Asia

World News

This Marine-turned-journalist interviewed the Taliban commander he had fought against

1:33pm January 20, 2022

by Terry Gross

Thomas Gibbons-Neff served two tours in Afghanistan, and is now a New York Times reporter. He recently interviewed a high-level Taliban commander about a battle they had both been engaged in.

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A train is ready on the station during the handover ceremony of the high-speed rail project in Vientiane, Laos, connecting the city with Kunming, China, on Dec. 3, 2021.

With U.S. focused on defense, China's trade and infrastructure sweep Southeast Asia

7:43am January 20, 2022

by Julie McCarthy

The Biden administration hopes to make deeper inroads in Southeast Asia but lags far behind China, which has already built up major trade ties, as well as roads and a high-speed rail.

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Before pullout, U.S. government watchdog warned Afghan air force would collapse

7:21am January 20, 2022

NPR's A Martinez talks to John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan Reconstruction, about a declassified report that warned the Afghan air force would collapse without U.S. support.

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The Philippines struggles to recover from a typhoon, especially 1 island

5:14am January 19, 2022

The devastating typhoon that ripped through the Philippines before Christmas left a path of destruction. One month on, conditions on a fabled tourist destination are bleak.

In Afghanistan, a food crisis is worsening

5:01pm January 18, 2022

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Filipe Ribeiro, the Afghanistan representative for Doctors Without Borders, to hear about the severe lack of food the country is facing.

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Above: locals in Liuzhou feast on their regional specialty of snail noodles. The novelty of the dish has made it a viral sensation in China during the pandemic.

Health & Safety

Snail noodles go viral in China during the pandemic. But the dish is a bit ... funky

5:01pm January 18, 2022

The southern specialty — snail broth, pickled bamboo, slippery rice noodles — has taken off. "A lot of people were looking for crazy, ridiculous things to eat," says food blogger Mei Shanshan.

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This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows what it says a test-fire of tactical guided missile in North Korea Monday, Jan. 17, 2022.

North Korea tests more missiles, but experts warn against taking threats at face value

10:33am January 18, 2022

by Anthony Kuhn

Monday's test was North Korea's fourth launch in under two weeks. By contrast, it took the North 10 months to conduct that many ballistic missile tests last year.

To keep Olympics COVID-free, China creates invisible bubbles around facilities

7:30am January 18, 2022

by Emily Feng

The country with some of the world's strictest COVID-19 policies is gearing up to host the Winter Olympics amid a rise in global omicron infections. Here's how Beijing is preparing.

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North Korea has conducted four missile tests so far this year

6:16am January 18, 2022

by Anthony Kuhn

Some experts believe that North Korea's testing is going according to a long-term plan, that could include long-range missile testing in the near future.

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World News

The free press in Hong Kong is under fire from the Chinese government, critics say

5:24pm January 17, 2022

by John Ruwitch

Critics say the Chinese government is targeting Hong Kong's free press. The Hong Kong Journalists' Association is trying to protect freedom of the press, but it's unclear how much longer it can do so.

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