Reformist Myanmar President Thein Sein will visit the White House next week, the first such trip by a Myanmar head of state in almost 47 years and a sign of warming ties.

Politicians in northern Australia said Tuesday they were considering putting neglected Aboriginal children up for adoption, sparking fears of a new “stolen generation.”

Philippine President Benigno Aquino called for calm Monday amid an escalating dispute with Taiwan over the death of a Taiwanese fisherman in a confrontation with the Filipino coastguard.

The Philippines held elections Monday seen as crucial for President Benigno Aquino's bold reform agenda, as deadly violence and graft-tainted candidates underlined the nation's deep-rooted problems.

Nearly three weeks after a Bangladesh garment-factory building collapsed, the search for the dead ended Monday at the site of the worst disaster in the history of the global garment industry. The death toll: 1,127. Mohammed Amir Hossain Mazumder, deputy director of fire service and civil defense, told The Associated Press the search for bodies from the April 24 collapse was called off at 6 p.m. (1200GMT). “Now the site will be handed over to police for protection. There will be no more activities from fire service or army,” he said.

Bangladesh warned millions of people Monday that a cyclone could barrel into their coastal homes later this week as authorities in Myanmar began moving potential victims to higher ground.

Three Chinese government ships entered the waters of disputed Tokyo-controlled islands on Monday, Japan's coastguard said, as a long-running row shows no sign of fading.

The day before the start of the official campaign period, we proposed the following reading of the 2013 elections: “The fate of reform hangs in the balance.” The mandate from 2010 was clear: Clean up the mess left behind by the previous administration.

Any Thai who marks the anniversaries of the May 1992 “mobile phone mob” uprising and May 2010 red-shirt uprising with the same solemn sincerity should be commended. From a general observation, it's unlikely that there are many such people. The country's political divide has run deep and the two bloody events do not share many crucial things in common.

On Thursday, May 9, Hung Shih-cheng died from gunfire while hiding in the cabin of the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28, a Taiwanese fishing vessel plying its trade in the South China Sea.