Photos: Death toll soars in Bangladesh unrest A BenarNews journalist witnessed Border Guard Bangladesh members shoot three youths.

Philippine court convicts 4 police officers for killings in Duterte drug war Victims’ families see convictions as “partial victory” in holding former president accountable for bloody anti-drug ...

China approves construction of mega-dam in Tibet The project, expected to generate thrice the power of the Three Gorges Dam, is sparking concerns.

Unexploded WWII bombs plague Palau amid US military build-up UXOs contaminate the Pacific but there's little clean-up funding despite hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on new defense ...

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reaffirmed the Trump administration’s defense commitments to America’s Pacific territories of Guam and Northern Mariana Islands and that any attack on them ...

‘Welkam fren’: New Vanuatu PM sets homegrown tone for US relations Jotham Napat wants the U.S. to step up, rather than step away, despite Trump’s rejection of the Paris Agreement and aid freeze.

Mass killing and ‘cannibalism’ video mar start of PNG’s 50th anniversary year Tribal violence during the New Year highlights increasing lawlessness and lack of police resources.

Firebombing of news organization in Indonesia’s Papua region condemned as assault on ‘media freedom’ Indonesian police have failed to solve previous attacks on Papuan media workers in recent years.

Women candidates challenge Vanuatu’s male-dominated politics at snap election A national election will go ahead this week despite a devastating earthquake in the capital Port Vila last month.

How the 2014 coup continues to shape Thai politics Thailand’s military still has sway over the government, although a new civilian-led administration is in place, analyst Zachary Abuza writes.

Soldiers march at a ceremony marking Indonesia’s Independence Day at the new presidential palace in Nusantara, the future capital city still under construction on the island of Borneo, Aug. 17, 2024. ...

EXPLAINED: Why proposed revisions to Indonesia’s military law alarm democracy activists A bill proposes to expand armed forces’ role in state institutions, which critics said would reduce civilian ...