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A year later, former Afghanistan education minister reflects on her country

4:45pm August 18, 2022

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with former Afghanistan Minster of Education Rangina Hamidi after speaking to her a year ago, as Taliban forces captured city after city in the country.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Japan's alcohol industry hard, sharpening a long-running trend away from drinking. A new campaign sponsored by the National Tax Agency hopes to change that — but it's running into sharp criticism.

Japan launches a contest to urge young people to drink more alcohol

12:49pm August 18, 2022

by Bill Chappell

Governments are watching lucrative alcohol tax revenues dry up, as people drink less. In Japan, a plan to counter that trend is running into controversy.

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaks in Brussels on Feb. 18. Ethiopia's government is criticizing Tedros' statement that the crisis in the country's Tigray region is "the worst disaster on Earth" and his assertion

World News

Ethiopia denounces WHO head for saying crisis ignored because of Tigrayans' skin color

11:56am August 18, 2022

by The Associated Press

Ethiopia's government is criticizing as "unethical" the statement by the World Health Organization's director-general that the crisis in the country's Tigray region is "the worst disaster on Earth."

Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska on the front cover of Vogue, photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Entitled "Portrait of Bravery," the spread and accompanying interview paint Zelenska as a woman stepping up to the challenge of her many roles in this war.

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Ukraine's first lady posed for 'Vogue' and sparked discussion on how to #SitLikeAGirl

11:11am August 18, 2022

by Ashley Westerman

Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska was criticized for her pose on the cover of the famous fashion magazine. People are coming to her defense to challenge stereotypes about women.

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An activist holds a placard during a protest against remission of sentence by the government to convicts of a gang rape, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022.

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Release of men jailed in gang rape stirs protests in India

5:32am August 18, 2022

by The Associated Press

Dozens of women protested against the release of the men in the capital, New Delhi on Thursday.

A spotted lanternfly creeps on the ground during a baseball game in Pittsburgh in 2021.

What a pest! Spotted lanternflies are spreading in the U.S.

5:00am August 18, 2022

by Jaclyn Diaz

State officials are calling on residents to get involved and kill these bugs at all costs. The spotted lanternfly isn't dangerous to humans or pets but could cost the country's agricultural industry.

Mourners carry the body of a victim of a mosque bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 18. 2022.

World News

Police say the death toll in Afghan capital mosque bombing surpasses 20

3:33am August 18, 2022

by The Associated Press

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Wednesday attack that also wounded children, the latest to strike the country in the year since the Taliban seized power.

Opera star Plácido Domingo, performing at a concert in Marbella, Spain on July 11.

Plácido Domingo linked to criminal ring in Argentina, prosecutors say

7:53pm August 17, 2022

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Media in Argentina have broadcast audio recordings of police wiretaps that prosecutors say includes the voice of the famed singer making plans for a sexual encounter arranged by the crime ring.

Chinese ambassador says U.S. is provoking China with congressional visits to Taiwan

5:10pm August 17, 2022

China's ambassador to Washington says the U.S. is provoking China on the Taiwan question with congressional visits. The U.S. military says it's worried about Chinese military exercises around Taiwan.

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Europe's largest nuclear power plant is at risk

5:10pm August 17, 2022

NPR's Juana Summers talks with Olena Pareniuk of the Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine about the threat to the Zaporizhzhia power plant.

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