CNN – Asia/Pacific

By Amy Woodyatt, CNN Researchers have discovered what they say is the earliest direct evidence of a shark attack on a human, with the sea creature inflicting some 790 injuries on a man 3,000 years ago. Experts from the University of Oxford made the discovery while studying the remains of an adult male excavated from

By Amy Woodyatt, CNN Researchers have discovered what they say is the earliest direct evidence of a shark attack on a human, with the sea creature inflicting some 790 injuries on a man 3,000 years ago. Experts from the University of Oxford made the discovery while studying the remains of an adult male excavated from

By Helen Regan and Chandler Thornton, CNN The former President of the Philippines Benigno Aquino III died Thursday at the age of 61 after being hospitalized in Quezon City, state media reported. Popularly known as “Noynoy,” Aquino was the country’s 15th president, serving from 2010 to 2016 following the death of his mother, former President

By Eric Cheung and Will Ripley, CNN China’s escalating military intimidation of Taiwan shows the self-governed island “needs to prepare” for a possible military conflict, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said in an exclusive interview with CNN. His warning came one week after the island reported the largest daily incursion by Chinese military planes into

By Nectar Gan, CNN A suspected thief was shot dead by police at his home in southwestern China on Wednesday after he repeatedly threatened to detonate explosives during a 16-hour standoff. The 36-year-old man resisted arrest when officers arrived at his rented apartment in the city of Guang’an, Sichuan province on Tuesday morning, local police

By Nectar Gan, CNN A suspected thief was shot dead by police at his home in southwestern China on Wednesday after he repeatedly threatened to detonate explosives during a 16-hour standoff. The 36-year-old man resisted arrest when officers arrived at his rented apartment in the city of Guang’an, Sichuan province on Tuesday morning, local police

By Eric Cheung and Will Ripley, CNN China’s escalating military intimidation of Taiwan shows the self-governed island “needs to prepare” for a possible military conflict, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said in an exclusive interview with CNN. His warning came one week after the island reported the largest daily incursion by Chinese military planes into

By Helen Regan, CNN The former President of the Philippines Benigno Aquino III died Thursday at the age of 61 after being hospitalized in Quezon City, state media reported. Popularly known as “Noynoy,” Aquino was the country’s 15th president, serving from 2010 to 2016 following the death of his mother, former President and democracy icon

By Joshua Berlinger, CNN Chinese businesses with risky investments in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region are increasingly turning to legal, China-based private security companies for protection, according to a new report. The Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) found that China-based companies account for 29 of the 49 foreign private security firms operating in Cambodia

By Joshua Berlinger, CNN Chinese businesses with risky investments in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region are increasingly turning to legal, China-based private security companies for protection, according to a new report. The Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) found that China-based companies account for 29 of the 49 foreign private security firms operating in Cambodia

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the life of his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, Buddhist spiritual leader of the people of Tibet. Personal Birth date: July 6, 1935 Birth place: Taktser, Amdo, Eastern Tibet Birth name: Lhamo Dhondup Father: Choekyong Tsering Mother: Dekyi Tsering Education: Geshe Lharampa Degree (Doctorate of

By Jessie Yeung, CNN Hong Kong on Wednesday began the trial for the first person charged under its controversial national security law, which has transformed the city’s political landscape since it was imposed by Beijing last year. Tong Ying-kit, 24, pleaded not guilty to two charges of inciting secession and terrorism activities after allegedly driving

By Nectar Gan 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. China’s longest-serving ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, has announced he is standing down after

By Jessie Yeung and Kocha Olarn, CNN A woman in Thailand found an unexpected visitor in her house in the middle of the night last weekend — a wild Asian elephant. “We were sleeping and woke up by a sound inside our kitchen,” said Ratchadawan Puengprasoppon, a resident of Hua Hin district in western Prachuap

By Ben Westcott, CNN Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan refused to condemn the Chinese government’s alleged human rights abuses against the Muslim-majority Uyghur people in Xinjiang in an interview with Axios Sunday. When pressed on reports of widespread detention and abuse of Uyghurs, Khan said China had been “one of the greatest friends to us

By Nectar Gan and Ben Westcott, CNN Editor’s note: CNN has today 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. When it comes to the intensifying rivalry between the United States and China, the sky

