CNN – Asia/Pacific

By Nectar Gan, CNN China’s top leader Xi Jinping has issued the strongest warning yet against anyone who questions the country’s zero-Covid policy, as stringent, frequent lockdowns fuel public discontent and deal a devastating blow to the Chinese economy. At a meeting chaired by Xi on Thursday, the ruling Communist Party’s supreme Politburo Standing Committee

By Brad Lendon and Gawon Bae, CNN North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the waters off its east coast on Wednesday, Japan and South Korea have reported. The missile was launched from Sunan, an area of the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Meanwhile, Japanese Deputy Defense

CNN By Jessie Yeung, CNN An elderly Shanghai resident was mistakenly declared dead and taken to a morgue in a body bag, in the latest sign of dysfunction in the Covid-stricken city where millions of people remain under government-enforced lockdown. Video footage, shot by a bystander, shows the moment several workers dressed head-to-toe in protective

By Jessie Yeung, CNN An elderly Shanghai resident was mistakenly declared dead and taken to a morgue in a body bag, in the latest sign of dysfunction in the Covid-stricken city where millions of people remain under government-enforced lockdown. Video footage, shot by a bystander, shows the moment several workers dressed head-to-toe in protective gear

Story by Reuters The leaders of Japan and Thailand announced a new defense agreement on Monday as well as plans to upgrade their economic relations, as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wrapped up the last leg of a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia. The agreement would facilitate the transfer of defense hardware and technology from

By Simone McCarthy Hazmat suit-clad workers spraying clouds of disinfectant over city streets, building fronts, park benches and even parcels have become a common sight in pandemic-era China. In Shanghai, the epicenter of the country’s largest outbreak, state media report that thousands of workers have been organized into teams to disinfect areas, with a focus

By Rhea Mogul, Esha Mitra, Manveena Suri and Sophia Saifi, CNN Temperatures in parts of India and Pakistan have reached record levels, putting the lives of millions at risk as the effects of the climate crisis are felt across the subcontinent. The average maximum temperature for northwest and central India in April was the highest

By Nectar Gan and CNN’s Beijing Bureau Beijing has banned all restaurant dining, shut down Universal Studios and ordered residents to provide proof of a negative Covid test to enter public venues in a major escalation of restrictions as a five-day holiday gets underway. The Labor Day holiday, which started on Saturday this year, has

By Selina Wang, CNN Beijing is partially locking down to control a Covid outbreak that could completely shutter the Chinese capital. But just as the government is tightening controls in the city — testing 21 million residents, shutting schools and some shopping malls — I’m trying to get in. Flights from Tokyo to Beijing this

By Ehsan Popalzai and Jonny Hallam, CNN At least 10 people were killed and 30 wounded after an explosion at a mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul after Friday prayers, Taliban spokesperson for the chief of police Khalid Zadran said — but eyewitnesses said they feared many more had died. The blast occurred in the

By Nectar Gan, CNN “Thank you China,” complete with a Chinese flag and a heart emoji, might seem like an innocuous enough farewell message from China’s Winter Olympics superstar Eileen Gu. After winning two gold medals, countless hearts and substantial fame and fortune, the American-born freeski prodigy is wrapping up her months-long stay in China,

CNN By Jessie Yeung, CNN China has introduced lockdown measures in its two biggest cities, Beijing and Shanghai — the twin engines that power much of the nation’s economy — in an uncompromising bid to stamp out Covid-19 outbreaks. Shanghai is at the center of the latest outbreak, reporting upwards of 15,000 new cases a

By Jessie Yeung, CNN China has introduced lockdown measures in its two biggest cities, Beijing and Shanghai — the twin engines that power much of the nation’s economy — in an uncompromising bid to stamp out Covid-19 outbreaks. Shanghai is at the center of the latest outbreak, reporting upwards of 15,000 new cases a day.

By Brad Lendon and Emiko Jozuka, CNN Russia has warned Japan of “retaliatory measures” if it expands joint naval exercises with the United States near Russia’s eastern borders. The threat is just the latest salvo from Moscow, which has been angered by Japan’s support for Ukraine and its growing ties with NATO countries, and is

By Rhea Mogul and Helen Regan, CNN A man with intellectual disabilities was executed in Singapore on Wednesday, his family’s lawyer said, after a long campaign for clemency failed, putting the city-state’s zero-tolerance drug laws back under scrutiny. Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, a 34-year-old Malaysian citizen, was arrested in 2009 for bringing 42.7 grams (1.5 ounces)

By Sophia Saifi, Saleem Mehsud and Azaz Syed Three teachers from China and a driver have been killed in a suspected suicide bombing near a Chinese language learning center in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi. The four were in a van near the University of Karachi’s Confucius Institute when the blast ripped through the vehicle on

By Megan Marples, CNN When one tiny species of spider mates, one partner needs a special move to survive the encounter. Philoponella prominens are social spiders, meaning they live in groups, but soon after they mate, the male arachnid has to rapidly leap away to avoid being eaten by its female partner, new research has

By Yoonjung Seo and Brad Lendon, CNN North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed on Monday to ramp up his development of nuclear arms, as a military parade in Pyongyang showcased the country’s most advanced weaponry yet — including an intercontinental ballistic missile experts say puts the entire US mainland in range. The country would