CNN – Asia/Pacific

By Masrur Jamaluddin and Joshua Berlinger, CNN Indonesia reported 54,517 new cases of Covid-19, authorities said Wednesday, a single-day national record and dire warning sign for the world’s fourth-most populous country. The island nation — home to about 270 million people — is now reporting more cases a day than hard-hit India, making Indonesia the

By Sophia Saifi, CNN At least 10 people have died after a bus carrying Chinese engineers in northern Pakistan fell into a ditch following a “fiery explosion,” according to local police. Arif Khan, deputy commissioner of police for the Upper Kohistan region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, told CNN that of the 10 dead, six were

By Jessie Yeung, CNN The abduction of 2-year-old Guo Xinzhen in eastern China in 1997 sparked a desperate, seemingly never-ending nationwide search by his parents that inspired filmmakers to bring their story to the big screen. But this week — 24 years after his disappearance — the search for Guo finally came to an end.

By Ben Westcott, CNN One is a government accused of detaining more than 1 million Muslims in a vast system of internment camps. The other is one of the world’s strictest Islamist militant groups. Yet despite their differences, the Chinese Communist Party and the Taliban may soon find themselves working together, at least tentatively. Following

By Amy Sood, CNN Nearly half of Jakarta’s residents may have contracted Covid-19, according to a health survey — more than 12 times the number of cases officially recorded in the Indonesian capital at the time when the research was carried out. The survey, published July 10, tested for coronavirus antibodies in the blood of

By Gawon Bae, Yoonjung Seo and Jessie Yeung, CNN Gyms in the South Korean capital are about to adopt an unusual Covid prevention strategy: play slower music. The Health Ministry is implementing a number of new measures as the country continues battling a coronavirus outbreak that has seen daily cases climb steeply since late June.

By Anna Coren, Sandi Sidhu, Tim Lister and Abdul Basir Bina, CNN Over clear but unsteady video, the words ring out: “Surrender, commandos, surrender.” Several men emerge from a building; they are clearly unarmed. Gunfire erupts. At least a dozen men are seen shot to death amid cries of “Allahu Akhbar” — God is Great.

By Esha Mitra and Jack Guy, CNN At least 65 people were killed by lightning strikes and thunderstorms in the north Indian states of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, authorities said. In the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan, 23 died after lightning hit Amer Fort — a popular tourist spot on the outskirts of

By Nectar Gan, CNN Editor’s note: CNN has launched the Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Sign up here. One of China’s wandering elephants has finally made it home. The herd of wild Asian elephants shot to fame

By Jennifer Hansler and Brad Lendon, CNN United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reaffirmed the US’ commitment to defend the Philippines’ armed forces from attack in the South China Sea, under a 70-year-old mutual defense treaty. Blinken made the comments Sunday, in a statement marking the fifth anniversary of a ruling by an

By Jessie Yeung, CNN Antonette Acupinpin was 7 when the sexual abuse started. She had already endured years of beating and physical violence from her mother and stepfather, she said — but then he took it a step further. He would put a long knife near her face during the abuse, and threaten to kill

By Salman Saeed, Sophie Jeong, Elaine Ly and Heather Law, CNN The owner of a factory where at least 52 people died in a blaze in Bangladesh has been arrested along with seven other people. “Among the 8, one of them is the owner of the factory and his staff,” Zaidul Alam, the Police Superintendent

By Joshua Berlinger, Lauren Lau and Julia Hollingsworth, CNN They came with white flowers to honor a man accused of attempted murder. His victim was a seemingly random police officer — and for some in Hong Kong, that not only justified the violence, it was cause for commemoration. Over the past week, a steady trail

By Salman Saeed, Sophie Jeong and Amy Woodyatt, CNN At least 52 people were killed when a massive fire ripped through a juice factory in Bangladesh, officials said Friday. The fire started Thursday afternoon on the ground floor of a six-story Hashem Foods Ltd. factory in Rupganj, east of the capital Dhaka, Debashis Bardhan, deputy

By Jake Kwon and Angus Watson, CNN The capital of South Korea and Australia’s largest city announced Friday they would increase their Covid-19 prevention measures to combat growing outbreaks of the Delta variant in both cities. Seoul will raise its distancing measures to its highest level ever to counter surging Covid-19 numbers, Prime Minister Kim

By Martin Goillandeau, Jake Kwon and Gawon Bae, CNN Belgium is recalling its ambassador to Seoul “without further delay,” after the envoy’s wife was accused of getting into a second physical altercation in four months. Ambassador Peter Lescouhier had been recalled in late May following an incident in April in which his wife, Xiang Xueqiu,

By Junko Ogura, Chie Kobayashi and Nectar Gan, CNN The pandemic-delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will take place under a coronavirus state of emergency, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshide Suga confirmed Thursday. Speaking at the start of the government’s Covid-19 task force meeting, Suga said he had decided to declare a new state of emergency for the

Exclusive by Sam Kiley, CNN Full-throated they belt out songs of victory, their boots adding the drumbeat as ranks of new recruits jog in formation through their jungle training camp. There’s no doubting the shining eyes of these young people united by an ideal — freedom from the junta that’s smothered democracy in Myanmar. Nor,

By Ben Westcott and Jessie Yeung, CNN Editor’s note: CNN has launched the Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Sign up here. For Chinese diplomats, attack remains the best form of defense. Faced with a rising barrage of

By Joshua Berlinger and Lauren Lau, CNN Hong Kong authorities said they have thwarted an alleged plot to bomb train stations, court buildings and tunnels organized by advocates for the city’s independence from China. Steve Li, the senior superintendent of the police’s National Security Department, said Tuesday nine people between the ages of 15 and