Topic: Asia

US jets to South Korea: F-22 Stealth fighters join drills (+video)

US jets to South Korea: The US sent F-22 stealth fighter jets to South Korea to join military exercises as North Korea threatens war. The US has also sent B-2 bomber jets to South Korea.

North Korea: What happens if Kim Jong-un acts on his threats?

In the event that the 'bellicose rhetoric' of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un turns into something more serious, the opening hours of conflict could be 'pretty ugly,' defense analysts warn.

CSMonitor editors share their favorite people to follow on Twitter

Twitter turned 7 this week. In celebration of the social network's birthday, The Christian Science Monitor compiled a list of favorite Twitter accounts. Each is informative and useful in its own way. Find out what each section recommends for you.

Bestselling books the week of 3/17/13, according to IndieBound*

See what's selling in bookstores across America.

Yoga pants recall hits Lululemon stores (+video)

Yoga pants recall involves the  Lululemon fitness brand's popular black yoga pants, which were found to be too revealing. The company blamed a 'major quality control problem' for the yoga pants recall. 

Energy Voices Behind the oil boom lurks oil well depletion

Recent oil discoveries sound large, Cobb writes, but, when put into the context of how much we consume, they won’t extend the oil age by much. Current oil wells are constantly being depleted.

In interviews, new Pope Francis confirms commitment to poor

Pope Francis signals core mission – returning Catholics to the church (+video)

In his first blessing from the Vatican balcony, Pope Francis spoke of the 'evangelization' of Rome, a clear sign he would carry on the 'New Evangelization' legacy of John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Argentine pope: A reflection of Catholicism 'south of the equator'

Residents of Buenos Aires met the papal announcement with surprise, checking smartphones in the street and asking each other if the news was true.

Pope Francis: representative of God - and Latin America?

Pope Francis is the first Latin American pope, a prospect that fills many in the region with hopes for better representation of their concerns at the Vatican.

As Catholics worldwide welcome Pope Francis

A Christian Science perspective.

28 elephants killed by poachers in Cameroon

28 elephants killed as poachers decimate Africa's elephant population. The latest 28 killed only add to the 62 percent decline in Africa's forest elephants over the last decade.

Bestselling books the week of 3/10/13, according to IndieBound*

See what's selling in bookstores across America.

An American pope? What could help, or hinder, two cardinals' chances.

The US cardinals' experience dealing with the sex abuse crisis is seen alternately as a strength and a weakness. But other factors make any American a dark horse candidate to be the next pope.

North Korea abandons armistice: 4 key questions answered

Tensions on the Korean peninsula are ratcheting up. The US has started its annual war games with South Korean forces, and North Korea has used that fact to declare that it is invalidating the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953. What really has North Korea upset, though, is the tough, new sanctions passed by the United Nations in response to the North's nuclear test last month.Here are the top four questions analysts are wrestling with on the heels of these developments.

Three endangered shark species get protection

Global conference agrees to regulate trade in three sharks prized for their fins. Nations decide oceanic whitetip, hammerhead, and porbeagle sharks are more valuable alive than dead.

Malvinas curriculum helps Argentina revive Falklands claim

Residents of the Falklands vote today and tomorrow in a referendum that's expected to reaffirm the population's desire to remain an Overseas British Territory.

Energy Voices Crowd-funding emerges as source of capital for cleantech

Crowd-funding may provide cleantech entrepreneurs early-stage capital at a time when early-stage funding is drying up for cleantech.

Global News Blog China voted for new North Korea sanctions. Will it enforce them? (+video)

The real test will be in China's follow-through on 'little brother' North Korea.

The Monitor's View Celebrate South Korea on International Women's Day

As the first nation to reverse a strong preference for sons over daughters – and the sex-selective abortions that come with it – South Korea deserves praise. Other countries, such as China and India, now have hope of ending this violence against girls.

Energy Voices North Korea threat is part of the geopolitical game

North Korea on Tuesday threatened to attack the US and South Korea with “lighter and smaller nukes”. The threats and recent tests of long-range rockets and nuclear weapons are not the result of bravado, rather of fear, Alic writes.

North Korea threatens to nuke D.C.: why it's especially angry this time (+video)

The UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution Thursday that's based on a draft text negotiated by the US and China – North Korea’s closest ally. This suggests Beijing may be ready to try to slow its neighbor.

Global News Blog North Korea threatens 'preemptive nuclear attack' on US as UN readies new sanctions (+video)

The UN Security Council is expected today to approve a new round of sanctions against Pyongyang in response to its nuclear weapon test last month.

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia

Mohsin Hamid's wry novel is accessible as well as exotic.

Countries could face sanctions for failing to curb ivory trade

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species threatened to keep eight ivory-trading countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, from trading in legal wildlife products by forbidding other CITES member nations from buying from them.