Asia

Amnesty International is closing its Hong Kong offices in the latest blow for democratic freedom and the government is doubling down on its zero Covid strategy. In China Xi Jinping is pushing ahead… Audio

Thailand has responded to a tough economic outlook with new special visas aimed at attracting "wealthy global citizens" to move to the country's beaches. Myanmar's humanitarian, security and economic… Audio

The announcement of AUKUS has sent shock waves around Asia. How is this major new defence arrangement seen by key US allies in the region and the government in Beijing?. And after the surprise… Audio

Concerns over Kim Jong Un's nuclear programme have re-emerged all with a report from the UN's atomic energy watchdog suggesting North Korea's plutonium production could be ramping up. And in China… Audio

Ed reports on China being expected to expand its influence and strategic interests in neighbouring Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban's stunning return to power and he has the latest on Beijing's… Audio

A year's worth of rain in just three days in China's Henan province has caused more than 30 deaths, the evacuation of 100,000 people and widespread devastation. Elizabeth also talks to Kathryn about… Audio

Another dark period in Hong Kong with the forced closure of popular pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily and serious questions over whether Hong Kong's judicial independence is really under threat now… Audio

Ed has an update on Japan and the Olympic games, with the International Olympic Committee insisting that the games can and will go ahead despite frustratingly high Covid-19 infection numbers and a… Audio

The crisis in Myanmar is still unfolding and increasingly starting to involve western companies and governments. A slow covid vaccination rate in India is causing concern despite official numbers… Audio

Ed White is a correspondent with the Financial Times. Audio

In this episode, a 23-year-old New Zealander shares her story - a poetic journey asking questions of identity, harm, and home, while revealing the realities of living as a child in the world’s refugee… Audio

Tension is flaring again between the US and China on multiple fronts, including economically. And in India, the Covid vaccine is being rolled out just as the infection rates are hitting new highs. Audio

Wellingtonian Ron Hanson has strong ties to Taiwan, having lived there on and off since the turn of the century.  He's Calling Home from the Nantun District of Taichung City, where he lives in a… Audio

More containers have fallen off ships in the past four months than are typically lost in a year. Some of what's sunk to the bottom of the Pacific includes vacuum cleaners, Kate Spade accessories and… Audio

In Myanmar, a new generation's protest movement is taking shape in surprising ways and challenging the coup and the junta's detainment of Aung San Suu Kyi. The military response to the protests… Audio

Ed has the latest on the coup in Myanmar which has shocked the world this week, threatening to abruptly end the south-east Asian country's shaky experiment in democracy over the past ten years and… Audio

Just as Asia has led the way in coping with Covid-19, financial commentator Jeffrey Haley is also picking the continent -- particularly China, which has never exported more than it did last year -- to… Audio

Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers resign en masse following China's moves to quash dissent, and Myanmar's election has been called as a victory for the National League for Democracy (NLD), Aung San… Audio