CNN – Asia/Pacific

By CNN’s Beijing Bureau and Nectar Gan China’s Xi’an has further tightened lockdown measures and rolled out a fifth round of mass testing as it reported the highest daily count of local symptomatic Covid infections in a Chinese city since March 2020. Xi’an, an ancient city in northwestern Shaanxi province, reported 175 new local symptomatic

By Brad Lendon, CNN The defense ministers of Japan and China on Monday agreed to set up a joint communication hotline by the end of 2022, a news release from Japan’s Defense Ministry said, amid tensions between the East Asian neighbors. China’s Defense Ministry confirmed the hotline agreement in a statement without giving a date

By Eliza Mackintosh and Nilly Kohzad, CNN Illustration by Alberto Mier, CNN In the four months since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Nilofar, a 20-year-old university student, has rarely left her small apartment in Kabul, where she lives with her older sister, brother and father. Her days, which were once punctuated by exam preparation, fitness

By Cape Diamond, Jessie Yeung and Maija Ehlinger, CNN At least 30 people, including women and children, were killed in the eastern Myanmar state of Kayah on Friday, according to the Karenni Human Rights Group, with two members of international humanitarian group Save the Children still missing. The “charred remains” were discovered and identified close

By Jessie Yeung and Junko Ogura, CNN Japan will not send any senior officials or Cabinet ministers to the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, the government said Friday — but stopped short of calling the decision a diplomatic boycott. Japan “believes that respect for human rights is important,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at

By Gawon Bae and Helen Regan, CNN The South Korean government has pardoned former President Park Geun-hye, who was serving 22 years in prison for corruption, the country’s Justice Ministry said on Friday. Park Kyung-mi, a spokesperson for the Blue House — South Korea’s presidential office — said President Moon Jae-in considered former President Park’s

CNN By CNN’s Beijing Bureau and Nectar Gan China’s Xi’an has further tightened lockdown measures and rolled out a fifth round of mass testing as it reported the highest daily count of local symptomatic Covid infections in a Chinese city since March 2020. Xi’an, an ancient city in northwestern Shaanxi province, reported 175 new local

By Jessie Yeung, CNN On Tuesday, the central Chinese city of Xi’an recorded 52 new Covid-19 cases. By Wednesday, authorities had imposed strict lockdown measures on its estimated 13 million residents. The sweeping restrictions, which prevent people from leaving their homes, come as the country braces for the Lunar New Year travel rush, followed by

Helen Regan, Wayne Chang, Teele Rebane and Karen Smith, CNN For more than 20 years the “Pillar of Shame” sculpture stood as a memorial to the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, in which the Chinese military crushed protests led by college students in Beijing with deadly force. Atop a podium in the University

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the life of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Personal Birth date: January 8 (Widely believed to be in his mid-30s, though birth year is publicly unavailable.) Father: Kim Jong Il Mother: Ko Yong Hui Marriage: Ri Sol Ju Children: Ju Ae and reportedly two others Education:

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Junichiro Koizumi, former Japanese prime minister and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Personal Birth date: January 8, 1942 Birth place: Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan Birth name: Junichiro Koizumi Father: Junya Samejima, member of the House of Representatives and director general of the Japan

By Katie Hunt, CNN An unprecedented fossil of a baby dinosaur curled up perfectly inside its egg is shedding more light on the links between dinosaurs and birds. The 70-million-year-old fossil preserves the embryonic skeleton of an oviraptorid dinosaur, which has been nicknamed Baby Yingliang after the name of the Chinese museum which houses the

By Junko Ogura, Mayumi Maruyama and Sophie Jeong, CNN Japan executed three death row inmates by hanging on Tuesday, marking the first executions the country has carried out since 2019 and the first under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. One of those put to death was Yasutaka Fujishiro, 65, who murdered seven people including his aunt

By Rhea Mogul, CNN The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year surpassed 300 on Tuesday as humanitarian agencies warned the true scale of destruction remains unknown, partly because rescue workers are unable to access some disaster-hit areas. Super Typhoon Rai — known locally as Odette — has now claimed

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Xi Jinping, leader of the People’s Republic of China. Personal Birth date: June 15, 1953 Birth place: Fuping County, Shaanxi Province, China (some sources say Beijing) Birth name: Xi Jinping Father: Xi Zhongxun, revolutionary and vice premier Mother: Qi Xin Marriages: Peng Liyuan (1987-present); Ke

By Jessie Yeung, CNN Hong Kong’s first “patriots only” legislative election witnessed a record low turnout on Sunday, reflecting a steep decline in civic and political engagement following Beijing’s overhaul of the city’s electoral processes. According to a government news release, provisional turnout was 30.2% by close of polls — far lower than the previous

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Jack Ma, co-founder of China’s most successful tech empire and billionaire entrepreneur. Personal Birth date: September 10, 1964 Birth place: Hangzhou, China Birth name: Ma Yun Father: Ma Laifa Mother: Cui Wencai Marriage: Zhang Ying (Cathy Zhang) Children: Two (some sources say three) Education: Hangzhou

By Hilary Whiteman and Akanksha Sharma, CNN A sixth child has died in hospital after a bouncy castle was lifted into the air at a school event in Australia late last week, police said Sunday. The 11-year-old boy, Chace Harrison, “passed away in hospital this afternoon,” Tasmania Police Commissioner, Darren Hine, said in a statement.

CNN By Hilary Whiteman and Akanksha Sharma, CNN A sixth child has died in hospital after a bouncy castle was lifted into the air at a school event in Australia late last week, police said Sunday. The 11-year-old boy, Chace Harrison, “passed away in hospital this afternoon,” Tasmania Police Commissioner, Darren Hine, said in a