Asia

News Brief: Justice Bill, Migrants' Release, Pyongyang Cheats Sanctions

5:59am December 19, 2018

Senate approves bipartisan criminal justice bill. Several thousand migrant children in U.S. custody could be released soon. Open scientific collaboration may be helping North Korea cheat on sanctions.

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Nheb Thai, a Cambodian refugee who was deported from the U.S., serves a meal to other deportees in Battambang last year. Cambodia has taken in 566 deportees since inking a 2002 pact with the U.S. that opened the door for hundreds with criminal records to

U.S. Deports Dozens More Cambodian Immigrants, Some For Decades-Old Crimes

8:22pm December 18, 2018

Many were granted refugee status after fleeing U.S. bombing during the Vietnam War and the massacres of the Khmer Rouge, and know little about the country where they're being forced to return.

World News

Minorities In Chinese Internment Camps Forced To Sew Clothes for U.S. Brand

4:25pm December 18, 2018

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with the AP's Dake Kang about his reporting that minorities in Chinese internment camps are being forced to perform menial labor, including sewing clothes for a U.S. sports brand.

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Smog hits Beijing on December 1. A new report presents evidence of cleaner air, but environmental observers are worried about levels of pollution this winter.

Health & Safety

The Good News (And Not So Good News) About China's Smoggy Air

11:37am December 18, 2018

by Katrina Yu

According to a new report, China's war against air pollution shows promising results. But there is evidence of backsliding as winter nears.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, seen behind the lectern, speaks to his supporters at the prime minister's official residence Sunday in Colombo. His reinstatement as prime minister concludes weeks of political chaos prompted by his firing.

World News

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Celebrates His Reinstatement As 'Triumph Of Democracy'

4:21pm December 17, 2018

by Colin Dwyer

Seven weeks after President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe, the ousted premier got his job back. The move caps what has been a surprising showdown in the island nation.

The Goldman Sachs headquarters in Manhattan, as shown on Dec. 17. Malaysia has filed criminal charges against Goldman Sachs and two of its former executives on Monday over their alleged role in the ransacking of a multibillion-dollar state investment fund

World News

Goldman Sachs Faces Charges In Malaysia Over Massive Corruption Scandal

3:01pm December 17, 2018

by Camila Domonoske

The U.S. bank and two of its former bankers face criminal charges in connection with Malaysia's 1MDB scandal, which involves billions of dollars allegedly stolen from a development fund.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanakzai, a representative of the Taliban, attends international talks in Moscow last month. On Monday, the Islamist militant group announced that its representatives would be having conversations with the U.S. in the United Arab Emir

World News

Taliban Says It Is Meeting With U.S. Officials, Amid Escalating Peace Efforts

2:30pm December 17, 2018

by Colin Dwyer

The Islamist militants have refused to negotiate with the Afghan government in Kabul — but a Taliban spokesman said Monday that they were speaking with the U.S., along with several other countries.

The arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, followed by China's detention of two Canadians, escalated trade and security tensions that are now leading to travel jitters.

World News

U.S., Canadian Executives Privately 'Spooked' About Traveling To China

6:31am December 17, 2018

by Yuki Noguchi

The arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, followed by China's detention of two Canadians, escalated trade and security tensions that are now leading to travel jitters.

Nuns and supporters demand the arrest of Bishop Franco Mulakkal, outside the High Court in Kochi in the southern Indian state of Kerala in September.

A Nun In India Accuses A Bishop Of Rape, And Divides The Country's Christians

6:14am December 17, 2018

by Lauren Frayer

A Roman Catholic nun says a bishop raped her multiple times between 2014 and 2016. The bishop denies wrongdoing and is out on bail. Some Indian Catholics are blaming the nun for tarnishing the church.

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Residents take photos and try to touch one of the three Balangiga church bells after a ceremony returning them to the church in the town of Balangiga in the Philippines on Dec. 15, 2018.

National

Philippines Duterte Praises 'Generous' Americans For Returning Church Bells

5:07am December 16, 2018

by Julie McCarthy

The bells return to Balangiga after 117 years in U.S. custody.

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