Accessibility links
World News and International Headlines NPR world news, international art and culture, world business and financial markets, world economy, and global trends in health, science and technology. Subscribe to the World Story of the Day podcast and RSS feed.

NPRWorld

Many Stories, One World

Middle East

A Spike In Coronavirus Cases Causes Outrage In Iraq

A spike in coronavirus cases and a shortage of medical resources has led to panic and unrest in Iraq. Some hospitals are filling, and family members have seized oxygen tanks for loved ones.

A Spike In Coronavirus Cases Causes Outrage In Iraq

Listen · 3:08
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/885758165/885775947" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Turkey's Claims For Drilling Rights In Mediterranean Sea Lead To Threats From Greece

A long-running dispute over the exploration of natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean Sea is heating up again. Turkey's new claims for drilling rights have led to hostile talk with Greece.

Turkey's Claims For Drilling Rights In Mediterranean Sea Lead To Threats From Greece

Listen · 3:33
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/885659583/885659584" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Russians Are Voting On 206 Reforms. The Most Important One Will Extend Putin's Rule

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu shake hands at this month's Victory Day military parade marking the 75th anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II. Alexei Nikolsky/TASS via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Alexei Nikolsky/TASS via Getty Images

Russians Are Voting On 206 Reforms. The Most Important One Will Extend Putin's Rule

"It is very important to him to have this popular endorsement, even if it is a farce, even if it is a travesty of popular will," analyst Masha Lipman says of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russians Are Voting On 206 Reforms. The Most Important One Will Extend Putin's Rule

Listen · 3:45
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/885188348/885878624" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Belgian King Conveys 'Deepest Regrets' For Brutal Colonial Past In Congo

A statue of King Leopold II stands defaced after protests this month in Brussels. Belgian King Philippe acknowledged "acts of violence and cruelty" in his country's colonial past in Africa. Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images

Updates: The Fight Against Racial Injustice

Belgian King Conveys 'Deepest Regrets' For Brutal Colonial Past In Congo

King Philippe's ancestor, Leopold II, ruled the region as his personal property and started a notorious system that left millions dead. Now, the reigning king is expressing remorse for the first time.

Opinion: Israel's Annexation Plan Dims Hope For Better Ties With Gulf Arab States

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz (right) and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, at a session of the 40th Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December. Fayez Nureldine/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Fayez Nureldine/AFP via Getty Images

Opinion

Opinion: Israel's Annexation Plan Dims Hope For Better Ties With Gulf Arab States

No Gulf Arab country will seriously contemplate normalizing ties with Israel unless Saudi Arabia does it first. The Saudis, who officially condemned the annexation plan, are nowhere close to doing so.

South Korea Holds Onto Patient Data From Prior Coronavirus, Worrying Privacy Groups

Workers wearing protective suits fumigate an art hall with antiseptic solution as a precaution against the spread of the Middle East respiratory syndrome in Seoul, South Korea, in June 2015. Lee Jin-man/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Lee Jin-man/AP

Coronavirus Updates

South Korea Holds Onto Patient Data From Prior Coronavirus, Worrying Privacy Groups

Privacy advocates warn the government has kept the information from 2015 MERS patients beyond a justified emergency period.

South Korea Holds Onto Patient Data From Prior Coronavirus, Worrying Privacy Groups

Listen · 3:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/884580723/885242903" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
EU Sets New List Of Approved Travel Partners. The U.S. Isn't On It

People sit in a terrace bar at the beach in Spain earlier this month, when many internal travel restrictions were lifted. The EU has decided on its first list of approved travel partners, as part of its reopening of external borders. Joan Mateu/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Joan Mateu/AP

Coronavirus Updates

EU Sets New List Of Approved Travel Partners. The U.S. Isn't On It

The European Union won't allow U.S. travelers when it begins opening its external borders this week. It will admit foreigners from only 15 countries — including South Korea and, with a caveat, China.

Health

News Brief: Coronavirus Testing, Russian Bounties, China Enacts Security Law

NPR analyzes COVID-19 testing with Harvard researchers. Did the president know Russia was offering to pay Afghan militants to kill U.S. troops? And, China enacts law asserting control over Hong Kong.

News Brief: Coronavirus Testing, Russian Bounties, China Enacts Security Law

Listen · 11:12
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/885141836/885141837" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
China Enacts Security Law, Asserting Control Over Hong Kong

Pro-mainland supporters in Hong Kong hold Chinese and Hong Kong flags during a rally to celebrate the approval of a national security law on Tuesday. Kin Cheung/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Kin Cheung/AP

Asia

China Enacts Security Law, Asserting Control Over Hong Kong

Despite fierce international criticism and opposition in Hong Kong, Beijing's rubber-stamp legislature passed a law allowing the mainland to impose security measures in the former British colony.

China Enacts Security Law, Asserting Control Over Hong Kong

Listen · 4:27
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/885127007/885141926" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
WHO Chief On COVID-19 Pandemic: 'The Worst Is Yet To Come'

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a news conference this week in Geneva. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

Coronavirus Updates

WHO Chief On COVID-19 Pandemic: 'The Worst Is Yet To Come'

Speaking at a briefing in Geneva, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says: "We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives. But the hard reality is this is not even close to being over."

Trump Tops Iran's List Of U.S. Officials Wanted In Killing Of Top General In January

President Trump is among three dozen U.S. officials for whom Iran has issued arrest warrants in the Jan. 3 airstrike killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Middle East

Trump Tops Iran's List Of U.S. Officials Wanted In Killing Of Top General In January

Iran issues arrest warrants for 36 officials, including President Trump, in the Jan. 3 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Trump faces little threat of being arrested.

Asia

India Sees A Change Sparked By Black Lives Matter Movement

Black Lives Matter movement has sparked a change in Indian society — from Bollywood celebrities tweeting support for racial justice in the U.S. to manufacturers nixing popular skin-whitening creams.

India Sees A Change Sparked By Black Lives Matter Movement

Listen · 4:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/884958682/884958685" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Middle East

Israel To Clarify Its Plans For Annexing Occupied West Bank Lands

Israel is expected to clarify its plans for annexing occupied West Bank. EU says Israel would face repercussions if it annexes, and Arab allies say their warming ties with Israel would be affected.

Israel To Clarify Its Plans For Annexing Occupied West Bank Lands

Listen · 3:20
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/884958675/884958676" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National

Afghan War Veteran Talks About Bounties Russia Offered Taliban To Kill U.S. Troops

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Aaron O'Connell, a former National Security Council member and an Afghan war veteran, about reports that Russia paid the Taliban to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Afghan War Veteran Talks About Bounties Russia Offered Taliban To Kill U.S. Troops

Listen · 5:32
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/884958659/884958662" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Latin America

Jailing Of Labor Activist Raises Concerns About Mexico's Readiness For USMCA

The U.S-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement that will go into effect on Wednesday calls for new worker protections in Mexico. But the recent jailing of a Mexican labor activist is raising concerns.

Jailing Of Labor Activist Raises Concerns About Mexico's Readiness For USMCA

Listen · 3:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/884958652/884958653" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript