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Japan's prime minister -- as well as his predecessor who was in charge of the government during the Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdowns -- met Wednesday with activists who have been organizing weekly protests in front of the prime minister's office. The encounter comes amid reports the government is considering phasing out all nuclear power reactors by the year 2030.

Rapidly reforming Burma's decision to ease media censorship is being met with caution in neighboring China, where government officials have been adamant in maintaining their tight control over the flow of information.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Special Representative Farid Zarif.

South Korea has dismissed a proposal by Japan to take a long-running dispute over a group of islands to the International Court of Justice.

Residents in northern Syria are trying to carry on with their lives despite a conflict that has killed thousands of people nationwide since March, 2011.

President Barack Obama on Monday again called for Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to step down, saying that any movement or use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government would change America's stance toward Syria.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has died at the age of 57 after months of speculation about his health.

Japanese demonstrations spread to more than 20 cities in China Sunday, as Tokyo dismissed China's opposition to Japanese activists landing on disputed islands in East China Sea.

Colorado Army National Guard Soldiers use a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter to help move an estimated 7,000 to 9,000 marijuana plants -- nearly $15 million street value -- from two remote areas near Rye, Colo., Aug. 15, 2012. Members of the Colorado National Guard Joint Counter-Drug Task Force's Drug Interdiction section were called to assist the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office move the plants, which were growing in steep terrain that's impassible by motor vehicle. The operation is one of the largest marijuana busts in Colorado.