Pakistani Brides Trafficked in China

World Health Organization inspectors had “very frank” discussions with Chinese scientists about the source of the pandemic, including theories it leaked from a laboratory, the head of the probe in Wuhan told AFP Thursday.

Chinese lawmakers Saturday voted to abolish the “custody and education” punishment system, which allowed police to hold sex workers and their clients without charge for up to two years, state media reported.

The Hong Kong protest coalition that organized record-breaking democracy rallies two years ago said Sunday it was disbanding in the face of China’s sweeping clampdown on dissent in the city.

Forced off the road by coronavirus lockdowns, Philippine “jeepney” driver Daniel Flores now plies the streets of Manila on foot begging for money to feed his hungry family.

Smartphone and chip giant Samsung Electronics’ fulfilment of a headline-grabbing pledge to switch to renewable energy in the US, China and Europe accounts for less than 20 percent of its global electricity use, environmentalists Greenpeace said Tuesday.

A 76-year-old Vietnamese painter who has spent his life making propaganda art for the Communist government has turned his brush to the coronavirus, designing posters that have popped up across Hanoi.

A Chinese porcelain gourd which once belonged to the 18th century Chinese Emperor Qianlong sold for 4.1 million euros ($4.6 million) at auction on Saturday.

Fast food giant McDonald’s on Friday said hackers breached their servers and accessed data from customers in Taiwan and South Korea.

Hong Kong pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily said Monday its board will decide whether to close the publication at their next meeting on Friday after an asset freeze by authorities using a new national security law left the outspoken media group unable to pay staff.

China will set up a “national security agency” in Hong Kong to oversee a forthcoming new law aimed at cracking down on dissent in the city, state media said on Saturday.

Fast-growing video-sharing app TikTok on Wednesday launched a self-serve ad platform, underscoring its ambition to compete with rival social platforms even as it faces new scrutiny in the US and elsewhere.

Japan on Tuesday apologized for the death of a Sri Lankan woman in immigration detention and pledged to reform conditions in the system.

Thirty teenagers, thousands of hours of training, dozens of shattered dreams: it all comes to a head next week when the Blitzers will be launched into the cut-throat K-pop market, hoping to become the next BTS.

A quick look at the history of this rather, tumultuous relationship between an Asian country and a South American nation. Let’s also examine how one country was able to influence the other through time.

The Khmer Rouge’s interrogator-in-chief Kaing Guek Eav, better known by his alias Duch, died Wednesday in Cambodia’s capital at the age of 77.

Placing his bare hands into a swarm of thousands of bees, a Malaysian man uses his fingers to gently guide some of them into a rattan basket.

China’s migrant workers face a difficult choice this Lunar New Year holiday: long journeys home fraught with coronavirus restrictions, or financial incentives enticing them to stay put.

Japan has decided to release treated water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, reports said Friday, despite strong opposition from local fishermen.

If your idea of the purr-fect day is spending it curled up with convalescent rescue cats and a coffee, then one cafe in Vietnam has you covered.

Six secondary school children were among nine Hong Kongers arrested on terror charges for allegedly trying to manufacture a powerful explosive, police announced Tuesday.

First there was Corona Kumar, then Covid Marie: parents have taken to naming newborns after the coronavirus, apparently unperturbed by the prospect of their children being forever associated with a deadly pandemic.

Hulu’s Monsterland is unlike any other. The anthology show is bringing a new meaning to the word “horror,” star Trieu Tran portrays the ultimate hodgepodge of immigrant fear, wishful thinking, and sadness.

California WeChat users sued its parent company Tencent on Wednesday, saying the mobile app is used for spying on and censoring users for the Chinese government.

Two extremely rare Javan rhinoceros calves have been spotted in an Indonesian national park, boosting hopes for the future of one of the world’s most endangered mammals.

South Korean tattooist Doy counts Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt and members of K-Pop band EXO among his celebrity clients, but his delicate, detailed designs could land him in prison.