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of former Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos. Personal Birth date: July 2, 1929 Birth place: Manila, Philippines (some sources say Leyte Province) Birth name: Imelda Remedios Visitacion Romualdez Father: Vicente Orestes Romualdez Mother: Remedios Trinidad Marriage: Ferdinand Marcos (May 1, 1954-September 28, 1989, his death) Children:

By Junko Ogura, Julia Hollingsworth and Angus Watson, CNN A coach in Uganda’s Olympic team tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival in Tokyo on Saturday night, according to Japanese officials. Uganda Olympic Committee President Donald Rukare said the coach, who has not been named, has no symptoms. It’s not yet clear whether the coach, who

After the Australian softball team, the Ugandan Olympic team is the next international team to arrive in Japan for pre-Game camp in their host town of Izumisano City in Osaka. CNN’s Selina Wang speaks to Uganda’s first female boxer about training amid social distancing and her hopes for her first games.

By Yong Xiong, Nectar Gan and Laura He, CNN China has administered more than 1 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses, an astonishing milestone that comes as the country rolls out an unrivaled inoculation drive. A total of 1,010,489,000 doses have been given as of Saturday, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement. Those doses

By Philip Wang and Julia Hollingsworth, CNN The United States is more than tripling its vaccine allocation to Taiwan, as the island battles a Covid-19 outbreak and resists pressure from Beijing to take China’s homegrown inoculations. Washington has shipped 2.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to Taipei, the US State Department spokesperson Ned Price tweeted on

China will reach one billion doses in its Covid-19 vaccination drive — a scale and speed unrivaled by any other country in the world. As of June 16, China had administered more than 945 million doses — three times the number delivered in the United States, and almost 40% of the 2.5 billion shots given globally. CNN’s Ivan Watson.

By Jack Guy and Zixu Wang, CNN Paleontologists working in China have discovered a new species of giant rhino, the largest land mammal ever to have walked the earth. Giant rhino, Paraceratherium, were mainly found in Asia, according to a press release from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, published Friday. The new species, Paraceratherium linxiaense,

By Emiko Jozuka, CNN A brown bear was shot dead in northern Japan after tearing through a residential area on Friday and injuring four people, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK. A local resident in the city of Sapporo, which is due to host the Olympic Marathon and Olympic Race Walking events at this summer’s

By Nectar Gan and Laura He, CNN Editor’s note: CNN is launching the Meanwhile in China newsletter on June 21, 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. Within days, China will reach a staggering 1 billion doses in its Covid-19

Burmese migrant workers in Thailand have a torturous life of helplessly watching from afar as their country implodes while their families back home lack food and jobs. CNN’s Paula Hancocks reports.

By Paula Hancocks and Rebecca Wright, CNN Su Thandar Win shows a photo of her 7-year-old son on her phone and a proud smile instinctively spreads across her face. But it soon fades when she explains why she hasn’t seen him for well over two years. “I left him with my mum,” said the Myanmar

By Zixu Wang, CNN A video showing wolves chasing actors across the stage during a live show in China has raised alarm about the safety of the performers and audience. The clip, filmed in a theater in the northwestern city of Xi’an, was posted on Chinese social media platform Weibo last week. It quickly went

By Jonny Hallam and Zamira Rahim, CNN Danny Fenster, a US journalist who was detained in Myanmar over three weeks ago, has appeared at a court in Yangon according to Frontier Myanmar, the news publication Fenster works for as managing editor. The 37-year-old was detained by Myanmar’s military at Yangon International Airport on May 24,

China successfully sends three astronauts into space

By Yoonjung Seo, Gawon Bae and Ivana Kottasová, CNN North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has admitted his country is facing food shortages that he blamed on last year’s typhoon and floods, just months after he warned North Koreans about a looming potential crisis. Kim told the plenary meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea

China successfully launched three astronauts into space, bringing the country one step closer to completing its new space station. CNN’s Steven Jiang reports.

