Voters in Bhutan cast ballots to begin electing a new parliament on Tuesday for only the second time in the Himalayan nation's history, five years after the monarchy ceded absolute power.

Myanmar on Tuesday pardoned dozens of political prisoners, activists said, a day after the European Union agreed to end almost all sanctions against the former pariah state.

Police in Papua New Guinea have detained four men over the gang rape of a U.S. academic after a massive manhunt, with officials Tuesday urging locals to help find five suspects still on the run.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday accused authorities in Myanmar's western Rakhine State of crimes against humanity in the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims last year, charges the government dismissed as one-sided and “unacceptable.”

The speaker of Bangladesh's parliament, Abdul Hamid, was elected unopposed as president Monday, a potentially crucial role as the restive country heads for elections next year, officials said.

A U.S. academic says she was gang raped by an armed mob in Papua New Guinea and wants to publicize her ordeal to raise awareness about rampant violence against women in the desperately poor Pacific country.

The European Union is expected to lift all sanctions on Myanmar next week, except for an arms embargo, in recognition of the “remarkable process of reform” in the country, a document seen by Reuters showed on Wednesday.

Organized crime gangs dealing in fake goods, drugs, human trafficking and the illicit wildlife trade earn nearly US$90 billion annually in East Asia and the Pacific, a U.N. report showed Tuesday.

Myanmar must negotiate a web of vested interests if it is to end conflict with rebels in its far north and bring a halt to civil wars that have wracked the country for decades, experts say.

Myanmar's reformist president called for multi faith harmony in a national address to mark the country's New Year celebrations Sunday, following recent anti-Muslim unrest that has scarred communities.