East Asia

washington —  Beijing is unlikely to help Washington disrupt military cooperation between North Korea and Russia because China sees that move as undermining itself while bolstering U.S. goals in Europe and Asia, analysts said. "Given…

TAIPEI, TAIWAN —  Tuvalu’s new government released a statement of priorities Wednesday, reiterating the Pacific island nation’s intent to maintain its "long-term and lasting special relationship" with Taiwan, while vowing to review a…

Ōshū, Japan —  Steam rose as hundreds of naked men tussled over a bag of wooden talismans, performing a dramatic end to a thousand-year-old ritual in Japan that took place for the last time. Their passionate chants of "Jasso, joyasa"…

SHANGHAI —  Two prominent Chinese bloggers in exile said that police were investigating their millions of followers on international social media platforms, in an escalation of Beijing’s attempts to clamp down on critical speech even…

Tokyo —  Japan's moon lander has produced another surprise by waking up after the two-week lunar night, the country's space agency said Monday. The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) touched down last month at a wonky…

SYDNEY —  Tuvalu on Monday announced former attorney general and fisheries official Feleti Teo as its new prime minister, after he was elected unopposed by lawmakers in the Pacific Islands nation, officials said. Former Prime Minister…

Phnom Penh, Cambodia —  Cambodia's ruling party claimed a landslide victory in Senate elections on Sunday, setting the stage for ex-PM Hun Sen to officially return to politics after he stepped down last year. After nearly four decades…

SYDNEY —  Fresh evacuation warnings were issued on Friday for dozens of rural Australian towns as around 1,000 firefighters battled a bushfire in Victoria state which has destroyed properties, killed livestock and is threatening to…

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA —  Public hospitals in South Korea will extend working hours, the prime minister said on Friday, while expanding use of telemedicine to alleviate growing strain on health care services after a mass walkout by…

WASHINGTON —  Myanmar's military junta is going forward with a mandatory draft set to begin in mid-April, but critics say doing so has the potential to negatively impact the economy and the military itself. The ruling junta, which…

WASHINGTON —  U.S. lawmakers are raising alarms about what they see as America's failure to compete with China in biotechnology, warning of the risks to U.S. national security and commercial interests. But as the two countries' rivalry…

SYDNEY —  A group of asylum-seekers has been flown from Australia to Nauru, after they were discovered in a remote part of Western Australia. Their arrival on the Australian mainland reignited the political debate about immigration…

MUNICH —  Top diplomats from the U.S. and China on Friday held a “candid and constructive” discussion on issues vexing their strained relations over Taiwan, the situation in the South China Sea, Russia’s war against Ukraine and…

TOKYO —  Seiji Ozawa, the Japanese conductor who amazed audiences with the lithe physicality of his performances during three decades at the helm of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has died, his management office said Friday. He was 88.…

On February 10, Asian American communities around the United States will ring in the Year of the Dragon with community carnivals, family gatherings, parades, traditional food, fireworks and other festivities. In many Asian countries, it…

Washington —  Lionel Messi, arguably the world’s most popular soccer player, is the object of uncharacteristic hostility in Hong Kong, where he was roundly booed by frustrated fans after sitting out an exhibition match this week.…

Bangkok —  Bangkok city employees have been told to work from home to avoid harmful air pollution, as a layer of noxious haze blanketed the Thai capital Thursday. City authorities asked for cooperation from employers to help workers in…

TAIPEI, TAIWAN —  China and Russia have doubled down on their “no-limits partnership” in recent weeks, with leaders from both countries vowing to maintain “close personal interaction” and the Chinese ambassador to Russia revealing…

The likely winner of Indonesia’s presidential election is Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, following an unofficial count of Wednesday’s vote. The prospect of his win is alarming to rights groups due to his history of alleged human…

SEOUL, South Korea —  North Korea on Wednesday fired multiple cruise missiles into the sea in its fifth test of such weapons since January, South Korea's military said, extending a streak in weapons demonstrations that's elevating…

The U.S. Senate voted early Tuesday to approve a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, but the measure faces opposition in the Republican-led House of Representatives. The Senate bill passed 70-29 with more than a…

bangkok —  Myanmar's military government on Saturday activated for the first time a decade-old conscription law that makes young men and women subject to at least two years of military service if called up, effective immediately. The…

TOKYO —  Will she make it in time? Taylor Swift's last song was still ringing in the ears of thousands of fans at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night when the singer rushed to a private jet at Haneda airport, presumably embarking on an…

HONG KONG —  A new tattoo shows a giant dragon crawling down a person's left arm. There are touches of red, blue and yellow. Tattoo artist Marcus Yuen has been creating these colorful designs for over 12 years. His parlor, 59 Tattoo in…

