Asia/Pacific
Australia’s influence in Pacific Islands grows as China’s wanes
As Beijing has pulled back from the strategic region amid the pandemic, Canberra has stepped up support for vaccinations in the countries there.
North Korea’s Kim admits economic missteps as rare party congress opens
The strongman refrained from mentioning his country's nuclear program in an opening speech, but said the economic strategy unveiled in 2016 "fell extremely short" of ...
Hong Kong arrests dozens of opposition figures under security law
As many as 50 were arrested Wednesday in the largest operation yet against Beijing's critics, deepening a crackdown sweeping the financial hub.
As pandemic persists, Asia’s hot spots simmer on
While the region continues to focus on battling COVID-19, long-running tensions around North Korea, the South China Sea, Taiwan and others have not gone away.
Beijing vaccinates thousands in COVID-19 shot drive
Thousands of people lined up in Beijing on Monday to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as China races to innoculate millions before the Chinese New Year ...
South Korea reviews AstraZeneca vaccine and expands ban on gatherings
South Korea is reviewing AstraZeneca's request for approval of its coronavirus vaccine, as it expands a ban on private gatherings of more than four people ...
Chengdu, China’s permissive ‘gay capital,’ refusing to fold
Far from the administrative glare of Beijing, the cosmopolitan city, dubbed "Gaydu" by Chinese millennials, has long cherished its reputation as a safe haven for ...
How Taiwan plans to stay (mostly) coronavirus-free
Consider for a moment, in this time of anguish and loss and death, of mass unemployment and flattened national economies, the Twilight Zone alternate reality ...
Jobs, houses and cows: China’s costly drive to erase extreme poverty
In just five years, China says it has lifted from extreme poverty over 50 million farmers left behind by breakneck economic growth in cities.
Senior Chinese diplomat says U.S. relations at ‘new crossroads’
China's relationship with the United States has reached a "new crossroads" and could get back on the right track following a period of "unprecedented difficulty", ...
Nuns arrested as Beijing turns up heat on Catholic Church in Hong Kong
The Catholic Church in Hong Kong is coming under mounting pressure as China moves to extinguish opposition voices in the city under a new national ...
China gives its first COVID-19 vaccine approval to Sinopharm
While China has been slower in approving COVID-19 vaccines, it has been inoculating some citizens for months with three different shots still undergoing late-stage trials.
Early voting numbers in Georgia Senate races put GOP on edge
Less than a week before election day, the last-minute challenges, messages and strategies for the two parties in Georgia’s runoffs are coming into focus.
U.S. warships transit Taiwan Strait; China denounces ‘provocation’
Two U.S. warships sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Thursday, drawing protest from Beijing, the second such mission this month and coming almost two ...
25 days that changed the world: How COVID-19 slipped China’s grasp
China’s delayed initial response unleashed the virus on the world and foreshadowed battles between scientists and political leaders that would play out across continents.
China sentences 10 seeking to flee Hong Kong to prison terms
The group attempted to reach Taiwan by speedboat on Aug. 23, but were picked up by authorities.
One month on, women hold the fort at India farmer protests
Once the male farmers hunkered down around New Delhi, something remarkable happened: A stream of women, young and old, started jostling through a teeming crowd ...
North Korea seeks economic boost amid COVID-19 and sanctions pain
The figures point to an accelerated need for Kim to come up with a new five year economic plan to survive the crisis.
‘Pray floods don’t kill us’: The Rohingya’s remote Bangladesh island
Some 100,000 Rohingya refugees are being moved to the island of Bhasan Char, despite opposition from human rights groups.
Thailand offers work permits to undocumented migrants to curb virus
The announcement came as Thailand deals with its worst coronavirus outbreak to date, with more than 1,500 cases since mid-December having been linked to mostly ...