MANILA, Philippines
AP
 — 

Nora Aunor, who became one of the biggest stars of Philippine cinema during a career that spanned seven decades, has died.

Aunor died Wednesday, according to social media posts from her children. She was 71. No further details on the cause or place of her death were immediately given.

Filipina actor Lotlot de León said on Instagram that her mother “touched generations with her unmatched talent, grace, and passion for the craft. Her voice, presence, and artistry shaped a legacy that will never fade.”

De León said funeral plans and other details will be shared later.

Aunor, born Nora Cabaltera Villamayor to an impoverished family in eastern Camarines Sur province, sold water in a train station in her hometown in her youth.

She first gained fame in her teens as a singer in the 1960s before moving on to movies. She amassed more than 200 credits in film and television that included many classics of Philippine cinema, and won dozens of acting awards.

Memorable roles included 1976’s “Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos” (“Three Years Without God”), 1984’s “Bulaklak sa City Jail” (“Flowers of the City Jail”) and 1995’s “The Flor Contemplacion Story.”

She swept best actress awards in the country for her performance in 1990’s “Andrea, Paano ba ang Maging Isang Ina?” (“Andrea, What is It Like to be a Mother?”) and won best actress at the Asian Film Awards for her portrayal of a midwife in 2012’s “Thy Womb.”

Aunor was still acting as recently as last year, starring in the film “Mananambal” (“The Healer”) and appearing on the TV series “Lilet Matias, Attorney-at-Law.”

Aunor was named a National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts – the country’s biggest honor for actors – in 2022. In 2014, then-President Benigno Aquino III had denied her the honor because of a previous drug arrest in the US, provoking broad outcry.

Aunor’s lawyer said the 2005 arrest at the Los Angeles airport came because of a pipe found in a bag she did not pack, noting she was traveling with four assistants at the time. The charges were dropped in 2007 after she completed a diversion program, her lawyer said in 2014.

Aunor was married to actor Christopher de León from 1975 until 1996.

She is survived by their children Lotlet, Ian, Matet, Kiko and Kenneth de León.

Islamabad and New Delhi
CNN
 — 

For hundreds of millions of people living in India and Pakistan the early arrival of summer heatwaves has become a terrifying reality that’s testing survivability limits and putting enormous strain on energy supplies, vital crops and livelihoods.

Both countries experience heatwaves during the summer months of May and June, but this year’s heatwave season has arrived sooner than usual and is predicted to last longer too.

Temperatures are expected to climb to dangerous levels in both countries this week.

Parts of Pakistan are likely to experience heat up to 8 degrees Celsius above normal between April 14-18, according to the country’s meteorological department. Maximum temperatures in Balochistan, in country’s southwest, could reach up to 49 degrees Celsius (120 Fahrenheit).

That’s like living in Death Valley – the hottest and driest place in North America – where summer daytime temperatures often climb to similar levels.

Ayoub Khosa, who lives in Balochistan’s Dera Murad Jamali city, said the heatwave had arrived with an “intensity that caught many off guard,” creating severe challenges for its residents.

“One of the major issues is the persistent power outages,” said Khosa, who told CNN they could last for up to 16 hours a day.

“This has intensified the impact of the heat, making it harder for people to cope,” he said.

Neighboring India has also been experiencing extreme heat that arrived earlier than usual and its metrological department warned people in parts of the country to brace for an “above-normal number of heatwave days” in April.

Maximum temperatures in capital Delhi, a city of more than 16 million, have already crossed 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) at least three times this month – up to 5 degrees above the seasonal average – the meteorological department said.

The searing heat is being faced in several neighboring states too, including Rajasthan in the northwest, where laborers and farmers are struggling to cope and reports of illness are beginning to emerge.

Maximum recorded temperatures in parts of Rajasthan reached 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit) on Monday, according to the meteorological department.

Anita Soni, from the women’s group Thar Mahila Sansthan, said the heat is much worse than other years and she is worried about how it will impact children and women in the state.

When the laborers or farmers head out, there is an instant lack of drinking water, people often feel like vomiting, they fall sick, or they feel dizzy, she said.

Farmer Balu Lal said people are already falling sick due to working in it. “We cannot even stand to work in it,” he said. “When I am out, I feel that people would burn due to the heat outside.”

Lal said he worries about his work and how he will earn money for his family. “We have nowhere else to go,” he said.

Experts say the rising temperatures are testing human limits.

Extreme heat has killed tens of thousands of people in India and Pakistan in recent decades and climate experts have warned that by 2050 India will be among the first places where temperatures will cross survivability limits.

Under heatwave conditions, pregnant women and their unborn children are particularly at risk. “There is unexplained pregnancy loss and early babies,” said Neha Mankani, an advisor at the International Confederation of Midwives in Karachi.

“In the summers, 80% of babies are born preterm with respiratory issues because of the weather. We also see an increase in pregnancy induced hypertension, (which could) lead to preeclampsia – the leading cause of maternal mortality.”

India and Pakistan, both countries with glaring disparities in development, are expected to be among the nations worst affected by the climate crisis – with more than 1 billion people predicted to be impacted on the subcontinent.

