CNN – Asia/Pacific

By Rhea Mogul, Teele Rebane and Eric Cheung, CNN A massive volcanic eruption and tsunami near Tonga caused “an unprecedented disaster,” the Pacific nation’s leader said Tuesday, as New Zealand warned of further eruptions that may complicate the delivery of aid to remote islands where communications are down. In its first official update since Saturday’s

CNN By Rhea Mogul, Teele Rebane and Eric Cheung, CNN A massive volcanic eruption and tsunami near Tonga caused “an unprecedented disaster,” the Pacific nation’s leader said Tuesday, as New Zealand warned of further eruptions that may complicate the delivery of aid to remote islands where communications are down. In its first official update since

By Rhea Mogul, Eric Cheung, Akanksha Sharma and Teele Rebane CNN A thick layer of ash covering entire island communities can be seen in the first images of disaster-hit Tonga to emerge following what experts believe to be the world’s biggest volcanic eruption in more than 30 years. Aerial photos released by the New Zealand

By Helen Regan, CNN The eruption of an underwater volcano near Tonga on Saturday was likely the biggest recorded anywhere on the planet in more than 30 years, according to experts. Dramatic images from space captured the eruption in real time, as a huge plume of ash, gas and steam was spewed up to 20

By Jessie Yeung and CNN’s Beijing Bureau At an office building in China’s capital on Sunday, masked Covid control personnel lugged boxes of pillows and bedding through the closely guarded entrance for white collar workers stuck inside, preparing for what may be days of lockdown as Beijing rushes to prevent the spread of Omicron ahead

By Brad Lendon, CNN One of the most powerful weapons in the US Navy’s arsenal made a rare port call in Guam over the weekend, sending a message to allies and foes amid increasing tensions in the Indo-Pacific, analysts said. The USS Nevada, an Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarine carrying 20 Trident ballistic missiles and dozens of

By Gawon Bae and Junko Ogura, CNN North Korea conducted its fourth missile test of the year on Monday, firing two projectiles into the ocean off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. North Korea said Tuesday it was test-firing “tactical guided missiles,” which are short-range ballistic

By Hilary Whiteman, Julia Hollingsworth, Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

CNN By Rhea Mogul, Jake Kwon, Sophie Jeong and Alex Stambaugh, CNN The first contactless aid flights arrived in disaster-hit Tonga on Thursday, as the coronavirus-free Pacific island nation takes precautions to keep the virus out of its borders in the wake of a devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami. Flights from Australia and New Zealand

By Alex Stambaugh, Laura Smith-Spark, Rhea Mogul, Sophie Jeong and Dakin Andone, CNN An underwater volcano in the South Pacific erupted violently on Saturday, causing tsunamis to hit Hawaii, Japan, and Tonga’s largest island, Tongatapu — sending waves flooding into the capital. The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano, about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) southeast of Tonga’s Fonuafo’ou island,

By Hilary Whiteman, Julia Hollingsworth, Rhea Mogul, Brad Lendon, Adrienne Vogt and Meg Wagner, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

By Rhea Mogul and Swati Gupta, CNN At a conference in India last month, a Hindu extremist dressed head-to-toe in the religion’s holy color, saffron, called on her supporters to kill Muslims and “protect” the country. “If 100 of us become soldiers and are prepared to kill 2 million (Muslims), then we will win …

By Melissa Mahtani, Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner, Adrienne Vogt, Jessie Yeung and Adam Renton, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

By Gawon Bae, Yoonjung Seo and Brad Lendon, CNN North Korea on Friday test fired what are presumed to be two ballistic missiles from a rail car, according to state media. The test comes after North Korea said it successfully test-fired a hypersonic missile on Tuesday, the second alleged test of such a weapon by

By Sara Spary, CNN When 40-year-old Zane Wedding went swimming last week, he left with more than he bargained for — a cockroach, which burrowed inside his left ear and stayed there for three days. Wedding, who is Māori and works for Greenpeace, had taken a dip at his local pool in Auckland, New Zealand,

By Nectar Gan, CNN It was supposed to be a quick get-to-know-you — but a snap Covid lockdown forced a Chinese woman to stay with her blind date at his house for days on end. The 30-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Wang, went to meet her blind date for a home-cooked dinner on

CNN By Lianne Kolirin, CNN Magawa, the “hero rat” whose work sniffing out landmines in Cambodia won him a medal for life-saving bravery, has died at the age of 8. The African giant pouched rat found more than 100 landmines and other explosives during his service, according to APOPO, the mine-clearing non-governmental organization that trained

By Nectar Gan, CNN China’s northern port city of Tianjin and central province of Henan have further tightened Covid restrictions as the highly contagious Omicron variant continues to spread, posing the gravest challenge yet to the country’s zero-Covid strategy. Tianjin, which detected China’s first community spread of Omicron on Saturday, is rolling out a second

By Lianne Kolirin, CNN Magawa, the “hero rat” whose work sniffing out landmines in Cambodia won him a medal for life-saving bravery, has died at the age of 8. The African giant pouched rat found more than 100 landmines and other explosives during his service, according to APOPO, the mine-clearing non-governmental organization that trained him.

By Yoonjung Seo and Brad Lendon, CNN A suspected ballistic missile launched by North Korea on Tuesday was more advanced than the missile Pyongyang tested last week, reaching a velocity of more than 10 times the speed of sound, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. Tuesday’s projectile was launched from Jangang

By Helen Regan, CNN Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was sentenced to another four years in prison on Monday, the second round of verdicts against the Nobel prize winner. Suu Kyi was found guilty of multiple charges that include possession of unlicensed walkie-talkies, a source with knowledge of the court proceedings told

By Jessie Yeung, Hilary Whiteman, Helen Regan, Amy Woodyatt and Ed Upright, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.