Asia

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Tensions continue to increase between the United States and China

7:23am February 03, 2023

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to David Finkelstein, vice president of the Center for Naval Analyses, about the Pentagon saying a Chinese surveillance balloon is floating over Montana.

Indian couple Utkarsh Saxena, left, and Ananya Kotia, chat inside a public park in New Delhi, India, Jan. 18, 2023. The couple, now 15 years into their relationship, is joined by three other couples who have filed a petition to India's Supreme Court that seeks the legalization of same-sex marriage.

In India, couples begin their legal battle for same-sex marriage

3:04am February 03, 2023

by The Associated Press

Couples have filed petitions to India's Supreme Court seeking the legalization of same-sex marriage. The decision could make India the second economy in Asia after Taiwan to recognize the unions.

Pentagon is tracking a spy balloon, which it suspects belongs to China, over the U.S.

6:46pm February 02, 2023

by Greg Myre

U.S. military officials say they are tracking a Chinese high altitude surveillance balloon that's been over the continental U.S. for the past couple of days.

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Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder speaks during a briefing on Jan. 17. On Thursday, he said a suspected Chinese spy balloon is "currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground."

Pentagon says a suspected Chinese spy balloon has been spotted over the Western U.S.

6:07pm February 02, 2023

by The Associated Press

The balloon has been spotted over U.S. airspace for a couple days, The Pentagon decided not to shoot it down due to risks of harm for people on the ground, officials said.

Bollywood film 'Pathaan' sparks dance parties in theatres

5:38pm February 02, 2023

The new Bollywood spy thriller Pathaan is transforming movie theaters into dance clubs with its catchy theme — and it's breaking records at the box office in India and abroad.

A journalist ventures inside one of the world's most notorious terrorist groups

1:17pm February 02, 2023

by Dave Davies

Jere Van Dyk has spent years in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he got to know leaders of the Haqqani network, responsible for many suicide bombings and kidnappings. His new book is Without Borders.

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Yeshnee Naidoo prepares a "flow cell" for analysis by one of the center's many genetic sequencing machines.

Who's most likely to save us from the next pandemic? The answer may surprise you

1:07pm February 02, 2023

by Nurith Aizenman

The South African-based scientist who co-discovered the omicron variant of COVID-19 makes an intriguing argument.

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Security officials and rescue workers conduct an operation on Tuesday to clear the rubble and search for bodies at the site of Monday's suicide bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan. The assault on a mosque inside a major police facility was one of the deadliest attacks in Pakistan in recent years.

World News

Pakistan is roiled by multiple crises at once, with little end in sight

11:00am February 02, 2023

A storm of global issues, from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, has exposed and exacerbated Pakistan's political, economic and security fault lines.

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Gautam Adani, billionaire and chairman of Adani Group, speaks during an event at Israel's Port of Haifa, on Tuesday. The Indian billionaire, whose business empire was rocked by allegations of fraud by short seller Hindenburg Research, said his company will make more investments in Israel.

World News

How Asia's ex-richest man lost nearly $50 billion in just over a week

10:17am February 02, 2023

by Sushmita Pathak

Indian businessman Gautam Adani was a few billion dollars shy of Elon Musk. But he tumbled down the billionaires' list after a U.S. firm accused the Adani Group of pulling off an epic con.

Customers dine at a Japanese conveyor belt sushi restaurant restaurant in Tokyo on Jan. 22, 2020.

Japan's conveyor belt sushi industry takes a licking from an errant customer

10:08am February 02, 2023

by Anthony Kuhn

The public's reaction to reports of one customer defiling utensils at sushi eateries suggests it's a brazen assault on two things of which Japanese are very proud, their sushi and their manners.