Bangladesh Locks Down As Daily COVID Cases Quintuple
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.
Asia
China Celebrates Its Communist Party's Centennial With Spectacle, Saber Rattling
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.
Satellite Photos Show China Expanding Its Mysterious Desert Airfield
Satellite imagery shared exclusively with NPR shows new buildings going up at a huge, remote airfield near an old nuclear test range.
Kim Jong Un Says A Lapse In COVID Protocols Caused A 'Grave Incident'
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
Europe lists four approved vaccines for travelers. There's an omission that makes Nigerian physician Ifeanyi Nsofor feel invisible — and disappointed.
China's Tough Hong Kong Law Turns 1 Year Old — And It's Already Grown Teeth
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.
India Is The World's Biggest Vaccine Maker. Yet Only 4% Of Indians Are Vaccinated
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?
2 Americans Have Apologized To A Tokyo Court For Their Role In Carlos Ghosn's Escape
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
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?
Road Deal With China Is Blamed For Catapulting Montenegro Into Historic Debt
In Southeastern Europe, Montenegro needed a good road and China offered to build it. Montenegro is not sure now if it can pay for it, and it owes China the equivalent of a quarter of its economy.