Yangon / AFP Foreign diplomats visited flashpoint areas of Myanmar’s strife-torn Rakhine state on Wednesday, authorities said, as pressure mounts on the government to address accusations of rights abuses in a region home to the Muslim Rohingya minority. The military has heavily restricted access to the state’s northwestern strip, which abuts Bangladesh, since surprise raids on border posts left …

  Seoul / AFP South Korean President Park Geun-Hye replaced her prime minister and finance minister on Wednesday, as she scrambled to contain a damaging scandal over a close friend accused of meddling in state affairs The top-level reshuffle, which also saw a new public safety minister, was the latest attempt to appease growing public anger with the president and her …

  Seoul / AFP South Korean coastguard vessels have, for the first time, fired machine guns against Chinese boats illegally fishing in Korean waters, an official said on Wednesday. No casualties were reported from the incident on Tuesday, the first of its kind since the coastguard announced last month that it would pursue a “more aggressive” firearms policy with Chinese …