Asia

China’s Tianjin orders more testing on 14 million residents

Editorial Bureau January 12, 2022

BEIJING — The northern Chinese city of Tianjin ordered a second round of COVID-19 testing on all 14 million residents Wednesday following the discovery of 97 cases of the omicron variant during initial screenings that began Sunday. Residents are to remain where they are until the results of all

Asia

North Korea claims successful test of hypersonic missile

Editorial Bureau January 12, 2022

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a successful flight test of a hypersonic missile he claimed would remarkably increase the country’s nuclear “war deterrent.” The report by North Korean state media on Wednesday came a day after the militaries of the United States, South Korea and Japan said they […]

Asia

Japan keeps border controls as it prepares for omicron surge

Editorial Bureau January 11, 2022

TOKYO — Japan will keep its borders closed to most foreign citizens through February as it attempts to accelerate coronavirus booster shots for elderly people and expand hospital capacity to cope with the rapidly spreading omicron variant, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday. Japan briefly eased border controls in November after COVID-19 cases rapidly declined, […]

Asia

China locks down third city, raising affected to 20 million

Editorial Bureau January 11, 2022

BEIJING — A third Chinese city has locked down its residents because of a COVID-19 outbreak, raising the number confined to their homes in China to about 20 million people. It wasn’t clear how long the lockdown of Anyang city, home to 5.5 million, would last as a notice said it was being done to […]

Asia

Neighbors say N. Korea has fired possible missile into sea

Editorial Bureau January 11, 2022

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Tuesday fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile into its eastern sea, its second weapons launch in a week, the militaries of South Korea and Japan said. This month’s launches follow a series of weapons tests in 2021 that underscored how North Korea continues to expand its […]

Asia

Sri Lanka seeks Chinese debt restructuring amid crisis

Editorial Bureau January 10, 2022

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The president of debt-ridden Sri Lanka on Sunday asked China for the restructuring of its loans and access to preferential credit for imports of essential goods, as the island nation struggles in the throes of its worst economic crisis, partly due to Beijing-financed projects that don’t generate revenue. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa […]

Asia

China’s Tianjin testing all residents after omicron found

Editorial Bureau January 10, 2022

BEIJING — Tianjin, a major Chinese port city near the capital Beijing, began mass testing of its 14 million residents on Sunday after a cluster of 20 children and adults tested positive for COVID-19, including at least two with the omicron variant. Those infected include 15 students from 8 to 13 years old, a staff […]

Asia

Japan PM: Deal reached on US military curbs to halt COVID

Editorial Bureau January 10, 2022

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Sunday that Japan and the U.S. have reached “a basic agreement” on banning the U.S. military from leaving its base grounds, amid growing worries about a sharp rise in coronavirus cases. Kishida said American soldiers will stay on base “except when absolutely necessary,” which presumably means for […]

Asia

China’s Tianjin on partial lockdown after omicron found

Editorial Bureau January 10, 2022

BEIJING — The numbers are small, but the major port of Tianjin may be facing China’s first local outbreak of omicron of any size, less than a month before the Winter Olympics open in nearby Beijing. State broadcaster CCTV said the government has divided Tianjin and its 14 million residents into three levels of restrictions, […]

Asia

Japan tycoon Maezawa returns from space with business dreams

Editorial Bureau January 8, 2022

TOKYO — “Space now,” was what Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa wanted to tweet for years. He finally really did it, from the International Space Station. “The space market holds so much potential,” he said Friday at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Tokyo, his first news conference in Japan after returning to earth before Christmas. Maezawa, […]