CNN – Asia/Pacific

By Adam Pourahmadi, Irene Nasser and Simone McCarthy, CNN Saudi Arabia’s and Iran’s Foreign Ministers met in Beijing on Thursday to discuss key details in the resumption of their relations following a landmark agreement mediated by China last month. In the highest-level meeting between the two sides in more than seven years, Iran’s Hossein Amir-Abdollahian

By Helen Regan, CNN Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said farewell to politics Wednesday with a rousing speech that assured other nerds, criers, and huggers that they too could one day lead. “You can be anxious, sensitive, kind, and wear your heart on your sleeve, you can be a mother or not, you

By Richard Roth, Jessie Gretener and Jessie Yeung, CNN Afghan men working for the United Nations in Kabul will stay home in solidarity with their female colleagues after the Taliban prohibited Afghan women from working for the global organization, according to a senior UN official. Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN Deputy Special Representative, Resident and Humanitarian

By Amy Woodyatt, CNN From flying through the air to turning their bodies into a lasso and climbing smooth surfaces, we thought we’d seen snakes do it all. Now, researchers have discovered a species that can actually cartwheel. Found in some areas of Southeast Asia, including southern Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo and the

By Simone McCarthy and Michelle Toh, CNN French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen arrive in Beijing this week for a visit France has framed as a high stakes chance to push China to do more for peace in Ukraine, but where European economic interests will also loom large. Macron

By Sania Farooqui, CNN Seven tourists were killed and 13 others injured in a major avalanche in India’s northeastern state of Sikkim, local police said Tuesday. The incident occurred at about 11.10 a.m. local time, the army said in a statement to CNN. The army said at least 20 people were rescued alive after several

By Brad Lendon, CNN The Philippines on Monday identified the locations of four new military bases the US will gain access to, as part of an expanded defense agreement analysts say is aimed at combating China. The four bases include three on the main island of Luzon, close to Taiwan, and one in Palawan province

By Chris Lau, CNN Cruising at a depth of 8,336 meters (over 27,000 feet) just above the seabed, a young snailfish has become the deepest fish ever filmed by scientists during a probe into the abyss of the northern Pacific Ocean. Scientists from University of Western Australia and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology

By Sophia Saifi and Chris Lau, CNN At least 13 people were killed and 10 others injured Friday in a crush among people waiting for Ramadan food donations in Pakistan’s largest city Karachi, local police said. The crowd crush is the latest in a string of deadly incidents at food distribution centers across Pakistan as

By Kocha Olarn and Helen Regan, CNN Firefighters in central Thailand have spent days battling a wildfire that has engulfed two mountains and part of a forest park. The fire started at the Khao Chaplu mountain in Nakhon Nayok province, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Bangkok. Authorities said the blaze ignited during a

By Kathleen Magramo, CNN At least 29 people were killed Wednesday night after an inter-island ferry caught fire in the southern Philippines, with many of the 250 passengers jumping overboard into dark waters trying to escape the blaze, authorities said. The Philippine Coast Guard said Thursday that search and rescue efforts are ongoing after the

By Simone McCarthy, CNN Taiwan’s relationship with the United States has “never been closer,” its President Tsai Ing-wen said after arriving in New York City Wednesday, as Beijing warned her visit could lead to “serious confrontation” between China and the US. Taiwan faced “tremendous challenges,” Tsai said from the city, where she is making the

By Riley Zhang and Jessie Yeung, CNN Valery Gergiev, the star Russian conductor fired in Germany last year for his refusal to condemn the invasion of Ukraine, was given a warm welcome in China this week as he started a three-day performance at the country’s top art center. “It is like coming home,” Gergiev said

By Simone McCarthy Taiwan has every right to “connect with the world,” its President Tsai Ing-wen declared Wednesday as she embarked on a diplomatic mission to Central America, which will include transit in the United States — and has already been condemned by China. Tsai departed Taiwan on Wednesday for a 10-day trip in which