Taliban fighters have taken over the glitzy Kabul mansion of one of their fiercest enemies — the warlord and fugitive ex-vice president Abdul Rashid Dostum.

Small, portable laser pointers could be used to guide lightning strikes, with a study suggesting the technology may prevent bolts from sparking wildfires, a researcher told AFP Thursday.

After 2NE1 disbanded, fans all over the world have been patiently waiting for the members to take their rightful place in the spotlight. Wondering what’s happening to CL? Lately, the Queen of Kpop has been dealing with a big loss and making a name for herself in both music and fashion.

Are you a bread lover? If so, you need to explore more options other than your favorite sourdough and baguette. Asia offers a wide array of famous breads that are so good it will make you want to make it yourself. We scour some of the best tutorials so you can try to make them at home.

Hong Kong’s government has expanded police surveillance and enforcement powers using Beijing’s sweeping new national security law.

If India has cricket and the Philippines has basketball, Japan, meanwhile, has an undying love affair with baseball.

Jiang Haiqi starred alongside the controversial Sun Yang in winning a historic relay swimming bronze medal for China at the London 2012 Olympics.

A well-known “rule of paw” holds that you can tell how old your pooch is in human terms by multiplying its age in years by seven.

Five members of an Indonesian family drowned when a dock where they were taking a selfie collapsed, police said Thursday, just weeks after a similar fatal accident.

The pilots of a plane that crashed last month in Pakistan, killing 98 people, were pre-occupied by the coronavirus crisis and tried to land with the aircraft’s wheels still up, according to initial official reports released Wednesday.

A Taiwanese court on Wednesday sentenced a man to death for killing a scooter driver in a random knife attack that has reignited debate about capital punishment.

Accelerating the transition to an ever more digital life, the coronavirus pandemic has tightened tech giants’ grip on billions of customers’ lives.

The Taliban’s stunning and rapid takeover of Afghanistan was the result not only of their battlefield strength, but also a sustained push to force surrenders and cut deals.

Ash spewed by a Philippine volcano is being mixed with plastic waste to make bricks in an inventive response to the country’s persistent problems of pollution and frequent natural disasters.

Nine Britons have been banned from working in Singapore after breaking coronavirus rules by partying on a yacht in swimwear and Santa hats, reports said Thursday.

China has begun using anal swabs to test those it considers at high risk of contracting Covid-19, state TV reported, with social media users and travellers squirming over the invasive procedure which doctors say can be more effective in detecting the virus.

Ninety-seven kilometers of rocks in Thai waters stand between Beijing and dominance over the Mekong, a mighty river that feeds millions as it threads south from the Tibetan plateau through five countries before emptying into the South China Sea.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday denounced a Chinese court’s jailing of Hong Kong democracy activists who tried to flee by boat, saying it showed Beijing’s true face to its citizens and the world.

The joy has gone for French decathlete Kevin Mayer, while Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has pulled out because of the lack of buzz.

Umami-bomb or toxic allergen? There are perhaps few condiments as controversial as MSG, but most scientists say it’s safe, and now a Japanese firm is trying to give it a reputation overhaul.

As wealthy countries scramble to buy up the limited supply of big-name coronavirus vaccines, China is stepping in to offer its homegrown jabs to poorer countries. But the largesse is not entirely altruistic, with Beijing hoping for a long-term diplomatic return.

Hong Kongers reluctant to get the coronavirus jab have been given a million-dollar reason to roll up their sleeves after property tycoons donated a brand new flat to a vaccine lottery.

An Afghan business leader who employs hundreds of women on her saffron fields has vowed to speak up for the rights of her workers, and “not remain silent” under Taliban rule.

India has more than four million coronavirus cases and an explosive border stand-off with China, but the story dominating television news for months is how a Bollywood actress supposedly drove her ex-boyfriend to suicide with pot and black magic.

Hong Kong police arrested three student activists on a national security charge of subversion on Monday, citing their group’s recent activities including speeches, social media content, street booths and collecting snacks for prisoners.