Political activist Mongkhon Thirakot flashes the pro-democracy gesture of a three-finger salute ahead of going to a court in Thailand's northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, Thursday Jan. 26, 2023. AP hide caption
Asia Asia
Asia
Of the many species the scientists photographed aboard the RV Investigator, the deep-sea batfish made one of the biggest splashes across social media. Benjamin Healley / Museums Victoria hide caption
Scientists discover fantastical creatures deep in the Indian Ocean
An empty park outside a railway station due to a lockdown in Pyongyang. Kim Won Jin/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A member of Pat Jasan, a grassroots organization motivated by their faith to root out the destructive influence of drugs, holds poppies as his group slashes and uproots them from a hillside, in Lung Zar village, northern Kachin State, Myanmar on Feb. 3, 2016. Hkun Lat/AP hide caption
Students watch security personnel guard the main gate of Jamia Millia Islamia university Wednesday in New Delhi, India. A student group said it planned to screen a banned documentary that examines Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's role during 2002 anti-Muslim riots, prompting dozens of police equipped with tear gas and riot gear to gather outside campus gates. Manish Swarup/AP hide caption
A woman poses for a selfie on a bridge decorated with lanterns at a public park in Beijing on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. Mark Schiefelbein/AP hide caption
Cat stickers hang on display last week in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Lunar New Year begins on Sunday and marks the Year of the Cat in Vietnam and the Year of the Rabbit in China, South Korea and other East and Southeast Asian countries. Linh Pham/Getty Images hide caption
A lantern show in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu province, ahead of the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit. This year the holiday falls amid a massive COVID surge and an economic slump. STR/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Holiday Traditions in China and Ukraine Offer Comfort During Uncertain Times
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation plans on Wednesday in Napier, New Zealand. It is unclear who would succeed her. Kerry Marshall/Getty Images hide caption
Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, one of the winners of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize and Rappler CEO, speaks to the media after a court decision at the Court of Tax Appeals in Quezon City, Philippines. The court on Wednesday cleared Ressa and her online news company of tax evasion charges. Basilio Sepe/AP hide caption
A crane lifts a shipping container at a container port in Tianjin, China, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. China's economic growth fell to 3% last year under pressure from antivirus controls and a real estate slump. Mark Schiefelbein/AP hide caption
A man pulls a child past a Lunar New Year decoration on display at the Qianmen pedestrian shopping street, a popular tourist spot in Beijing, on Tuesday. Andy Wong/AP hide caption
Rescuers scour the crash site and wreckage of a passenger plane in Pokhara, Nepal, Monday, Jan.16, 2023. Nepal began a national day of mourning Monday a day after the plane crashed while attempting to land. Yunish Gurung/AP hide caption
A mannequin's head is covered in a woman dress shop in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Dec. 26, 2022. Ebrahim Noroozi/AP hide caption
Locals watch the wreckage of a passenger plane in Pokhara, Nepal, Sunday, Jan.15, 2023. A passenger plane with 72 people on board has crashed near Pokhara International Airport in Nepal, the daily newspaper Kathmandu Post reports. The plane was carrying 68 passengers and four crew members. Ashish Puri/AP hide caption
A passenger plane with 72 people on board has crashed in Nepal, killing dozens
In hopes of getting a better sense of which SARS-CoV-2 variants might be coming into the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently expanded its voluntary testing of some passengers exiting from international flights at certain airports. Rick Bowmer/AP hide caption
China's COVID surge prompts CDC to expand a hunt for new variants among air travelers
Audio will be available later today.
Rescue workers treat injured people on the street near the scene of a crowd surge in Seoul, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2022. South Korean police on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, said they are seeking charges of involuntary manslaughter and negligence against 23 officials. Lee Jin-man/AP hide caption
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian speaks at the daily media briefing in Beijing on April 8, 2020. This week, Zhao was assigned a new job: deputy director of the ministry's Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs — a lateral move to an obscure post that takes Zhao out of the spotlight. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A 'wolf warrior' is sidelined, as China softens its approach on the world stage
Students hold up placards including blank white sheets of paper on the campus of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, in solidarity with protests held on the mainland over Beijing's COVID-19 restrictions, on Nov. 28. Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
China's authorities are quietly rounding up people who protested against COVID rules
A worker rides an overloaded tricycle carrying bags of onions in Manila, Philippines on Sept. 23, 2015. Aaron Favila/AP hide caption
Vir Das attends the International Emmy Awards in 2021 in New York City. Arturo Holmes/Getty Images hide caption
A gravedigger prepares to bury the coffin of a baby who died of COVID-19, at a cemetery in Bandung, Indonesia. Rates of childhood mortality are notably high in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, but it is a worldwide concern. Timur Matahari/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Democracy advocate Jimmy Lai leaves the Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong, on Feb. 9, 2021. Kin Cheung/AP hide caption
Travelers wearing face masks with their luggage head to the immigration counter at the departure hall at Lok Ma Chau station following the reopening of crossing border with mainland China, in Hong Kong, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. Bertha Wang/AP hide caption