Asia

Medical staff wearing personal protective equipment register a suspected coronavirus patient in May at a Kabul hospital.

Health & Safety

A Crippling 3rd Wave Of COVID Adds To Afghanistan's Woes

2:26pm July 02, 2021

by Diaa Hadid

The beleaguered nation is seeing a surge. The lack of testing means it's difficult to know the extent. One doctor says his Facebook feed is 30% to 40% of notices about those who died of the virus.

A man assists a patient with difficulty breathing at the Medical College Hospital in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, on June 16, as the delta variant of the coronavirus quickly spread.

Bangladesh Locks Down As Daily COVID Cases Quintuple

10:56am July 01, 2021

Bangladeshi soldiers are enforcing a seven-day lockdown. As the West opens up, poorer countries with low vaccination rates are being hit by wave after wave of COVID-19.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech Thursday during the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China at Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

World News

China Celebrates Its Communist Party's Centennial With Spectacle, Saber Rattling

8:05am July 01, 2021

by Emily Feng

In a fiery speech at Tiananmen Square, Communist Party Chairman Xi Jinping vowed to keep an iron grip on Hong Kong and to conquer Tiawan, and warned foreign forces against trying to bully China.

The airfield has a long runway which is believed to have been used to land China's space plane in 2020.

Satellite Photos Show China Expanding Its Mysterious Desert Airfield

6:28am July 01, 2021

by Geoff Brumfiel

Satellite imagery shared exclusively with NPR shows new buildings going up at a huge, remote airfield near an old nuclear test range.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks Tuesday during a Politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang.

World News

Kim Jong Un Says A Lapse In COVID Protocols Caused A 'Grave Incident'

7:18pm June 30, 2021

by Anthony Kuhn

The North Korean leader didn't say exactly what the incident was, nor did he contradict the country's official line, which is that it has not had a single COVID-19 infection so far.

Opinion: I'm Nigerian. I'm Vaccinated. Europe Won't Let Me In

6:26pm June 30, 2021

by Ifeanyi Nsofor

Europe lists four approved vaccines for travelers. There's an omission that makes Nigerian physician Ifeanyi Nsofor feel invisible — and disappointed.

Hong Kong police show their new goose step marching style on National Security Education Day at a police school in Hong Kong on April 15.

World News

China's Tough Hong Kong Law Turns 1 Year Old — And It's Already Grown Teeth

4:44pm June 30, 2021

by Emily Feng

Apple Daily was closed, universities were muzzled and prominent activists were either jailed or exiled. The national security law has surely made an impact in Hong Kong in its first year in force.

On June 25, people queued up to register for a COVID-19 vaccine at a site outside a Hindu temple in Hyderabad. Vaccinations are now being administered after a series of missteps led to a shortage of doses. If all goes well, India's public health agency ho

Health & Safety

India Is The World's Biggest Vaccine Maker. Yet Only 4% Of Indians Are Vaccinated

10:00pm June 29, 2021

by Lauren Frayer

The Serum Institute began mass-producing COVID vaccines even before approval. They've made millions of doses. But so far only about 4% of people in India are fully vaccinated. What went wrong?

Queue Listen Now

This Dec. 30, 2019 image from security camera video shows Michael L. Taylor, center, and George-Antoine Zayek at passport control at Istanbul Airport in Turkey. Taylor and his son Peter, are charged in Japan with helping Nissan's former chairman, Carlos G

World News

2 Americans Have Apologized To A Tokyo Court For Their Role In Carlos Ghosn's Escape

10:42am June 29, 2021

by The Associated Press

Michael Taylor, a former Green Beret, and his son Peter are facing charges for allegedly helping Ghosn, the former chairman of Nissan, jump bail and escape Japan for Lebanon.

Thailand Prepares To Open Phuket To Vacinated Tourists

5:46am June 29, 2021

by Michael Sullivan

Thailand plans to reopen the resort island of Phuket to vaccinated foreign tourists July 1. It's a bid to jump start an economy and a tourist industry battered by the pandemic. Will foreigners come?