Instead of having too many babies, China is now having too few. A declining population is increasingly referred to in apocalyptic terms. Indians commuting in Bangalore, 11 July 2018 (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi) The year 2018 saw a “historic turning point” in China’s...
China has exploded to superpower status since I lived there 40 years ago. On a recent visit, the progress was unmistakable. But so were shortcomings. The author dressed for work in many layers to teach all winter without heat in 1981-82 Thumb-sucker anniversary...
Hong Kong has a strong educational system. But its students are unhappy over the burden of work, and more and more are taking their own lives. Students do homework during a pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong, 11 October 2014 (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) A bereaved Hong Kong...
Indian women are turning to smartphone apps to protect against sexual violence. But is technology the answer — or will it end up being a scapegoat? An Indian girl participates in a street play during a protest against sexual violence, New Delhi, India, 15...
Zhongguancun, the tech neighborhood of Beijing, China (Photo by Marco De Nobili) News-Decoder has teamed up with Britain’s Podium.me to produce an eight-episode podcast about the world’s toughest problems. Today: Globalization By Claire JiIn our last episode for...
I went to Myanmar on a whim, and it was the best decision I could ever have made. (All photos by Sam Graves) By Sam Graves These are photos I took during my first trip to Myanmar in June 2018. I had been teaching in Vietnam and was able to travel all over Southeast...
Cricket-star-turned-prime-minister Imran Khan says he wants to lift up the poor in Pakistan. But his renegade political drive faces economic headwinds. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at a campaign rally in Karachi, Pakistan, 22 July 2018 (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)...
There are more millennials in China than the entire population of the U.S. and Canada. Whatever your interest, these young Chinese will impact you. Members of the China Olympic Team at the opening ceremonies for the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, 8 August 2008 (AP...
By Deborah Charles Twenty years ago I used to talk to Aung San Suu Kyi over a spotty telephone connection to Yangon from Bangkok, or in person when I managed to get into Myanmar and she was free to accept visitors in the house that served as her prison for 15 years....
An evangelical Christian whisks four men from a remote Indonesian island to Israel, part of a life-long effort to gather the world’s “lost” Jews. (Photo taken on Kisar island in March 2018 by Paul Spencer Sochaczewski) This is a story of serendipity and of remarkable...