“One country, two systems” is the arrangement under which China rules Hong Kong. 

Tensions between Iran and the United States have been simmering for 40 years since the Islamic Revolution and the hostage crisis after the takeover of the American Embassy in Tehran.

With its burgundy cover and coat of arms, the British National (Overseas) passport or BN(O) might look like a regular “full” British passport. 

The Chinese-American film and television superstar Bruce Lee was a disciplined athlete with legendary martial arts skills. 

A teenage protester was hit by a live police bullet and required multiple surgeries during one of many clashes in 13 locations across Hong Kong on Tuesday, October 1, 2019. 

Hong Kong has long thrived as one of the freest economies in the world, thanks in part to an absence of taxes and duties on goods. 

Violent clashes broke out between anti-government protesters and riot police at Hong Kong International Airport after thousands occupied the departures area, triggering the closure of check-in counters on August 13, 2019.

The long-running territorial dispute over Kashmir dates back to the partition of India in 1947, when Pakistan and India each staked claims to portions of the Himalayan region. The Muslim-majority territory has been the focus of three wars between India and Pakistan and ongoing unrest.

Hong Kong was gripped by commuter chaos on Monday, August 5, 2019, as transport systems including the MTR railway and international airport were disrupted by anti-government protests and street violence. 

Chaos continues as a general strike in Hong Kong evolves across the city on August 5, 2019. The usual bustling commercial areas and streets are mostly empty. Eight MTR lines have been fully or partially suspended. Protesters have been seen blocking roads and preventing MTR train doors from closing, stopping trains from departing. 

The recent violence at a shopping centre in Yuen Long has focused attention on the bustling district in Hong Kong’s New Territories, where less than a century ago visitors found little more than a cluster of agricultural villages. 

Public protests in Hong Kong date back to British colonial rule and have evolved from the bloody riots of the 1960s into the recent protests of up to two million people marching. Here is a look back at some of Hong Kong's biggest civil movements and an explainer about what citizens are demanding in these most recent demonstrations.

The hundreds of young Hong Kong protesters who rallied on July 1, 2019, protesting the now stalled extradition bill used innovative hand signals to communicate with each other.

Hong Kong has one of the world’s top-ranked medical services, providing the city’s 7.4 million people with care that has a good reputation for availability, affordability and quality. 

Major US agriculture states including Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois are bracing for one of the wettest planting seasons in more than a hundred years. For Lake Benton, a small town of 683 people in southern Minnesota, the stress is compounded by a plunge in prices and an escalating US-China trade war that has grounded the soybean trade to a virtual halt. The double blow of flooding and tariffs has hit farmers like Jon and Bob Worth, but they say they are willing to endure the short-term pain to support President Donald Trump.

Intense debates among lawmakers and growing public protests have focused on a proposal by the Hong Kong government for a bill that would amend the city’s extradition laws.

Ieoh Ming Pei, commonly known as I.M. Pei, died on May 16, 2019, at age 102. The Chinese-born US architect became famous for his modern designs and high-profile projects,  including the glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris, the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong and the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar.

When imperial rule collapsed in China at the beginning of the 20th century, the emperor’s Forbidden City home was turned over to the public and transformed into the Palace Museum. Fierce fighting that rocked the country for years after the leadership change posed a grave threat to the palace treasures – considered one of the world’s greatest collections of art and artefacts. To protect them, the Palace Museum director decided to evacuate a large number of items and set them on a 14-year, 75,000km (46,600-mile) journey.

Australia’s federal election is scheduled for May 18, 2019, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison faces an uphill battle to keep his conservative coalition in government and retain the top job himself. Should the opposition Labor party win enough seats to form government, Bill Shorten would become Australia’s eighth prime minister since 2007. What explains this revolving door, given Australia is one of the world’s most prosperous, stable countries?

India, the world’s biggest democracy is holding its national election. Voting is taking place over seven phases spanning a total of 39 days. Some 900 million eligible voters will be electing 543 members of the country's lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha. Surveys leading up to the start of polling suggested the ruling BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, still enjoys strong support but the main opposition and former ruling party, the Indian National Congress led by Rahul Gandhi also appears to be making a comeback. Here's what you need to know about India's epic democratic exercise.  

The presence of eunuchs in the Chinese court was part of a long-standing tradition. These emasculated men frequently served as menial workers, spies and harem watchdogs in ancient society. Over time, eunuchs serving in government roles began to exert enough influence with emperors that they could control state affairs or even orchestrate the fall of a dynasty.

All women living in imperial China’s Forbidden City were carefully sequestered in quarters deep inside the palace. Most were employed as maids and servants, but there was also a select group of concubines tasked with bearing children for the emperor – as many as he could father.

China’s government has started developing a “social credit system” which some observers believe will increase the collection and sharing of data about Chinese citizens, public officials and companies. Meant to improve governance and market order, the system is being tested using “blacklists” – or, in some communities, point “scores” – to incentivise citizen and corporate behaviour.

For ancient Chinese emperors, life in the Forbidden City was not as opulent as one might imagine. While each dynasty claimed the emperor was heaven’s earthly representative, the role was in truth a single link in a giant bureaucratic chain which compelled those involved to follow rigorous traditional protocols.

The Forbidden City complex in the centre of Beijing was the royal residence and seat of the Chinese government for five centuries. The impressive complex contains more than 8,700 rooms, in buildings constructed without a single nail or drop of glue. In the first part our special series on this architectural wonder, we look at the durable construction techniques that have allowed the Forbidden City to withstand the test of time.

As the world rings in a new year, five major elections are set to take place in Asia in the first half of 2019. The poll results could dramatically change the political landscape of the region.

When six Chinese fishing trawlers with huge nets arrived off the coast of Madagascar in 2017, local fishermen were already struggling with foreign competition for the island nation’s precarious marine resources.

China has launched a lunar probe that is heading toward the far side of the moon. The ambitious plan, a first in moon exploration, would send the probe on a mission to explore the surface facing away from Earth. The far side is believed to have a thicker crust and is pockmarked by relatively more and deeper craters than the near side. If successful, the Chang-e 4 will unlock valuable clues to the mysteries about the moon and the universe.

China’s astonishing economic growth over the past four decades since its open-door policy provided substantial resources to boost the country’s military research and development. Chinese military is making strides in building up its capabilities, and is on its way to becoming a world-class force.

Chinese researcher, He Jiankui, has claimed to be the first person in the world to use an editing tool called CRISPR/Cas9 to genetically engineer a pair of twin babies. This technology is relatively fast, simple and inexpensive and opens doors to potentially lucrative biotech and medical advances, as well as sparking intense ethical debate.