CNN – Asia/Pacific

By Rhea Mogul and Alex Stambaugh, CNN The eruption this month of an underwater volcano near Tonga was hundreds of times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb, according to NASA. Jim Garvin, chief scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano on January 15 released “hundreds of times

By Eric Cheung and Brad Lendon, CNN China sent 39 warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Sunday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said, the largest such incursion this year. The flights by the People’s Liberation Army aircraft came a day after the United States and Japanese navies put on a massive show of force

By Nectar Gan and Steve George, CNN The Winter Games is just two weeks away and outside Beijing’s Olympic venues, the banners and decorations are up. But so too are long rows of metal fences and guard posts, dividing the Chinese capital and barring anyone without an official Covid-safe pass. Having been largely sealed off

By Brad Lendon, CNN A United States Navy guided missile destroyer challenged Chinese claims of sovereignty in and around islands in the South China Sea on Thursday, with a Navy statement saying such claims violate international law and “pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas.” The USS Benfold sailed around the Paracel

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 carrying

By Katie Hunt, CNN Pandas are famously picky eaters. They only consume bamboo — a poor quality diet low in fat. But the creatures appear to have evolved to get the most out of what they do eat, according to a new study. Their gut bacteria changes in late spring and early summer when bamboo

By Katie Hunt, CNN A previously unknown type of tarantula has been discovered in Thailand, and it lives exclusively in the hollowed stems of bamboo plants, surprising scientists. “These animals are truly remarkable; they are the first known tarantulas ever with a bamboo-based ecology,” said Narin Chomphuphuang, a researcher at Khon Kaen University’s department of

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