VIETNAM-DISSIDENT

BANGKOK — Vietnam granted early release from prison to a Catholic priest who is one of its most prominent dissidents, a move widely seen as a goodwill gesture before U.S. President Barack Obama arrives on an official visit. The archdiocese of the central city of Hue posted photos online of a frail Father Nguyen Van Ly being helped off a minibus, kneeling to pay his respects to his senior colleagues, then being led to a room prepared for him at the diocese. 

THAILAND-COUP-ANALYSIS

BANGKOK — Thailand's military seized power from an elected government on May 22, 2014, with the justification that it wanted to end chaotic and violent political confrontations that had wracked the country for years. But more than an attempt to restore stability was at play. Here's a look at the reasons for, and consequences of, the coup led two years ago Sunday by Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, who continues to rule as prime minister. 

NORTH KOREA-OBIT-KANG

SEOUL, South Korea — A top North Korean diplomat who negotiated a short-lived 1994 deal with the United States to freeze its nuclear programs in exchange for international aid has died of cancer, the country's state media said. The report said Kang Sok Ju, a "trustworthy revolutionary comrade" of Kim Jong Un, died of esophageal cancer at age 76. 

AUSTRALIA-DEVILS' LAST STAND

There's one place left in Tasmania where wild populations of the Australian island's namesake devils live apart from a contagious cancer that threatens the fearsome marsupials' existence. Conservationists are doing everything they can to keep it that way.