Asia

In May 2019, residents watch as a China Eastern passenger jet prepares to take off on a test flight from the new Beijing Daxing International Airport. State media are reporting a Chinese airliner from China Eastern with 132 people on board crashed in the

World News

A Jetliner crashed with 132 aboard in southern China, officials say

1:20pm March 21, 2022

by Emily Feng

Authorities have not yet determined the total number of casualties or why the plane went down as debris is seen littered across a mountainside in Guangxi's Teng county.

Shararah's 2021 Nowruz feast isn't possible this year because of a ban on the holiday by the Afghan government.

Nowruz is banned in Afghanistan, but families continue to celebrate

9:24am March 21, 2022

by Simran Sethi

One woman living in Kabul describes how, despite food shortages and repression, her family is celebrating the Persian new year with what they have.

Arrested under a Trump-era China initiative, Franklin Tao heads to trial

5:11am March 21, 2022

by John Ruwitch

University of Kansas professor Franklin Tao goes on trial Monday, in a case that critics say highlights how problematic and damaging the Justice Department's now-defunct "China Initiative" has been.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam listens to a reporter's question during a news conference in Hong Kong, on Monday.

Hong Kong to lift flight bans and cut quarantine for arrivals

2:52am March 21, 2022

by The Associated Press

The local government also says it will suspend plans for a city-wide mass-testing exercise.

Lee Yong-soo, a South Korean sexual slavery survivor who has been demanding since the early 1990s that the Japanese government fully accept culpability and offer an unequivocal apology, wipes her tear during an interview in Seoul, South Korea, on March 16

World News

South Korean slavery victim seeks U.N. justice as time runs out

1:37am March 21, 2022

by The Associated Press

The grievances over sexual slavery, forced labor and other abuses stemming from Japan's WW II-era colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula have strained Seoul-Tokyo relations in recent years.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says his country's ban on aluminum ore exports to Russia is a "commitment to holding the Putin regime to account" over the war in Ukraine.

World News

Australia bans the export of aluminum ores to Russia

4:13pm March 20, 2022

by Joe Hernandez

Australian officials said the restrictions, which include a ban on bauxite, is designed to curtail Russia's ability to produce aluminum — a vital ingredient in arms and munition manufacturing.

World News

Hunger and fear permeate Kabul months after Taliban's return to power

8:56am March 20, 2022

by Diaa Hadid

Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, is a changed place since the Taliban returned to power. Women live with more restrictions, and many Afghans lack electricity and food.

National

Asia policy expert says China support to Russia could alter U.S.-China relations

5:22pm March 19, 2022

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with former Australian Prime Minister and current president of the Asia Society Kevin Rudd about how Russia's invasion of Ukraine is affecting the U.S.-China relationship.

Biden warns Xi Jinping of consequences toward China if it continues Russian support

8:02am March 19, 2022

by Scott Detrow

President Biden had a long video call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, warning against supporting Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

A tourist strolls along the white sand of Maya Beach in Thailand. The destination was once overrun by visitors, but thanks in part to the pandemic, its ecosystem has had time to recover.

World News

In Thailand, the pandemic helped a famous beach recover from an onslaught of tourists

6:00am March 19, 2022

by Michael Sullivan

The Leonardo DiCaprio film The Beach helped put Maya Bay on the "must see" list of every visitor to Thailand. But that proved too much for its delicate ecosystem. The pandemic helped change that.