Australia is investigating reports a dissident writer and Chinese dual national is missing and may have been detained in his native country, officials said Wednesday. Yang Hengjun -- a novelist, former Chinese diplomat and democracy activist -- went missing shortly after he returned to the...

Asian markets fluctuated Wednesday following a negative lead from Wall Street as investors grow nervous about the chances of success in China-US trade talks ahead of a crunch meeting next week. The mood remains cautious, with the rally that has characterised the start of the year stuttering...

Japan's central bank again revised down its inflation forecasts on Wednesday, in the latest sign of its struggle to reach a long-sought two percent rate that officials consider key to boost the economy. After a two-day meeting the policy board left its mammoth monetary easing programme in...

Thailand's king has issued a royal decree endorsing the first general election since a 2014 coup, the palace said Wednesday, with the date of the long-delayed poll expected to be announced imminently. The decree, published in the Royal Gazette, called for a general "election of members of...