Asia

A vendor holds a portrait of Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto at a market in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 24.

World News

Indonesia's next president has a complicated history with the U.S.

4:07pm May 08, 2024

by Anthony Kuhn

President-elect Prabowo Subianto was once banned by the U.S. for rights violations. But the U.S. earlier gave him military training. How will both countries deal with each other once he takes office?

The Taliban has a history of supporting the use of stoning as a punishment for "moral crimes" — reiterated in a statement this year by their supreme leader. Above: In 2015, Afghan Solidarity members gather in Kabul to protest Taliban militants who stoned an Afghan woman to death in the Taliban-controlled area outside Firozkoh, the capital of central Ghor province. She was accused of adultery.

Health & Safety

Taliban affirms that stoning will be punishment for adulterers — especially women

11:52am May 08, 2024

by Ruchi Kumar

In a recording, the group's leader declared: "We will flog the women ... we will stone them to death in public [for crimes]." What does Islamic law say on the matter? And have stonings taken place?

Queue Listen Now

Worshippers and tourists sit on boats facing the bank of the Ganges River in the holy Hindu city of Varanasi to watch the Ganga Aarti, a ritual of devotion to the venerated river. Hindu priests wave fire as the sun sets, ring bells and tap on drums. Thousands watch, clap and chant along from boats crammed in the water.

World News

Up and down the Ganges, India's Modi enjoys support after 10 years of rule

8:17am May 06, 2024

As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks to win a third term, NPR visited some of his voter base in the north.

Morning news brief

5:12am May 06, 2024

The Israeli military urges civilians to leave Rafah. China's president begins a five-day European tour. NASA and Boeing are set to launch astronauts to the International Space Station Monday night.

China's President Xi Jinping begins a 5-day tour in Europe

5:12am May 06, 2024

China's president is in Europe for the first time in five years, at a point when Sino-European relations are particularly frosty. Will a Beijing charm offensive turn things around?

A banner that shows the late Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar is displayed outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia, on Sept. 18, 2023.

World News

Canadian police arrest 3 suspects in the slaying of a Sikh separatist leader

11:11am May 04, 2024

by The Associated Press

Police said they arrested three Indian nationals in the slaying of Hardeep Singh Nijjar last June that became the center of a diplomatic spat with India.

World News

India is halfway through the voting season. The ruling BJP is showing signs of worry

8:07am May 04, 2024

India is almost halfway through its six-week-long election season. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attempting to win a third consecutive term by promising his brand of Hindu nationalism.

Researchers in a rainforest in Indonesia spotted an injury on the face of a male orangutan they named Rakus. They were stunned to watch him treat his wound with a medicinal plant.

Orangutan in the wild applied medicinal plant to heal its own injury, biologists say

1:55pm May 03, 2024

by Bill Chappell

It is "the first known case of active wound treatment in a wild animal with a medical plant," biologist Isabelle Laumer told NPR. She says the orangutan, called Rakus, is now thriving.

In this image from a video, Solomon Islands Prime Minister-elect Jeremiah Manele speaks during a press conference in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on Thursday.

World News

Newly elected prime minister in Solomon Islands is likely to keep close China ties

3:16am May 02, 2024

by The Associated Press

Solomon Islands lawmakers elected former Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele as prime minister Thursday in a development that suggests the South Pacific island nation will maintain close ties with China.

World News

The people behind online scams may be scam victims themselves

5:39pm May 01, 2024

by Emily Feng

The people behind the online scams you see might be the victim of a scam themselves. Tens of thousands of people have been trafficked into remote, Southeast Asian compounds and forced to scam others.