From left, Philippines Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Australia Defense Minister Richard Marles, Japan Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and U.S.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth prepare to leave after posing for pictures before holding a Quadrilateral Meeting on the sidelines of the 20th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) and 13th ADMM-Plus Meetings in Cebu, Philippines, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. Rolex Dela Pena/Pool EPA via AP hide caption
October 29, 2026 • The announcement Wednesday is the latest action by the allies, who have repeatedly expressed alarm over China's growing assertiveness in Asia.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addresses supporters during a victory rally after winning a fourth term in the presidential runoff on Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. Natacha Pisarenko/AP hide caption
October 26, 2026 • We look at unexpected election results in different parts of the globe, in which the youth vote played a major role.
Israeli security forces, including military and police, declared a closed military zone around a olive grove and escorted activists and rabbis away from the area before detaining them near the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit in the occupied West Bank. Ruth Sherlock/NPR hide caption
October 21, 2026 • In the Israeli occupied West Bank, dozens of Americans have been detained, including a politician running for Congress.
Rana Foroohar reports from the USCGC Healy (pictured above) in Sea Change. Crown hide caption
October 14, 2026 • As polar ice melts in the Arctic, shipping lanes are opening up, making the region a new zone of superpower competition. Writer Rana Foroohar explains the stakes in Sea Change.
October 13, 2026 • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sat down for an interview with NPR at a time of renewed tensions with the White House.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung delivers a speech during the Armed Forces Day at a military base in Gyeyong, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. Jeon Heon-kyun/EPA POOL via AP hide caption
October 8, 2026 • The test follows North Korea's recent hypersonic missile test. Tensions between the Koreas have increased after land mine explosions injured three South Korean soldiers near the border. North Korea denies responsibility.
German Chancellor and leader of Germany's center-right Christian Democratic Union Friedrich Merz leaves after a press conference one day after state elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, at the CDU's headquarters in Berlin on Sept. 21. JENS SCHLUETER/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 2, 2026 • Centrist politicians are soul-searching after electoral gains by the far right and the far left. Today's weak coalitions, political fragmentation and dire economy echo a past that led to the rise of fascism.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, Sept. 22. Seth Wenig/AP hide caption
September 29, 2026 • Turkey's bid for regional influence comes as the Middle East has been hit by profound shocks that started with the Hamas-led 2023 attack on Israel and continue with the seven-month-old war on Iran.
President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) speak via an interpreter as they depart following a tour of the National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 25. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption
September 25, 2026 • The visit comes at an important time for both men.
China's President Xi Jinping and President Trump arrive to attend a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in May. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
September 23, 2026 • It is the second time the leaders are meeting this year after the Beijing summit in May.
A United Nations logo on a security entrance door to the United Nations compound at the start of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, at U.N. headquarters. Stefan Jeremiah/AP hide caption
September 21, 2026 • World leaders are again gathering in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly. This will be the last meeting of the body for the current U.N. secretary general, Antonio Guterres. We hear about the challenges he faces in his final months in the job. And we hear from a U.N. insider about what the future of the body may be under the next secretary general.
The container ship "Panstar Acro" is anchored to load containers at Busan New Port in Busan on August 22, 2026, as the vessel is scheduled to sail to Europe via the Arctic to test the commercial viability of the shipping route opened by melting ice. South Korea was set on August 22, to send its first trial container through the Arctic, as the Middle East war rattles global shipping, while environmental groups warned the route could accelerate polar ice melt. Jung Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
September 17, 2026 • Asian nations began pilot voyages over a decade ago to find routes to Europe and the Middle East that were faster and less vulnerable to chokepoints. The ongoing war has added impetus to those efforts.
US President George W. Bush (R) shakes hands with Russian President Vladmir Putin in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, 16 September, 2005. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty hide caption
September 6, 2026 • After the September 11th attacks, both Russia and China saw an opportunity to forge a closer relationship with the United States.
AfD supporters celebrate with a sign featuring top candidate Ulrich Siegmund after the first results of the Saxony-Anhalt state election at the party's election night gathering in Magdeburg, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. Matthias Schrader/AP hide caption
September 6, 2026 • Germany's populist, far-right Alternative for Germany party has declared victory in the state of Saxony-Anhalt after more than doubling its share of the vote in the first of several regional elections this fall.
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy Jared Kushner talk in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/AP hide caption
September 6, 2026 • U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held meetings in Kyiv with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy on Sunday, a day after lengthy conversations with Russian President Putin in Moscow.
September 4, 2026 • The U.N. has backed a new map showing Africa in its true relative size, with the U.S. standing alone in opposition.
In this photo released by Myanmar President Office, Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing, right, shakes hands with Commander-in-Chief Gen. Ye Win Oo, left, upon his departure to Vietnam, at the Naypyitaw international airport Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Myanmar President Office/AP hide caption
September 4, 2026 • His trip to Vietnam marks his third visit to an ASEAN member state as he seeks to restore Myanmar's standing in the bloc.
FILE - In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, warships of South Korea, the United States and Japan including the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, bottom center, take part in the trilateral Freedom Edge exercise in international waters off South Korea's southern island of Jeju, on Nov. 13, 2024. South Korea Defense Ministry via/AP hide caption
August 28, 2026 • The announcement that the three countries will go ahead with a trilateral military drill comes a day after North Korea vowed to retaliate against what it called U.S. hostilities.
August 23, 2026 • In a recent article for Foregin Affairs , Mark Leonard makes that argument that America's leading role in the world order is fading. He discusses his argument with NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben.
A shipping container is moved at a freight yard in Montreal on Aug. 21, 2026. Graham Hughes/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption
August 22, 2026 • The U.S. has now imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products. Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will match those tariffs "dollar for dollar" starting Sept. 8.
Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaks during a commemoration ceremony for late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the Imam Hassan Mosque in Karbala, Iraq, on Aug. 20. Hadi Mizban/AP hide caption
August 21, 2026 • The Iranian regime has dismissed President Trump's threats to crush Iran economically, saying that years of U.S. sanctions have failed.
A handout photo provided by Dong-A Ilbo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a meeting on the south side of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the South and North Korea on June 30, 2019 in Panmunjom, South Korea. Handout/Getty Images hide caption
August 21, 2026 • Experts warn that President Trump's transactional approach to an alliance will erode political trust.
President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One at Morristown Airport, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Morristown, N.J. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP hide caption
August 17, 2026 • President Trump explained the decision by saying South Korea had declined to help with the "denuclearization" of Iran and he cited his good relationship with North Korea's leader.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to Sakhalin Region Governor Valery Limarenko in Kurilsk on the Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands of Russia's fareast, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. Gavriil Grigorov/Pool Sputnik Kremlin hide caption
August 13, 2026 • The four southernmost islands of the chain also are claimed by Japan, which calls them the Northern Territories.