Phnom Penh, Cambodia —  Cambodia's new prime minister, Hun Manet, has enjoyed warming relations with the Western world during his first six months in power, while simultaneously reaffirming Phnom Penh's ties to Beijing and maintaining…

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM —  Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan is set to go on trial next month, along with 85 alleged accomplices, on charges of embezzling about $12.5 billion from Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank. Lan…

Sydney —  Australia's government said Monday writer Yang Jun has been given a suspended death sentence in China, describing it as "harrowing news." The Chinese-born Australian citizen has been in jail in China since 2019 on spying…

Sydney —  A senior U.S. state department official urged Papua New Guinea (PNG) to turn down China's offer of a potential security pact, warning the Pacific nation that any security guarantee with Beijing comes with consequences and…

Colombo, Sri Lanka —  Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was the guest of honor at Sri Lanka’s 76th Independence Day celebrations Sunday, as the island nation struggles to emerge from its worst economic crisis. Srettha joined Sri…

Hong Kong —  Frustrated Hong Kong residents say they have been unable to watch the online TV series Expats, starring Hollywood star Nicole Kidman, which was launched globally on Amazon Prime Video late last week and focuses on the…

SEOUL, South Korea —  North Korean on Friday extended a provocative run in weapons tests by firing cruise missiles into the sea, as leader Kim Jong Un called for his military to step up war preparations while touring a shipyard. South…

TOKYO —  After a brief awakening, Japan's Moon lander is out of action again but will resume its mission if it survives the two-week lunar night, the space agency said Thursday. The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM)…

TOKYO —  After a brief awakening, Japan's Moon lander is out of action again but will resume its mission if it survives the two-week lunar night, the space agency said Thursday. The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM)…

SYDNEY —  Australia considers itself the economic and security guardian of the Pacific region. But increasingly China has ambitions to further its interests among island nations. This week, Pat Conroy, Australia’s minister for…

Washington —  U.S. and Chinese officials will meet in Beijing Tuesday for their first talks in years to stem the production of ingredients for the drug fentanyl, senior Biden administration officials said. The meeting of the…

washington —  U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to have a phone call in the spring, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken is slated to make another trip to Beijing this year as the two nations…

Manila, Philippines —  Nine Islamist militants including three suspects in a Catholic Mass bombing in the southern Philippines have been killed in a clash with troops, the military said Saturday. Army soldiers shot it out with about 15…

SYDNEY —  Voting started Friday in the tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, in a national election that could reverberate from China to Australia. With just more than 11,500 people, Tuvalu is one of the smallest nations in the world,…

boston, Massachusetts —  A federal jury in Boston has convicted a Chinese music student on charges of stalking and harassing one of his Chinese classmates after she posted flyers in support of democracy in China around the campus of the…

TAIPEI, TAIWAN —  Running for political office in Taiwan was never the plan for 72-year-old Hong Kong immigrant Chui Pak-tai, but the former pro-democracy district councilor in the former British colony hopes to put the Hong Kong issue…

WASHINGTON —  The United States and China wrapped up two days of military talks in Washington Tuesday, the Pentagon said, the latest engagement since the two countries agreed to resume military-to-military ties. Washington and Beijing…

DHAKA, Bangladesh —  Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won her fourth straight term as her party secured an absolute majority amid low turnout in the general election boycotted by the main opposition, the country's poll body said…

Jakarta, Indonesia —  Indonesia's presidential candidates held a second debate on Sunday, where they discussed defense, geopolitics, and diplomacy. Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, former Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, and…

Yeonpyeong, South Korea —  When a North Korean artillery shell slammed into his house and burned it to the ground in 2010, Jung Chang-kuan thought that war had broken out again. That attack — a North Korean artillery barrage on Jung's…

BEIJING —  Beijing on Thursday voiced "strong dissatisfaction" that fighting in neighboring Myanmar had caused Chinese casualties and said it would take "all necessary measures" to protect its citizens, following reports an artillery…

Police in South Korea Wednesday raided the home and offices of the suspected attacker who stabbed and seriously wounded opposition leader Lee Jae-myung the day before. Officers in the southeastern port city of Busan obtained a warrant…

Washington —  Regional experts believe China's recent efforts to mediate between the Myanmar junta and ethnic rebels on its northern border are motivated mainly by self-interest but unlikely to have a significant impact on the…

TAIPEI, Taiwan —  South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-Myung was airlifted to a hospital in Seoul Tuesday, hours after he was stabbed in the neck during a visit to the southeastern port city of Busan. The leader of the Democratic…

TAIPEI, TAIWAN —  Taiwan’s presidential candidates expressed desire for peaceful relations with Beijing, which has described the January 13 elections on the self-ruled island as a choice between war and peace and stepped up harassment…

Beijing —  Chinese state media accused the Philippines Monday of repeatedly infringing on China's territory in the South China Sea, spreading false information and colluding with extraterritorial forces to cause trouble. The…