The cascading effects will be devastating. Likely consequences range from a lack of food and drought to flash floods from melting ice caps, according to Mehrunissa Malik, a climate change and sustainability expert from Pakistan’s capital Islamabad.

Communities without access to cooling measures, adequate housing and those who rely on the elements for their livelihoods will feel the effects much more acutely, said Malik.

“For farmers, the weather is erratic and difficult to predict,” she said. “The main challenge is the fact that temperatures (are) rising at a time when crops aren’t at the stage to be harvested. They start getting ready earlier, yields get lower, and in this dry heat they need more water… If your plants are still young, severe heat causes little chance of them making it.”

Tofiq Pasha, a farmer and environmental activist from Karachi, said summers begin much earlier now.

His home province, Sindh, which, along with Balochistan, has recorded some of the hottest global temperatures in recent years, suffered a major drought during the winter months and the little rainfall has led to water shortages, he said.

“This is going to be a major livelihood issue among farmers,” Pasha said, explaining how temperatures also affect the arrival of pests. “Flowers don’t set, they fall, fruits don’t set, they fall, you have pest attacks, they decimate the crop, sometimes it gets too hot… the cycles are messed. Food production is extremely affected.”

Heatwaves have in the past have increased demand for electricity, leading to coal shortages while leaving millions without power. Trains have been cancelled to conserve energy, and schools have been forced shut, impacting learning.

Hong Kong
CNN
 — 

Xi Jinping has appealed to Vietnam to join China in upholding multilateral trade, as he begins a high-stakes diplomatic tour of the region’s major export-reliant economies in a bid to position his country as a stable partner in contrast to the United States.

The Chinese leader arrived in communist-ruled Vietnam on Monday and is set to visit Malaysia and Cambodia from Tuesday to Friday – countries that have seen growing trade and investment ties with China in recent years.

The trip comes just days after US President Donald Trump paused his “reciprocal” tariffs on most countries for 90 days – narrowing the focus on his trade war squarely on China.

As Washington and Beijing exchange record-high levies, Southeast Asian nations – still catching their breath from the now-suspended US tariffs – are growing increasingly anxious about being caught in the crossfire between the world’s two largest economies.

Seeking to capitalize on the turmoil unleashed by Trump’s tariff whiplash, Xi is expected to cast China as a reliable partner and defender of global trade. Vietnam and Cambodia were among the highest hit by Trump’s tariffs, set at 46% and 49% respectively before the pause.

But while countries are rolling out the red carpet for Xi, they also need to tread carefully – and avoid the appearance they are siding with China, and potentially risk provoking Trump during their own negotiations over pending tariffs.

Some are wary of being flooded with cheap Chinese goods that are now shut out of the US markets due to the sky-high tariffs. China already runs a trade surplus with Vietnam, exporting 1.6 times the value it imports from its southern neighbor.

As a bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has overtaken the US and the European Union as China’s largest export market since 2023, according to Chinese customs data.

In a signed article published Monday in Vietnam state media, Xi reiterated that there are no winners in a trade war or tariff war, and protectionism will lead nowhere.

“Our two countries should resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment,” Xi wrote, according to China’s official state news agency Xinhua.

Vietnam, a rising manufacturing powerhouse, has seen a surge in Chinese investments in recent years as manufactures move supply chains out of China to take advantage of lower labor costs and hedge against US levies. China’s trade with Vietnam nearly doubled between 2017 and 2024, making the communist state China’s biggest trade partner in Southeast Asia.

While in Hanoi, Xi is expected to further strengthen those ties. The two countries are set to sign about 40 agreements across multiple sectors – including cooperation on railways, agricultural trade and the digital and green economy, Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son said on Saturday, according to Reuters.

Vietnam has approved plans to build a $8.3 billion railway linking its northern port city of Haiphong to China, which will be partially funded by Chinese loans. The country is also looking to purchase China’s homegrown mainline passenger aircraft made by Chinese state-owned planemaker COMAC.

Wen-ti Sung, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, said Xi’s high-profile visit is two pronged: economically, it’s about finding a way to diversify China’s economic footprint around the world; on the foreign policy front, it’s also aimed at pulling countries closer to China while they are unsettled by Trump’s on-and-off-again tariffs.

“What Xi is trying to do now is to go there in person. Instead of fear and pressure, Xi is going to show them love, maybe some ‘souvenirs’ along the way,” he said, referring to possible new trade deals and upgrades to their strategic partnerships.

“All these are ways for China to show that I’m on your side. It’s safe to hang out with China, especially if you’re concerned about the US.”

But relations between China and its neighbors have been strained in recent years, with tensions flaring over claims of disputed sovereignty in the South China Sea. In February, Chinese warships held live-fire drills in waters near Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, known as the Beibu Gulf in China, after Hanoi published a map defining its territorial claims there.

In his signed article in Vietnam’s Nhan Dan Newspaper, Xi urged the two countries to “properly manage differences and safeguard peace and stability in our region.”

“The successful delimitation of our boundaries on land and in the Beibu Gulf demonstrates that with vision, we are fully capable of properly settling maritime issues through consultation and negotiation,” Xi was quoted as writing.

CNN’s Fred He contributed reporting.