Asia

Saudi Arabia will host Xi Jinping in a milestone moment for China-Saudi relations

5:02am December 08, 2022

by Jackie Northam

Saudi Arabia hosts Chinese leader Xi Jinping in a regional summit that echoes the trip President Biden made there in July and highlights the competition for influence in the Gulf.

What's at stake for Xi Jinping's trip to Saudi Arabia

5:02am December 08, 2022

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Yu Jie, who studies China's relationships with Middle East and Gulf states, about Chinese president Xi's trip to Saudi Arabia and China's influence in the region.

World News

China rolls back some of its most controversial COVID restrictions

4:42pm December 07, 2022

by John Ruwitch

Following protests, China announced a series of measures to roll back some of its most controversial COVID restrictions. They include allowing those with mild or no symptoms to quarantine at home.

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Convicted militant Umar Patek pauses during the police reenactment of the scenes leading to the 2002 Bali bombing, in Denpasar, Bali Indonesia, on Oct. 20, 2011.

World News

Indonesia paroles the bombmaker in Bali's deadly 2002 attacks

3:13pm December 07, 2022

by The Associated Press

An Islamic militant convicted of making the explosives used in the bombings that killed over 200 people was paroled after serving about half of his original 20-year prison sentence.

Gov. Larry Hogan said Maryland is banning the use of TikTok and certain China and Russia-based platforms in the state's executive branch of government.

Maryland is the latest state to ban TikTok in government agencies

2:53pm December 07, 2022

by The Associated Press

Maryland is banning the use of TikTok and certain China and Russia-based platforms in its executive branch. It's the latest state to address cybersecurity risks presented by the platforms.

A woman wearing a face mask and face shield get ready for her routine COVID-19 throat swab at a coronavirus testing site in Beijing, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. China has announced new measures rolling back COVID-19 restrictions, including limiting lockdowns and testing requirements.

China announces a rollback of its strict anti-COVID-19 measures

10:31am December 07, 2022

by The Associated Press

China has announced a series of measures rolling back some of its restrictive anti-COVID-19 restrictions, including limiting the scale of lockdown to individual apartment floors and buildings.

Health & Safety

How China's COVID policy rollbacks will affect the country and the world

5:00am December 07, 2022

With Chinese leaders expected to further loosen the country's notoriously strict COVID policies, how could a rise in cases affect Chinese citizens and the global economy?

China's New Silk Road project is lending out billions to countries in Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa to build and upgrade railways, ports, pipelines, power grids and highways. Above: A Kenya Railways train pulls shipping containers as it departs from the Mombasa port station.

China lends billions to poor countries. Is that a burden ... or a blessing?

6:34pm December 06, 2022

by Andrew Connelly

China doles out much cash for infrastructure. It must be repaid. Is that frustrating for recipients? A new survey has a surprising answer. But skeptics wonder: How honest were the participants?

The People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, showing Jiang Zemin (right) meeting journalists, including Frank Langfitt (center), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in 1997.

World News

Perspective: Jiang Zemin's passing marks the end of an era for China

4:35pm December 06, 2022

by Frank Langfitt

As China holds a memorial service for its late leader Jiang Zemin, an NPR correspondent who met Jiang reflects on the figure and his transforming country.

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The central business district skyline is seen during the dusk in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, April 29, 2019. Indonesia's Parliament has passed a long-awaited and controversial revision of its penal code, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, that criminalizes extramarital sex and applies to citizens and visiting foreigners alike.

World News

Indonesia criminalizes adultery, but the law may take up to 3 years to take effect

12:40pm December 06, 2022

by The Associated Press

Indonesia's penal code had languished for decades while legislators in the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation struggled with how to adapt its native culture and norms to the criminal code.