CNN – Asia/Pacific

By Tara Subramaniam, CNN Archeologists in China have found the remains of what may be the world’s oldest known flush toilet. Broken parts of the 2,400-year-old lavatory, as well as a bent flush pipe, were unearthed last summer by a research team among ancient palace ruins in the Yueyang archaeological site in the central city

By Kathleen Magramo, CNN Philippine authorities on Monday launched a search mission atop a restive volcano after spotting the suspected wreckage of a missing plane carrying two Australians along with a Filipino pilot and crew member. The six-seater Cessna 340 aircraft was bound for the capital Manila when it lost contact with air traffic control

By Kareem El Damanhoury and Mia Alberti, CNN An Australian tourist has died after being attacked by a shark in waters off New Caledonia in the South Pacific, according to public broadcaster New Caledonia 1 TV. The 59-year-old man was swimming near a pontoon at Château-Royal beach in the capital Nouméa when a shark attacked

By Simone McCarthy, Nectar Gan, Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood, CNN US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Saturday, in the first face-to-face between senior US and Chinese officials since the US military shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon earlier this month. In a meeting on the

By Yoonjung Seo, Brad Lendon and Junko Ogura, CNN North Korea said Sunday it conducted a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) a day earlier, its third known test of the long-range weapon in less than a year. The state-run Korean Central News Agency said a Hwasong-15 ICBM was fired in a “surprise ICBM

By Hilary Whiteman, CNN New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay is known for its fine wine, but many of the region’s vineyards are now under water, along with homes and roads in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle. The weather system didn’t make landfall in New Zealand, but it caused widespread destruction, killing at least eight people, displacing

By Nectar Gan and Brad Lendon, CNN It’s known as the “Hawaii of China,” a tropical island paradise where the Chinese middle class enjoys sandy beaches, five-star resorts, and duty-free luxury shopping. It’s also China’s largest free-trade port and host of the Boao Forum, an annual meeting of political and business leaders dubbed “Asia’s Davos.”

By Junko Ogura, CNN Japan said Tuesday it “strongly” suspects three Chinese spy balloons entered its airspace between 2019 and 2021. Three “balloon-shaped flying objects” were detected between November 2019 and September 2021, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said, adding that these were “strongly presumed” to be “unmanned reconnaissance” aircraft flown by China. The ministry

By Teele Rebane and Angus Watson, CNN Separatist fighters in Indonesia’s restive Papua region have released a series of images showing a pilot from New Zealand who was taken hostage more than a week ago. The photos released on Tuesday show the pilot, identified by local police as Philip Mehrtens, standing fully clothed and apparently

By Nectar Gan and Selina Wang, CNN It’s been about two weeks since a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon entered American airspace late last month. In that time China’s response has shifted from conciliatory to indignant, and now, as the fallout continues, to outright confrontational. While China’s increasingly hardline stance plays to its domestic audience, it’s