China

A 2012 photo of Zhou Yongkang, the then-Chinese Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee member in charge of security. Zhou has been sentenced to life in prison over charges of corruption.

China Sentences Former Security Chief To Life In Prison For Corruption

6:45am June 11, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

Zhou Yongkang became the highest-ranking official to be convicted in President Xi Jinping's campaign against corruption. Zhou was accused of taking bribes and leaking state secrets.

A woman smokes a cigarette in a Beijing shopping market, even though the practice is now banned inside public spaces.

How Does A City Stop 4 Million Smokers From Lighting Up?

2:30pm June 10, 2015

by Anthony Kuhn

A few years ago, smoking was so common in Beijing that doctors, nurses and patients would even puff away in hospital hallways. Now the city is trying — again — to ban smoking indoors. It isn't easy.

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Rescuers work in the hull of the upright ship Eastern Star to launch rescue work in the section of Jianli on the Yangtze River, central China's Hubei Province, on Saturday.

World News

Official Death Toll In China's 'Eastern Star' Disaster Rises To Nearly 400

1:10pm June 06, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The cruise ship, which was righted on Friday, capsized on Monday in the Yangtze River with 456 people aboard.

A relative of passengers on board the Eastern Star cruise ship is comforted by a man along the Yangtze River's banks in Jianli, China. Relatives of people missing after the cruise ship capsized have gathered at the disaster site.

World News

Chinese Cruise Ship Death Toll Rises To 75

6:56am June 04, 2015

by Bill Chappell

Rescue teams have now cut holes through parts of the overturned ship's hull, but they've found no more survivors from the ship that carried more than 450 people.

Relatives await word of survivors from a cruise ship that capsized in the Yangtze River. The Eastern Star was carrying more than 450 people; only 14 have been rescued.

World News

Death Toll Up To 65 In China Boat Disaster; Government Orders Censorship

1:24am June 04, 2015

by Bill Chappell

Of the more than 450 people who were aboard the Eastern Star when it capsized in rough weather Monday, only 14 have reportedly been saved — but rescuers haven't given up hope of finding more alive.

Since the first case on May 20, confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, have swelled to at least 30 in South Korea.

Classes Canceled, 1,300 Quarantined In S. Korea's Scramble To Stop MERS

7:59am June 03, 2015

by Elise Hu

Additional confirmed cases of the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, have led to more than 200 school closures and a minor public panic in South Korea.

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Rescuers pull a survivor from an overturned passenger ship in the Jianli section of the Yangtze River in central China's Hubei province on Tuesday.

Cruise Ship Capsizes In China, Leaving Hundreds Unaccounted For

12:47am June 03, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

The captain told local media the vessel sank after getting caught in a cyclone in China's Yangtze River. Few of the 458 on board are thought to have survived the incident.

Wang, a young human rights lawyer, argues that Chinese people have to push the government to build a system of rule of law. She did not want her full face shown to protect her identity.

World News

A Rare, Spontaneous Democracy Debate In A Shanghai Taxi

10:46pm June 01, 2015

by Frank Langfitt

NPR's Frank Langfitt has been driving around Shanghai offering free rides to learn about real life in China. But he was recently a taxi passenger when something unusual happened.

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The website bestenglishname.com uses the answers to questions about subjects such as music, sports and personal style to generate suitable English names.

World News

So Long 'Cinderella,' Website Helps Chinese Find Better English Names

7:28pm June 01, 2015

by Frank Langfitt

Billboard. Mo Money. Lady Gaga. Cinderella. Those are just a few of the unusual names young Chinese have adopted over the years. An American entrepreneur hopes to suggest more appropriate ones.

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A range of Darjeeling tea at Goomtee Tea Estate in Darjeeling, India.

Sip It Slowly, And Other Lessons From The Oldest Tea Book In The World

6:03pm May 26, 2015

by Jeff Koehler

Over 800 years before tea was known in the West, a Chinese master penned the The Classic of Tea. In it, he blends the practical with the spiritual and emphasizes rituals from cultivation to drinking.