CNN – Asia/Pacific

By Jake Kwon, Kara Fox and Will Ripley, CNN The Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony is a gratuitously enjoyable affair, with bulging muscles and beaming athletes proudly walking the Parade of Nations — and into our hearts. The made-for-TV spectacle is an entry way for some viewers to learn more about countries and athletes that they

By Helen Regan and Chandler Thornton, CNN For almost two weeks, a thick, black smudge stained the sky off Sri Lanka’s western coast — smoke from a burning container ship nine nautical miles out to sea. The Singapore-flagged X-Press Pearl caught fire on May 20 en route to Colombo carrying 350 metric tons of oil

By Jessie Yeung and Yoonjung Seo, CNN North Korea is doubling down on its culture war, warning citizens to stay away from all things South Korean — including its fashion, music, hairstyles and even slang. In the past decade, South Korea has emerged as a formidable cultural force, with products from makeup to K-pop and

By Jack Guy, CNN Scientists have discovered previously unknown viruses dating from 15,000 years ago in ice samples taken from a glacier in the Tibetan plateau. The viruses are unlike any that have been cataloged by scientists before, according to a study published earlier this week in the journal Microbiome. A team including climate scientists

By Nectar Gan and Jessie Yeung, CNN As record heat waves hit western North America and deadly floods swept Germany, the growing risks associated with climate change have grabbed headlines, and prompted widespread discussions in the West. Scientists have been warning for years that the climate crisis would amplify extreme weather, making it deadlier and

By Barbara Wojazer, Zachary Cohen, Michael Callahan and Jessie Yeung, CNN The French power company that co-owns a nuclear plant in China would shut it down if it could, due to damage to the fuel rods, a spokesperson said — but the decision is ultimately up to the plant’s Chinese operator. The spokesperson for Electricite

By Sandi Sidhu, Anna Coren, Helen Regan and Abdul Basir Bina, CNN Sohail Pardis was driving from his home in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul to nearby Khost province to pick up his sister for the upcoming Eid holiday celebrations to mark the end of Ramadan. It was supposed to be a happy occasion enjoyed with family.

By Nectar Gan and Zixu Wang, CNN At least 33 people have died and eight remain missing in central China, as authorities ramp up rescue and recovery efforts following devastating floods that submerged entire neighborhoods, trapped passengers in subway cars, caused landslides and overwhelmed dams and rivers. Torrential rains have battered Henan province since last

By Ben Westcott, Isaac Yee and Yong Xiong, CNN The Chinese government will not participate in a second phase of the World Health Organization’s investigation into the origins of Covid-19, a top health official announced Thursday, after the possibility of the virus leaking from a Wuhan lab was included on the proposal. Zeng Yixin, deputy

By Helen Regan, CNN A severe Covid-19 wave is devastating Myanmar — a country already on its knees following February’s military coup — with people queuing for hours for oxygen in major cities and the seriously ill dying at home because they are too scared to visit understaffed, ill-equipped hospitals. Images from the biggest city,

By Nectar Gan and Jessie Yeung, CNN Last week, the Biden administration warned American companies about the risk of doing business in Hong Kong, citing Beijing’s increasing crackdown on the city. “The bottom line is that businesses should be aware that the risks faced in mainland China are now increasingly present in Hong Kong,” White

By Rhea Mogul, CNN For much of last year, it seemed like Indonesia had managed to keep its Covid-19 outbreak largely under control. Now, the island nation — home to about 270 million people — has become Asia’s new epicenter of the pandemic, reporting more daily cases and deaths than hard-hit India as a devastating

By Jessie Yeung, Nectar Gan and Zixu Wang, CNN Terrified subway passengers in central China were left clinging to ceiling handles inside flooded cars on Tuesday, trapped up to their necks in rising water, as record-breaking rains devastated parts of Henan province. At least 12 people have been confirmed dead in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital,

By Amy Sood, CNN A 16-year-old boy was due to be charged with murder by Singapore police on Tuesday after a 13-year-old boy was found dead with multiple wounds in a school bathroom along with an ax. According to a police statement, officers found the victim on Monday with multiple wounds and he was pronounced

By Sophia Saifi and Ehsan Popalzai, CNN Afghanistan is withdrawing its diplomats from Pakistan following the alleged abduction of the ambassador’s daughter in the capital Islamabad, according to the Afghan foreign ministry. Silsila Alikhil, the daughter of Najib Alikhil, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan, was “abducted for several hours and severely tortured by unknown individuals on

By Nectar Gan, CNN The death of nine Chinese workers in a bus explosion in Pakistan has underscored the security risks attached to China’s overseas projects, as anti-China sentiment simmers in countries where official ties with Beijing are strong. The bus was carrying a convoy of Chinese engineers to the construction site of the Dasu

By Jessie Yeung, CNN Just days before the Olympics are set to begin, three members from South Africa’s Olympic football team have tested positive for Covid-19 after arriving at the Tokyo Olympic Village, according to the South African Football Association. “We have three positive cases of COVID-19 in the camp here, two players and an

By Masrur Jamaluddin, Atika Shubert and Julia Hollingsworth, CNN The last time Aris Suharyanto saw his wife was through a hospital window. He never got to meet their newborn baby. When Suharyanto’s pregnant wife Rina Ismawati and two of their three children fell ill last month, he initially thought it was a common cold. But