.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
The ‘Washington Declaration’ unveiled during the state visit by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol gives Seoul a greater role in coordinating a nuclear response strategy.
Running a few bilateral ideas up the flagpole.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)
The meeting is just the second US state visit during the Biden administration. It comes as Washington and Seoul face common concerns.
A village elder stands outside a school destroyed by aircraft fire in Shan State.
Mai Thomas/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Since seizing power in a 2021 coup, Myanmar’s military has killed more than 3,000 civilians and pro-democracy activists. But the army has struggled to contain an armed resistance movement.
UNIKYLUCKK/Shutterstock
While there are some benefits to the free trade agreement, the UK would be better off striking a deal with its neighbours.
Wine remains among South Africa’s major agricultural exports.
Getty Images
South Africa’s focus should be on maintaining smooth relations with critical export markets while searching for new ones.
Bipartisan committee with Beijing in its sights.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
US lawmakers heard testimony that suggests the era of engagement with China is over. Rather, policy may be hardening.