Inner Asia

Arson attacks on Tibetan monasteries?

Three mysterious blazes at historic Tibetan monasteries across western China in as many months have sparked speculation about a campaign of arson attacks. 

Central America

Guatemala grapples with opium boom

Guatemala has emerged as a major opium producer in recent years, and President Otto Pérez Molina is now considering legalized and regulated cultivation.

Central America

Costa Rica: the next narco-state?

Unprecedented cocaine raids across Costa Rica point to the Central American country emerging as a key hub in the hemispheric narco-trade.

Central America

Panama, Nicaragua canal plans stalled

Amid multiple legal challenges, Nicaragua's interoceanic canal project could be delayed for a year, while the rival Panama Canal expansion faces massive cost overruns.

Southeast Asia

Occupy Phnom Penh dispersed

Cambodian military police opened fire on striking garment factory workers, killing four, and then dispersed a protest encampment from a central square in Phnom Penh.