CNN – Asia/Pacific

By Reuters North Korea imported more than 1 million facial masks and 15,000 pairs of rubber gloves from China in July, shortly before declaring victory over Covid-19, Chinese trade figures show. Pyongyang last week declared victory over the coronavirus, ending a little-detailed fight against “fever” cases that had risen to 4.77 million in the country

By CNN’s Beijing Bureau Chinese authorities issued a nationwide drought warning for the first time in nine years as the country copes with below-average rainfall and one of the strongest heat waves seen in six decades. The “yellow” alert, which was issued Friday, is the third-highest on China’s four-tier scale. It indicates that at least

By Nectar Gan, CNN Chinese-Canadian tycoon Xiao Jianhua was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison, more than five years after the billionaire was abducted from a hotel room in Hong Kong and taken to mainland China. Xiao and his company Tomorrow Holdings were convicted of crimes involving tens of billions of dollars, including illegally

By Tara Subramaniam The Chinese coastal city of Xiamen is testing freshly caught fish, crabs and even shrimp for Covid-19 as it goes all out to contain a spiraling outbreak — a policy drawing ridicule online and criticism from experts who say it’s a “waste of resources.” This week, videos of hazmat-suited health workers sticking

By Gawon Bae and Jessie Yeung, CNN North Korea has rejected South Korea’s offer of economic support in exchange for denuclearization, saying the proposal suggests President Yoon Suk Yeol is “really simple,” state media KCNA reported Friday. Kim Yo Jong, a top official and the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, criticized Yoon’s

By Wayne Chang, Shawn Deng and Simone McCarthy, CNN Metro stations in Sichuan province’s capital city Chengdu have dimmed their lights to save electricity, leaving some travelers in partial darkness as China grapples with a power crunch amid a record heat wave. The rail system of southwestern city of Chengdu, home to about 21 million

By Jessie Yeung and Junko Ogura, CNN The Japanese government has been hit in the pocket by an unusual problem — its young people aren’t drinking enough. Since the pandemic began, bars and other premises selling alcohol have been hit hard by Covid-19 restrictions, causing sales — and liquor tax revenues — to plummet in

By Iqbal Athas and Rhea Mogul, CNN Sri Lanka’s former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the crisis-hit island nation last month amid mass protests, is expected to return to the country next week, according to a senior minister. Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told CNN late Wednesday the Sri Lankan government had been told of Rajapaksa’s

By Yong Xiong, Selina Wang and Nectar Gan, CNN On a sunny afternoon in June, Wang Qun pushed his nose up against the 20-foot high steel fence, peering at the palm trees and detached houses across the border — the first glimpse of his American dream. Unlike many of the thousands aiming to cross the

By Shawn Deng, Wayne Chang, Simone McCarthy and Reuters, CNN Chinese planes are firing rods into the sky to bring more rainfall to its crucial Yangtze River, which has dried up in parts, as swaths of the nation fall into drought and grapple with the worst heat wave on record. Several regions on the Yangtze

By Kathleen Magramo, CNN The Hong Kong government is distributing thousands of copies of a speech by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to schools in the city for teachers to “study and learn.” In a circular sent to educators on Monday, Hong Kong’s Education Bureau said in “view of the great significance of (Xi’s) ‘Address’ to

By Brad Lendon and Gawon Bae, CNN South Korea plans to become one of the world’s top four weapons suppliers, President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday as he addressed reporters in a speech marking his first 100 days in office. “By entering the world’s top four defense exporters after the United States, Russia and France,

By Gawon Bae, CNN North Korea fired two cruise missiles early Wednesday morning from the coastal town of Onchon into waters off its west coast, according to a South Korean Defense Ministry official. Military officials from South Korea and the United States said they were analyzing the launch for further details. After the launch, South

By Rhea Mogul, CNN A Chinese research ship docked at a southern Sri Lankan port Beijing leases from the government on Tuesday, officials said, despite security concerns raised by India about the vessel’s presence in nearby waters. Port workers at Hambantota gave an enthusiastic welcome to the Yuan Wang 5, waving Sri Lanka and China

By Cape Diamond and Heather Chen, CNN A court in military-run Myanmar has sentenced ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to six more years in prison after convicting her on four extra counts of corruption, state media reported on Tuesday. The latest verdict in the series of secretive trials against the Nobel laureate takes her

CNN By Kathleen Magramo and CNN’s Beijing bureau Panicked shoppers rushed for the exits at an Ikea branch in Shanghai on Saturday after city health authorities ordered the store to lock down after a close contact of a Covid-19 case was traced to the location. Multiple videos on social media showed customers yelling and pushing

By Nectar Gan, CNN A Chinese anime fan says she was detained and interrogated by police after she wore traditional Japanese dress to pose for photos in the eastern city of Suzhou, sparking heated debate on China‘s social media over what some see as over-the-top nationalism. Wearing a white kimono decorated with images of red