World News

A woman looks down an empty street Wednesday in Banjul, Gambia, hours before the end of longtime leader Yahya Jammeh's mandate.

World News

Gambia Prepares For Showdown As Foreign Troops Threaten Intervention

3:49pm January 18, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

In a few hours, longtime Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh's presidential term will expire. But he is clinging to power as troops from regional powers reportedly amass at the border.

Russia Extends Residency Permit For Edward Snowden

1:50pm January 18, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

A spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry announced the extension on Facebook, while ridiculing a former deputy CIA chief. Snowden is in exile in Russia; his supporters have called for a pardon.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad greets Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in April 2013. The two first met in 1985, during a visit by Xi to Iowa.

An 'Old Friend Of China' Prepares To Bridge Differences At A Fraught Time

11:26am January 18, 2017

Donald Trump chose Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad as ambassador to Beijing because of old ties with President Xi Jinping and Iowa's history of trade with China. Branstad will have a tough job.

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The previous year was the hottest year on record, according to climate scientists.

2016 Was The Hottest Year Yet, Scientists Declare

11:03am January 18, 2017

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Global temperatures soared above the 20th century average last year, as the climate continues to change. It's the hottest it has been since scientists started tracking global temperatures in 1880.

World News

The White House And Kremlin Take Parting Shots At Each Other

5:00am January 18, 2017

by Michele Kelemen

As the inauguration nears, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Donald Trump's foes of undermining the president-elect's legitimacy. The U.S. says Russia is trying to undermine global order.

A 2014 photo shows shanty houses on a river bank in Jakarta, Indonesia, where Indonesian President Joko Widodo once pledged to close a fast-growing wealth gap.

Gulf Between Richest And Poorest Is Wider Than Previously Thought, Oxfam Says

8:11pm January 17, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

Last year, Oxfam said the world's richest 62 people had as much money as the poorest 3.6 billion. Turns out those numbers were wrong: The richest nine people had as much wealth as half the planet.

Kenyan parliamentarian Mishi Mboko, shown here on Jan. 11, is asking female voters to withhold sex with their partners until they register to vote.

Kenyan Politician Proposes Women Withhold Sex Until Men Register To Vote

7:56pm January 17, 2017

by Eyder Peralta

"Deny them sex until they show you their voter's card," Mishi Mboko urges. The tactic is not new. Women have gone on sex strikes in the past to try to end wars and curb violence. But is it effective?

This illustration depicts Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria, which can cause different types of infections, including pneumonia, bloodstream infections and meningitis.

A Superbug That Resisted 26 Antibiotics

5:56pm January 17, 2017

by Susan Brink

How close are we to the point when a bacterial infection can resist all available antibiotics? A case in Nevada, reported this past week in the CDC journal, says that we're already there.

Trump Pledges To Offer Britain 'Fair' Trade Deal In 'Times Of London' Interview

5:12pm January 17, 2017

After Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit speech and Donald Trump's interview with The Times of London, NPR's Robert Siegel talks with David Rennie, the Washington bureau chief of The Economist, about what lies ahead for relations between the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

World News

Husband Of Malaysia Airlines Passenger Responds To End Of Search

4:40pm January 17, 2017

NPR's Kelly McEvers speaks with KS Narendran, whose wife was on the Malaysian Airlines flight which has been missing for three years. He talks about why he's upset the search has ended.