Asia Pacific

LONDON — The U.K. government hailed an era of cheaper Australian wine and New Zealand kiwi fruit as free-trade agreements with the two Southern Hemisphere nations took effect Wednesday. U.K....

BEIJING — Beijing responded Wednesday to complaints from the United States about a Chinese fighter jet’s dangerous interception of an American Air Force reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace over the...

NAHA, Japan — Typhoon Mawar appeared to be losing force as it headed Wednesday toward Japan’s Okinawa Islands, where the United States maintains a significant military presence, after largely skirting...

SEOUL, May 31 – Jeong Se-ah feels happy to see Tanaka, a Japanese bar host character from the early 2000s created by a South Korean comedian, because he revives her...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand’s national airline is asking passengers to step on the scales before they board international flights. Air New Zealand says it wants to weigh 10,000...

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said its attempt to put the country’s first spy satellite into orbit failed Wednesday, an apparent embarrassment to leader Kim Jong Un over his...

Pyongyang fired “what it says is a space launch vehicle” southwards, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, without giving further details. Soon after, a text alert said: “Citizens, please prepare...

BEIJING — Prospects for a renewed high-level military dialogue between China and the U.S. remain dim, with Beijing saying their defense chiefs will not hold a bilateral meeting while both...

YILAN, Taiwan — Typhoon Mawar lashed Taiwan’s eastern coast with wind, rains and large waves Tuesday but largely skirted the island after giving a glancing blow to the northern Philippines....

BEIJING — China launched a new three-person crew for its orbiting space station on Tuesday, with an eye to putting astronauts on the moon before the end of the decade....