A principal problem for sports extravangas is host nations trying to outdo their predecessors in grandeur, writes Bob Jones.

In an uncharacteristic step by the North Korean government, officials made a public apology after a building collapse in Pyongyang reportedly killed hundreds of people.

Dutch historian Frank Dikotter, based in Hong Kong, has spent year immersed in the horrors to be found within China’s open archives.

Circles in the sky have become a hip way to view a city, so prepare your cabin for 'flight', says Peter Hamling.

This resort in Hokkaido prefecture, 1000km north of Tokyo, gets enough snow to allow skiing for seven months of the year.

For further information see 360niseko.com.

New Zealand has a rival for the world's most breathtaking landscapes, writes Hayden Donnell, after taking in the view from Mt Annupuri during a skiing trip to the resort of Niseko on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Communist Laos is still close to its agricultural roots, writes Yvonne van Dongen.

Helen van Berkel senses the suffering of the prisoners of war who died to build the Death Railway.

Hugh Biggar goes in search of exotic and elusive wildlife in Indonesia.

Rare pictures of Kim Jong-un as a boy have been shown during a televised concert for the air force in North Korea.

The Chinese government has shut down thousands of websites and social media sites in a bid to purge the internet of online pornography, it was revealed today.

Catering for many tastes requires a juggling act, finds Diana Dobson.

So few tourists go to colourful Bangladesh that you'll be spoiled, says J.J. Somerset - but you'll also be amazed and enchanted.

Solar power has won the global argument. Photovoltaic energy is already so cheap that it competes with oil, diesel and liquefied natural gas in much of Asia without subsidies.

The "Palace on Wheels" is an extravagant week you won't forget, writes Kevin Pilley.

Indian Ink Theatre's Jacob Rajan returns to Southern India and is thrilled by his company's historic first.

Much hangs on whether the Japanese Government sides with its future-focused Foreign Ministry or its inwards-looking pro-whaling fisheries agency, writes John Armstrong.

Comparisons to Cambodia's tourist sites are unavoidable, writes Tim Roxborogh.

A Thai satellite has detected about 300 objects floating in the Indian Ocean near the search area for the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner.