By Simone McCarthy and CNN’s Beijing Bureau In public statements and at international summits, Chinese officials have attempted to stake out a seemingly neutral position on the war in Ukraine, neither condemning Russian actions nor ruling out the possibility Beijing could act as a mediator in a push for peace. But while its international messaging
Continue ReadingBy Yoonjung Seo and Julia Hollingsworth, CNN A furious crowd gathered in central Seoul last month to protest against the policies of a man who isn’t even in power. Waving signs and wearing white sashes emblazoned with the words “Vote for Women,” they accused presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol of attempting to appeal to anti-feminists
Continue ReadingFrom CNN’s Beijing bureau President Xi Jinping said Tuesday that China is willing to “work actively” with the international community to mediate the war in Ukraine, but did not offer details and reiterated his opposition to Western sanctions against Russia. During a virtual call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, Xi
Continue ReadingCNN, STATE EMERGENCY SERVICES OF UKRAINE, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION OF UKRAINE, TELEGRAM From CNN’s Beijing bureau President Xi Jinping said Tuesday that China is willing to “work actively” with the international community to mediate the war in Ukraine, but did not offer details and reiterated his opposition to Western sanctions against Russia. During a
Continue ReadingBy Brad Lendon, CNN China is closely watching the events in Ukraine to evaluate its own strategy towards Taiwan, the island’s foreign minister has warned. “When we watch the events in Ukraine evolving … we are also watching very carefully what China may do to Taiwan,” Joseph Wu said during a press conference Monday. Some
Continue ReadingBy Simone McCarthy, Brad Lendon, Rhea Mogul and Julia Hollingsworth, CNN India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him a “dear friend.” Chinese leader Xi Jinping went a step further, calling him his “best and bosom friend.” But Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked assault on Ukraine has thrown Russia’s previously warm relations with the Asian powers
Continue ReadingBy Julia Hollingsworth, Wayne Chang, Elizabeth Yee, Ivan Watson and Teele Rebane, CNN Morgues are nearly at capacity, hospitals overwhelmed and, as fears grow of a citywide lockdown, panicked shoppers have stripped supermarket shelves bare. Hong Kong — once lauded as a zero-Covid success story — is now battling a deadly outbreak reminiscent of the
Continue ReadingBy Yoonjung Seo, Junko Ogura and Jessie Yeung, CNN North Korea fired a single ballistic missile into waters off the east of the Korean Peninsula on Saturday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the country’s ninth such test of the year. “The South Korean military is maintaining a readiness posture by monitoring
Continue ReadingBy Sophia Saifi and Saleem Mehsud, CNN The Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack on a Shia mosque in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar that killed at least 61 people and injured another 196. A post from ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency said a suicide bomber trained by the militant group had carried
Continue ReadingBy Eric Cheung, Gladys Tsai and Will Ripley, CNN As a young man, Fred Chin spent years imprisoned on a craggy island off Taiwan. Before he was sentenced, guards punched him, forced him to drink his own blood, and hung him upside down while they poured salty water into his mouth, he said. Malaysian-born Chin
Continue ReadingBy Brad Lendon, Emiko Jozuka, Yoonjung Seo and Gawon Bae, CNN North Korea launched a ballistic missile off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The missile was fired from the Sunan area of North Korea at around 7.52 a.m. local time, the Joint Chiefs said.
Continue ReadingCNN By Simone McCarthy and CNN’s Beijing bureau As Russian missiles flew through the Ukrainian sky Thursday and world leaders decried an invasion spreading across the country, China refused to condemn Russia’s move outright, while appearing to levy blame on the United States and its allies. Beijing finds itself in a complex position as Russia’s
Continue ReadingBy Simone McCarthy and CNN’s Beijing bureau As Russian missiles flew through the Ukrainian sky Thursday and world leaders decried an invasion spreading across the country, China refused to condemn Russia’s move outright, while appearing to levy blame on the United States and its allies. Beijing finds itself in a complex position as Russia’s invasion
Continue ReadingBy Sophia Saifi, Azaz Syed and Rhea Mogul, CNN A Pakistan man has been found guilty of murdering the daughter of a distinguished diplomat in a brutal beheading case that sparked renewed calls for better protection of domestic violence victims. An Islamabad judge sentenced Zahir Jaffer to death Thursday for killing Noor Mukadam, 27, last
Continue ReadingBy Kristie Lu Stout, Jadyn Sham, Rhea Mogul, Teele Rebane and Lizzy Yee, CNN Fighting back tears, Laura and Nick struggle to comfort their sobbing 11-month-old daughter, Ava, through a phone screen. “Bubba, we love you…we’re going to come and get you darling. We will,” Laura says, in a video of a phone call with
Continue ReadingBy Simone McCarthy, CNN China’s envoy to the United Nations on Monday called for “all parties” to exercise restraint and avoid “fueling tensions” in Ukraine, but stopped short of condemning the Kremlin’s recognition of independence for two pro-Moscow regions in the east of the country. Beijing is navigating a complex position as the crisis in
Continue ReadingBy Brad Lendon, CNN Australia is demanding China investigate the alleged use of a laser to “illuminate” an Australian jet in waters off the country’s north coast in an incident that threatens to worsen relations between the two countries. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Monday he’d called on the Chinese government to explain the “dangerous”
Continue ReadingBy Angus Watson and Brad Lendon, CNN A Chinese warship allegedly used a laser to “illuminate” an Australian Air Force jet in what Canberra called a “serious safety incident” in a statement released on Saturday. “Acts like this have the potential to endanger lives,” the statement from the Australian Defence Force said, adding it strongly
Continue ReadingCNN By Brad Lendon and Gawon Bae, CNN A North Korean projectile is presumed to have exploded soon after launch Wednesday, the South Korean military said, a failure in what would have been the Kim Jong Un regime’s 10th such launch this year. The explosion is believed to have come around an altitude of 20
Continue ReadingBy Yoonjung Seo and Julia Hollingsworth, CNN He risked his life fleeing from one of the world’s most repressive regimes, traversing a militarized stretch protected by barbed wire fences. Then a year later, he went back — the way he came. More than one month since the man crossed the demilitarized zone from South to
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