Asia

Festivalgoers attend a music festival at Olympic Park on June 26, 2021 in Seoul, South Korea.

South Korea seeks a path to normal life from COVID-19

1:16pm October 29, 2021

by Se Eun Gong

South Korea is seeking a degree of normalcy by gradually easing restrictions. "We have to find a way to safely coexist with COVID-19 even if that means taking some risks," an official said.

Inspector general report is issued on the collapse of the Afghan government

6:43am October 29, 2021

NPR's Noel King talks to John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan Reconstruction, whose report claims corruption and a lack of oversight were factors in the collapse.

President Biden participates in a CNN town hall at the Baltimore Center Stage Pearlstone Theater, on Oct. 21. When asked whether the U.S. would protect Taiwan if China attacked, he said the U.S. has a "commitment" to do so.

World News

Would the U.S. defend Taiwan if China invades? Biden said yes. But it's complicated

6:12pm October 28, 2021

by John Ruwitch

President Biden has said the U.S. is committed to defending Taiwan, but Washington has traditionally stayed strategically ambiguous. Here's why.

Japanese airline uses vending machines to sell mystery flights

6:25am October 28, 2021

There's a catch: Domestic travelers don't get to choose where they go — the routes are random. They include cities like Okinawa and Sapporo. More than 3,000 flights have been sold since August.

Health & Safety

Cambodia's ties with China helped it achieve a high COVID vaccination rate

6:01am October 27, 2021

by Michael Sullivan

Cambodia is one of the most fully COVID-19 vaccinated countries in the world. Besides help from China, the success is also due to systems already in place to combat malaria and other illnesses.

Tokyo's city government announced it will stop using floppy disks

5:50am October 27, 2021

It has become too expensive to maintain the machines that read the old floppies. Even Sony, which used to make the disks, stopped manufacturing them a decade ago.

Princess Mako, who became Mako Komuro, and her husband, Kei Komuro, pose during a news conference at Grand Arc Hotel on Tuesday in Tokyo to announce their wedding.

World News

Japan's Princess Mako will relocate to New York after marrying a nonroyal

1:33pm October 26, 2021

by Anthony Kuhn

Mako has married her boyfriend, Kei Komuro, a commoner, and taken his surname. The couple skipped a formal ceremony and instead registered their union at a local government office.

Zalmay Khalilzad explains what went wrong with the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan

7:26am October 26, 2021

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Zalmay Khalilzad, who stepped down last week as the U.S. envoy to Afghanistan. He played the lead role in negotiating a deal with the Taliban to withdraw U.S. troops.

Politics & Government

News brief: Zalmay Khalilzad, social media hearing, Sudan coup

6:22am October 26, 2021

The U.S. envoy who brokered the Taliban deal discusses what went wrong in the Afghan withdrawal. A Senate panel holds a hearing on social media and kids. U.S. aid to Sudan is suspended after a coup.

Queue Listen Now

World News

Japan's Princess Mako marries a commoner and loses her royal status

5:50am October 26, 2021

by Anthony Kuhn

Princess Mako married her commoner fiancé Tuesday, in a wedding delayed by controversy. The pair skipped a formal ceremony, and registered the marriage at a government office.