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Typhoon has killed at least 12 and displaced 330,000 people in the Philippines

5:06pm December 17, 2021

by Julie McCarthy

At least 12 people are dead and 300,000 were forced to evacuate because of Super Typhoon Rai, the most powerful typhoon to hit the Philippines this year.

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'Hell on Earth': Afghans have to choose between feeding or heating, according to WFP

5:06pm December 17, 2021

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Program (WFP), about hunger in Afghanistan.

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Firefighters stand on a floor at a building where a fire broke out Friday in Osaka, Japan, killing 24 people.

World News

24 people died in a building fire in Osaka, Japan, and arson is suspected

12:37pm December 17, 2021

by The Associated Press

A fire that spread from a fourth-floor mental clinic in an eight-story building in what police were investigating as a possible case of arson and murder. Police were searching for a possible suspect.

World News

After escaping the Taliban, Afghan music students and teachers begin their new lives

6:36am December 17, 2021

by Hannah Bloch

This week, members of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music flew from Doha to Portugal, where they'll rebuild their school — and lives. They describe their escape from Kabul and future hopes.

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An Afghan money changer holds a stack of Iranian currency at Khorasan market in Herat, Afghanistan, The value of Afghanistan's currency is tumbling, exacerbating an already severe economic crisis.

World News

Afghan currency slides and prices surge as already battered economy worsens

2:22am December 17, 2021

by The Associated Press

The value of Afghanistan's currency is tumbling, exacerbating a severe economic crisis and deepening poverty in a country where more than half the population already doesn't have enough to eat.

Amid Taiwan spat, Lithuania closes embassy in China after diplomats leave

5:40am December 16, 2021

Lithuania's embassy in Beijing evacuated all of its diplomats from China. They left because Lithuania feared China would not recognize the diplomats' immunity from prosecution in China.

Kashmir's Jamia Masjid, or the grand mosque is seen through its gate that remains locked on Fridays in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir.

In Kashmir, closed mosque raises questions about India's religious freedom

5:26am December 16, 2021

by The Associated Press

For Kashmiri Muslims the Jamia Masjid is a sacred venue, but it's been closed most Fridays for the past two years. The government has said those who manage it couldn't stop anti-India protests there.

In this handout photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, a rescuer assists a girl as they wade through flooding caused by Typhoon Rai in Cagayan de Oro City, southern Philippines.

Powerful typhoon hits Philippines, nearly 100,000 evacuated

4:56am December 16, 2021

by The Associated Press

A powerful typhoon slammed into the southeastern Philippines on Thursday, prompting the evacuation of nearly 100,000 people. Officials say 10,000 villages lie in the projected path of the typhoon.

World News

Lithuania closes embassy in China after last diplomats leave amid Taiwan spat

1:01am December 16, 2021

by The Associated Press

Lithuania says it's closed its embassy in Beijing and pulled its last diplomat out amid a spat over the European Union nation allowing Taiwan to open a representative office in the capital, Vilnius.

Taliban political office spokesman Muhammad Naeem Wardak spoke with NPR in Doha, Qatar, on Dec. 11.

What the Taliban really want from the world, in their own words

6:28pm December 15, 2021

"We want to prove to everyone forever that we respect humanity," Taliban spokesman Muhammad Naeem Wardak told NPR in Doha, Qatar. He also said women "must have the right to education and to work."

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