By Amy Sood, CNN Live chickens are being given away by local authorities in rural Indonesia as an incentive for older residents to get vaccinated against Covid-19. The program, in Cianjur regency, West Java, is part of the district’s effort to increase the number of vaccines administered to citizens age 45 and over. Galih Apria,

By Jessie Yeung and Yong Xiong, CNN China successfully launched three astronauts into space on Thursday, bringing the country one step closer to completing its new space station. The Shenzhou-12 spacecraft, or Divine Vessel, was launched on a Long March-2F carrier rocket early Thursday morning, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China’s Gobi

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the life of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Personal Birth date: June 19, 1945 Birth place: Rangoon (Yangon), Burma (Myanmar) Birth name: Aung San Suu Kyi Father: Aung San, commander of the Burma Independence Army who helped negotiate Burma’s independence from

China is sending three veteran astronauts to work on the country’s orbiting space station. A rocket will launch from the Gobi Desert in just over 24 hours, according to China’s space agency. CNN’s Steven Jiang reports.

By Nectar Gan and Ben Westcott, CNN Editor’s note: CNN will be launching the Meanwhile in China newsletter on June 21, 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. Russia and China couldn’t stop boasting about their “unbreakable friendship” ahead of

China successfully launched the first module of its planned space station from the Wenchang launch site in the southern island of Hainan, according to the China National Space Administration.

By Brad Lendon and Eric Cheung, CNN Twenty-eight Chinese military planes flew into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ) Tuesday — the largest incursion since the self-ruled island began regularly reporting such actions last year, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense. Tuesday’s flights — which included fighter jets, bombers, and anti-submarine and early warning aircraft

By Amy Sood and Sophia Saifi, CNN An entire crew of workers at a fast food restaurant in Pakistan were allegedly detained on the weekend after refusing police officers’ demands for free burgers, according to a statement from the company. Burger joint Johnny & Jugnu in the eastern city of Lahore said in a statement

By Ben Westcott and Yong Xiong, CNN A rocket carrying three veteran astronauts bound for China’s orbiting space station module will launch from the Gobi Desert in the country’s north in just over 24 hours, China’s space agency announced Wednesday. The three men, Nie Haisheng, 56, Liu Boming, 54, and Tang Hongbo, 45, will become

By Selina Wang, CNN When the Tokyo Olympics put out a call for volunteers, Nima Esnaashari signed up along with thousands of others in Japan eager to soak up the atmosphere of the world’s biggest sporting event. But the closer the Games get, the more anxious he’s becoming about the risk of catching Covid-19. Like

By Nectar Gan and Zachary Cohen, CNN China said Tuesday that radiation levels around the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant are normal, following CNN’s exclusive report the United States government was assessing a reported leak at the facility. “There is no abnormality in the radiation environment around the nuclear power plant. Its safety is guaranteed,” foreign

By Helen Regan and Carly Walsh, CNN The captain of a container ship that caught fire and partially sunk off the coast of Sri Lanka, causing one of the country’s worst environmental disasters, was arrested Monday before being granted bail, local police said. Russian captain Vitaly Tyutkalo appeared before the Colombo High Court for violating

By Jeevan Ravindran, CNN Dr. Satyendra Kumar Tiwary thinks of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as superhuman. A leader like Modi comes along “once in 2,500 years,” he says, and should be remembered among the greats in India’s history, like Mahatma Gandhi, and even the Buddha. “The world will never see another leader like Modi,”

By Jessie Yeung, CNN Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi went on trial Monday, more than four months after the country’s military seized power in a coup. The court, in the capital Naypyidaw, heard the first criminal cases against the deposed leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Suu Kyi’s lawyer Khin Maung Zaw

By Helen Regan and Kocha Olarn, CNN Thailand began its mass Covid vaccination program Monday, following criticism of delays and concerns over health authorities relying on AstraZeneca shots produced by a company owned by the country’s king. The Southeast Asian nation is battling a third coronavirus wave with the highest number of daily cases and

By Susannah Cullinane, CNN A houseplant with just nine leaves has sold for a record-breaking $19,297 on a New Zealand auction site. Bids for the “very rare white variegated Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma” closed Sunday night, rising in the last four minutes as bidder “foliage_patch” battled the eventual winner, tagged “meridianlamb.” Trade Me spokesperson Millie Silvester told

By Susannah Cullinane, CNN A houseplant with just nine leaves has sold for a record-breaking $19,297 on a New Zealand auction site. Bids for the “very rare white variegated Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma” closed Sunday night, rising in the last four minutes as bidder “foliage_patch” battled the eventual winner, tagged “meridianlamb.” Trade Me spokesperson Millie Silvester told