French President Emmanuel Macron's next stop on his Pacific sojourn is the French territory of New Caledonia, where the countdown to a vote on independence is fast approaching.

Expectations grow that North Korea will soon release three Americans held as prisoners, as a gesture of goodwill ahead of an unprecedented US-North Korea summit due to take place in coming weeks.

Despite allegations that hundreds of millions of dollars of state money ended up in his personal bank account, and arrests of people who bring it up, support for Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak remains strong in regional areas.

China's "Helmsman" President Xi Jinping wants the 1.4 billion people he leads to enthusiastically embrace the teachings of German philosopher Karl Marx, as part of a broader revival of the Communist Party.

US President Donald Trump admits to reimbursing lawyer Michael Cohen for the $130,000 hush payment to Stormy Daniels — a payment he once claimed no knowledge of — but insists the money did not come from campaign funds.