Asia

Rohingya refugees embrace one another, finally reunited after a perilous journey by boat from Myanmar to Bangladesh.

World News

Apparent 'Ethnic Cleansing' Is Now Unfolding In Myanmar, U.N. Says

8:04pm September 11, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

Operations against the Rohingya look like a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing," the U.N. human rights chief says. But Myanmar's civilian leader, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, denies the allegations.

U.N. Security Council Steps Up Pressure On North Korea

7:32pm September 11, 2017

by Michele Kelemen

The security council voted unanimously on a new sanctions resolution Monday that U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley says is meant to starve North Korea of money needed to support its nuclear program.

They're the only two female artists working on a Mongolian street mural about the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals: Michid Enkhbat (stooping) and Odno Bold. The goal they're illustrating: "gender equality."

Mongolia's Hunt For Female Street Artists

12:15pm September 11, 2017

by Katya Cengel

The goal was to paint street murals that illustrate the 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. And not to have only male artists — especially for the goal about gender equality.

World News

Everyday Life In North Korea

8:06am September 09, 2017

NPR's Scott Simon talks with Sokeel Park of the refugee assistance group Liberty in North Korea about everyday life for North Koreans.

World News

Aung San Suu Kyi Calls Atrocities On Rohingya 'Fake News'

8:06am September 09, 2017

Former U.S. ambassador to Myanmar Derek Mitchell talks to NPR's Scott Simon about the harsh light Myanmar's repression of Muslims is casting on its leader, Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

World News

China Steps Up Crackdown On Liberal Universities

4:58pm September 08, 2017

by Anthony Kuhn

Despite its ambitions to create world class academic institutions, China has stepped up efforts to purge its universities of liberal ideas, reversing a general long-term trend towards more academic freedoms.

An Indian villager wades through floodwaters in West Bengal on Aug. 23.

Local Aid Groups Are Key To Disaster Relief. So Why Are They Overlooked?

4:52pm September 08, 2017

by Malaka Gharib

Community-based charities are at the front lines of the flood response in South Asia. But global charities get almost all the attention — and money.

Elementary school students in Iwamizawa, a town in Japan's Hokkaido prefecture, take part in a missile drill.

World News

In Hokkaido, Being In North Korea's Missile Flight Path Means Cold War-Era Drills

9:13am September 08, 2017

by Elise Hu

Last week, a North Korean missile flew over Japan's northern island of Hokkaido. Normally a peaceful place known for its ski resorts, its residents are rethinking the threat.

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North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests. As this chart of seismic activity shows, the latest test on Sept. 3 was roughly an order of magnitude larger than earlier ones.

Here's How Big North Korea's Latest Nuclear Test Actually Was

6:03pm September 07, 2017

by Geoff Brumfiel

Seismic and satellite data reveal the test was a whopper, further bolstering the North's claim that it tested a hydrogen bomb.

A patient with the H7N9 avian flu is treated in a hospital in Wuhan, in central China's Hubei province, in February of this year. The 2017 outbreak was the deadliest in China since H7N9 first appeared in humans in 2013.

Deadly Bird Flu In China Evolves, Spreads To New Regions

4:51pm September 07, 2017

by Michaeleen Doucleff

In the 2017 outbreak, the Chinese government reported 759 cases of the H7N9 avian flu, with 281 deaths. By comparison, in 2016 there were 123 cases.