Secular News

An Elysée official said last year the president and his wife were only ‘having a laugh’ when she appeared to push him in the face

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, known for his unyielding stance, has maintained that he was undaunted by public sentiment throughout his decades-long career, even if his pursuit of Malaysia’s welfare earned him the label of “dictator”. From his ascent to the country’s top political post to his tumultuous relationship with protege turned critic and now Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir recounted his political odyssey in a Malaysian documentary chronicling his professional life and...

A Hong Kong court has ordered the freezing of properties and assets worth more than HK$9 billion (US$1.15 billion) held by detained Chinese-born Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi and his associated companies and individuals, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source told the SCMP on Thursday that the High Court had ordered a restriction on such properties earlier this month following an application from the Department of Justice involving Chen, who is accused of running a sprawling online...

Cigarette smoking is ingrained in Chinese culture. NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to a couple of women trying to change that.

President Trump is in Beijing for his big summit with Chinese leaders. How Asia is reacting to the summit.

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Susan Thornton of Yale Law School about Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Xi's warnings about Taiwan.

NPR's Steve Inskeep returns to China's telecom giant Huawei to see how the company has adapted since facing U.S. sanctions.

NPR's Steve Inskeep visits Shenzhen, a city in southern China, where skyscrapers and urban villages teem with life.

Tensions about Israel's participation loom over the annual Eurovision Song Contest.

Hong Kong police have arrested three men and seized more than half a tonne of suspected cannabis buds worth about HK$100 million (US$12.77 million), making their third-largest seizure of the drug since 2020. Chief Inspector Lam Pak-kiu of the narcotics bureau said on Thursday that officers conducted an ambush in the early hours on Wednesday at a beach along Tai Mong Tsai Road in Sai Kung acting on intelligence regarding a seaborne smuggling syndicate. “Detectives spotted three non-Chinese men at...

Hong Kong police have brought more defendants to court from the city’s first arrests over alleged illegal drills under its domestic national security law, charging three men with conspiracy to subvert state power. Wong Kit-lun, 20, Tang Ngai-pok, 23, and Chan Hiu-chun, 23, appeared at West Kowloon Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, each facing one count of conspiracy to subvert state power. Wong received an additional charge of possessing child pornography. A police spokesman said the three men...

A dull thud could be heard in the background of Tony Dokoupil’s CBS Evening News broadcast