TOKYO, Japan — Dozens of countries in the Pacific region spent an anxious 24 hours bracing for massive waves after Saturday’s magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile sent a tsunami coursing halfway around the world. The threat of more devastation attracted blanket TV coverage, as millions, from New Zealand to Russia’s far east, waited to learn whether they would be spared or forced to flee their homes.

BANGKOK, Thailand — Asia’s most venerated beast, the tiger, is being wiped out by those most obsessed with its folky mystique. Despite prohibitions throughout Asia, businessmen still bestow bushy tiger pelts as auspicious gifts. Apothecaries still treat leprosy with a dab of tiger fat. Wine is spiked with pureed tiger bones in hopes of boosting of strength. Conservationists fear that 2010, the Year of the Tiger, will stir even more interest in the black market for tiger parts.

BANGKOK, Thailand — In the age of growing Chinese influence, there’s a simple measure of a country’s willingness to test China’s wrath. Will they stamp the Dalai Lama’s passport? Add Thailand to the shrinking list of nations that won’t.