Asia

In this aerial photo released by the Chin Human Rights Organization, fires destroy numerous buildings in the town of Thantlang in Chin State in northwest Myanmar, on Dec. 4, 2021.

World News

The Myanmar military is employing a familiar strategy of massacres and burnings

12:40am December 30, 2021

by The Associated Press

The massacres and scorched-earth tactics represent the latest escalation in the military's violence against both civilians and the growing opposition to the military's February coup.

World News

Hong Kong police close pro-democracy outlet Stand News

5:20pm December 29, 2021

In Hong Kong, authorities from the police's national security department arrested half a dozen senior staff members, confiscated boxes and closed one of the last pro-democracy outlets, Stand News.

Queue Listen Now

China now limits developers' debt and that has put local governments at risk

5:08am December 29, 2021

by Emily Feng

Selling land and building cities made China rich. It also created a lot of government debt that China now wants to reduce.

Hong Kong police raided the office of the online news outlet Stand News on Wednesday after arresting several people for conspiracy to publish a seditious publication. The website shut down hours later.

Hong Kong pro-democracy news site closes after raid, arrests

4:52am December 29, 2021

by The Associated Press

A vocal pro-democracy website in Hong Kong shut down Wednesday after police raided its office and arrested six in a continuing crackdown on dissent.

Commuters wearing face masks ride an escalator at a subway station in the central business district in Beijing. Caseloads of omicron have remained relatively low in many parts in Asia.

Asia is keeping omicron at bay, but a surge may be inevitable

12:51am December 29, 2021

by The Associated Press

Much of Asia has managed to keep omicron in check even as the variant rages elsewhere, but the region that is home to most of the globe's population is bracing for what may be an inevitable surge.

Chef and YouTube host Pailin Chongchitnant.

World News

Cooking up food and identity in Pailin Chongchitnant's "Hot Thai Kitchen"

1:31pm December 28, 2021

by Summer Thomad

When chef Pailin Chongchitnant realized that cable television wasn't ready for a Thai cooking show, she started her own on YouTube. On it, she breaks down some of the misconceptions about the cuisine.

Homeless people gather beside a portrait of Saint Teresa, the founder of the Missionaries of Charity, to collect free food outside the order's headquarters in Kolkata, India, in August.

India blocks foreign funding for Mother Teresa's charity

1:11pm December 28, 2021

by Lauren Frayer

The Indian government says it has refused to renew a permit that allows the Missionaries of Charity to use foreign funds to operate orphanages and hospices across the country.

Iraq's average annual temperatures are increasing at nearly double the rate of Earth's temperature rise. This photograph accompanies Ruth Sherlock's story about how climate change is affecting marshlands and the way of life in Iraq.

World News

These are the top stories NPR's correspondents around the world recommend from 2021

10:24am December 28, 2021

by International Desk

We asked the network's international journalists to pick one story from the year you should check out. Here are their selections.

Jonathan Spence, Yale historian who specialized in China, dies at 85

7:55am December 28, 2021

by Anthony Kuhn

One of the keys to understanding present day China is grasping its past. Yale University historian Jonathan Spence helped many people to understand this vast field.

Queue Listen Now

World News

A look back at Afghanistan's last year

4:58pm December 27, 2021

At the start of 2021, people knew that President Biden had promised to end the war in Afghanistan. They did not know how it would conclude.

Queue Listen Now