Asia

Dr. Raju Rao, in glasses, during his volunteer stint in India.

Treating The Poor In India Made Him A Better Cancer Doc In The U.S.

12:22pm November 29, 2015

by Ankita Rao

Journalist Ankita Rao asked her father, a doctor, to spend time with her in India, volunteering at a medical clinic. Then she interviewed him about the experience.

On the road to Buddhist monkhood, young novices chant mantras and collect alms on a street in Yangon, Myanmar.

You'll Never Guess The Most Charitable Nation In The World

6:16am November 28, 2015

by Diane Cole

Hint: It's not the United States. (We're number 2). And it's definitely not a country from the Western world.

Coal fires burn early in the morning in January 2014 at a privately owned coal mine in India's Jharkand state, making the air dense with noxious smoke and dust. Forty percent of India's mineral wealth lies in Jharkhand.

India's Quandary: Climate Change And Coal

5:14am November 27, 2015

by Julie McCarthy

Coal is king in India. Some say there's little alternative. So how can this country, the world's third-largest polluter, provide energy and lift millions from poverty while trying to become "greener"?

Beijing's chronic high pollution has forced residents to adjust to living with the haze. China is the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter, but until recently, the government treated air pollution and climate change as separate issues, saying climate ch

China's Greenhouse Gases Don't Seem To Trouble Most Of Its Citizens

5:03pm November 24, 2015

by Frank Langfitt

The Chinese tend to ignore the dangers of global warming even though the country already suffers the consequences of pollution today and faces serious potential threats in the longer term.

The Beijing Environment Exchange, one of seven emissions trading pilot programs in China, may be part of a nationwide carbon market by as early as 2017.

China Plans To Create A Nationwide Carbon Market By 2017

3:50pm November 24, 2015

by Anthony Kuhn

China is building what could be the world's largest carbon market. Pilot programs are helping to lower emissions. But this is mostly due to slowing growth and the shift away from manufacturing.

Queue Listen Now

A camel gives a lift to the Arktek cooler, designed to give vaccines the cold comfort they need to remain effective.

How Do You Keep Vaccines Cool? Try Spacecraft Insulation

5:28pm November 23, 2015

by Sophie Cousins

Typically, if a vaccine is not kept cold, it doesn't work. And that's a big problem in hot spots. A new cooler seems to do the trick — without electricity!

Buddhism Is Waning In Japan

7:37am November 22, 2015

Thousands of Japan's historic Buddhist temples are expected to shut down. NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Ian Reader, an expert on Japanese culture, on how Buddhism is changing in the country.

Obama Ends Asian Summit With Focus On Counterterrorism

7:37am November 22, 2015

by Scott Horsley

At the close of an Asian summit in Malaysia, President Obama vowed to destroy ISIS on the battlefield, while also saying that the most powerful tool was to show ISIS "that we're not afraid."

Pakistani women queue to cast their ballots last month at a polling station during local government elections in Lahore, one of the country's biggest cities. In other areas, local tradition can prevent women from voting.

World News

Will The First Pakistani Woman To Vote In Her Village Also Be The Last?

8:23am November 21, 2015

by Philip Reeves

A mother of two defied village tradition and cast her vote in local elections on Thursday. "It was necessary because it is a women's right," she says. But now she and her husband fear for their lives.

This 11-year-old boy lives with his family in a Roma settlement in Belgrade. "He and his brothers and sisters are without documents, but he had this amazing confidence," Constantine says.

Eye On The Invisible: A Photographer's Quest To Spotlight The Stateless

6:13am November 21, 2015

by Ben de la Cruz

Greg Constantine has spent 10 years documenting the world's stateless people. They live without passports, without ID cards, without dignity — but not without hope.