China

Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu salutes before delivering his speech on the last day of the 20th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's annual defense and security forum, in Singapore, Sunday, June 4, 2023.

World News

China and U.S. defense chiefs compete for influence in the Asia Pacific

1:20pm June 04, 2023

by Emily Feng

China's new defense minister made his first international appearance on Sunday at an annual defense summit, where he delivered a speech full of thinly veiled digs at the U.S.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III smiles as he speaks during the 20th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's annual defense and security forum in Singapore, Saturday, June 3, 2023.

World News

Defense Secretary Austin says U.S. won't stand for 'coercion and bullying' from China

3:51am June 03, 2023

by The Associated Press

Speaking at the so-called Shangri-La Dialogue, Austin also assured Beijing that the United States remains committed to maintaining the status quo on Taiwan and would prefer dialogue over conflict.

A Long March rocket carrying a crew of Chinese astronauts in a Shenzhou-16 spaceship lifts off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, Tuesday, May 30, 2023.

World News

China launches a new crew into space, including its first civilian astronaut

12:02am May 30, 2023

by The Associated Press

China's space program officials said on Monday they have plans to expand its space station, along with launching a crewed mission to the moon before 2030.

A megaphone facing the Chinese mainland marks the tourist location of the Beishan Broadcasting Wall, which Taiwan used for broadcasting propaganda to mainland China, is seen on April 8, in Kinmen, Taiwan.

World News

How Taiwan used women's voices to send secret messages into China and woo defectors

8:01pm May 29, 2023

by Emily Feng

Decades ago, Taiwan set up propaganda broadcast stations on islands right off the coast of mainland China. One of its key tools: women's voices.

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A vendor in a market in Nigeria counts local bills. The country is one of dozens whose devalued currency is fueling a debt crisis.

Health & Safety

A dilemma for dozens of countries: Fund your schools and hospitals or pay your debt

8:05pm May 23, 2023

by Nurith Aizenman

There's a looming debt crisis in many lower income countries. Low interest rates a few years back started the cycle. Then came a series of once in a generation shocks. Is there a solution?

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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (right) walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a waiting Chinook helicopter after meetings at Chequers, the U.K. leader's country retreat, in Aylesbury, England, on Monday.

World News

Latest on Ukraine: Zelenskyy made a spring diplomatic offensive in Europe (May 15)

4:46pm May 15, 2023

by NPR Staff

Catch up on key developments and the latest in-depth coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A picture prior to the central bank session of the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Niigata, Japan, on Saturday, May 13, 2023.

World News

G7 finance leaders pledge to contain inflation and to continue support for Ukraine

1:34am May 13, 2023

by The Associated Press

Finance ministers and central bank chiefs ended talks in Japan with a joint statement pledging to bring inflation under control while aiding those suffering the most from surging prices.

Mourners place flowers on the coffins of Sofia Shulha, 11, and Pysarev Kiriusha, 17, during a funeral in Uman, central Ukraine, Sunday. They were among more than 20 people killed during a Russian attack on a residential building early Friday morning.

World News

Latest on Ukraine: May Day's another war day as Russia strikes Ukrainian cities

10:57am May 01, 2023

by NPR Staff

Catch up on key developments and the latest in-depth coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

This combination of file photos shows China's President Xi Jinping, taken in Bangkok, Thailand, on Nov. 19, 2022, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, taken outside Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 7, 2023. Chinese leader Xi talked Wednesday with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.

China's Xi calls Ukraine's Zelenskyy, after weeks of intensifying pressure to do so

4:54pm April 26, 2023

The Chinese leader's call comes as he has sought to play the role of peacemaker, though chances of a big breakthrough are slim, given how far apart Russia's and Ukraine's positions remain.

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Surveillance footage of the moment a North Korean soldier defects, shown at a press briefing by the United Nations Command at the Defense Ministry in Seoul on Nov. 22, 2017. A North Korean soldier crossed the border into the South in breach of a 1953 armistice agreement, as he pursued a defector who was shot last week, the United Nations Command said.

World News

North Korean defectors may face deportation by China as COVID border controls ease

5:02am April 25, 2023

by Anthony Kuhn

China usually sends defectors back to North Korea, but Pyongyang wouldn't let them in during the pandemic. That may soon change, and has led to concern among human rights advocates.

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