Greg Dixon

China has long been the world's factory, but it's economy is starting to face serious headwinds. Demand for Chinese goods has slumped, China is saddled with too much industrial capacity and heavy debt. And now a tariff war with the United States further darkens China's economic outlook. We have two reports on reactions to China's economic state. We hear how the Chinese government is encouraging business investment, but it's a hard pitch to sell in a communist state that hasn't always been kind to entrepreneurs. And how Vietnam, another communist country, seeks to capitalize on China's uncertain future and is experiencing a manufacturing boom.

The race is on for control over deposits of rare earth elements and critical minerals that are necessary in much of the technology we use today. The U.S. is lagging behind it's main rival in this global competition, China. We hear about why these resources are so sought after and the stakes in the race to control them.

Recently a few hundred people gathered at a Damascus hotel to discuss how to jump-start Syria's tech industry. That sector was basically non-existent during Syria's long civil war. Our correspondent attended the conference and met a young man who fled Syria during the civil war and now is a graduate student at Stanford. His journey illustrates both the possibilities and challenges that lie ahead for Syria.

The two month ceasefire in Gaza has come to an end with Israel conducting airstrikes, killing five Hamas officials along with over 400 others, including many children. The Israeli military has also restarted ground operations in Gaza, sending troops back to areas they had withdrawn from. They say they want Hamas to agree to a new ceasefire deal and release more hostages. But many Israelis are opposed to this return to war. We hear what this resumption of fighting sounds like in Gaza from our producer there. Warning, this episode contains graphic descriptions of war.

President Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia held a lengthy phone call on Tuesday to discuss a possible ceasefire in Ukraine. This is part of Trump's efforts to end the Russia's war in Ukraine and while he didn't get a ceasefire agreement, some progress was made. We hear the latest.

And in Ukraine, people are watching these and other developments with concern, skepticism, and with dark humor.

In Syria about a decade ago, while the Assad regime was focused on crushing an uprising that challenged its rule, it faced a problem. It had too many children in detention, who had been swept up when their mothers were arrested. An NPR investigation has found that hundreds of children were separated from family and placed in orphanages around Damascus by government intelligence agents. They ordered the orphanages to keep this a secret.

Now that the Assad regime has fallen, families are searching the Syrian capital for their missing children. We go to Damascus to learn more.

President Trump has derided aid the U.S. provides overseas as rife with fraud. His administration has moved aggressively to eliminate such funding including cancelling contracts already in progress. This is all being challenged in court but the effects are being felt acutely by those providing the aid on the ground in foreign countries. We hear from three providers in Africa.

With the U.S. undertaking a tariff war with countries like China, India sees and opening. As goods from China sold in the U.S. get more expensive, India hopes to lure away manufacturers. But can they do that while avoiding being hit with U.S. tariffs themselves? We go to an Indian manufacturing hub to see what the strategy looks like.

In a part of Syria that had been a stronghold of deposed dictator Bashar Al-Assad, there has been a wave of violence against Alawites, the religious minority of the Assad family. Hundreds of Alawites have been killed and hundreds more have fled their homes in fear. The episode highlights the challenges the new government in Syria faces in uniting the country. But as we learn from an incident in a different Alawite community, this isn't the first episode of violence against the sect.

Mark Carney once lead the central bank of Canada and then was tapped to do the same job in England. So he knows a lot about government and finance but he has never held elected office. This weekend he was elected to be head of Canada's Liberal Party which means he'll soon be prime minister. We learn more about the man who takes the job at a time of strained relations with the U.S.

And the Palestinian city of Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, is so renowned for it's soap that the process of making it has been listed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. We go to one of the oldest soap factories there.

In many parts of the world skin whitening is a major industry, but women in Nigeria have a particular fondness for creams and lotions that promise to lighten their skin. By one estimate, over 77% of women in the country have used such products. We go to Nigeria and learn that the effects of skin whiteners can be severe and many people who use them are unable to stop.

Today we take a break from the serious and often depressing international news beat to bring you the sound's of Soviet Central Asia in the 1970's and 80's. Our Moscow correspondent introduces us to an anthology of songs that came out of a record factory in Tashkent documenting a wide variety of music from the silk road in that time period.

The Trump administration has made good on it's threat to apply 25% tariffs to the two biggest U.S. trading partners, Mexico and Canada. China also had its tariff increased from 10 to 20 percent. Canada and China are hitting back with retaliatory tariffs and Mexico has promised to follow suit. We hear about the reaction and impact.

And the Trump administration has announce it is suspending military aid to Ukraine. Our correspondent in Kyiv says Ukraine is figuring out how it can continue despite losing support from the country's single most important ally.

We remember Paquita la del Barrio, who sang about romantic heartbreak and the pain of infidelity, spitting out insults with relish, and empowering a whole generation of women. Our correspondent in Mexico explains what she meant to her fans.

After 14 years of a devastating civil war, Syria is in the process of reinventing itself. One big question is how the country will be governed now that the more than 50 years of rule by the Assad family has come to an end. For clues on what the future might hold, our correspondent goes to the city that was run by a rebel group during the war. That group led the toppling of the Assad regime and now controls the interim government.

President Trump had separate phone calls with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine on the same day. Following the calls, Trump posted on social media that both leaders want peace and he said that he wanted negotiations on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine to begin immediately. We hear about what this could mean from NPR's White House correspondent. We also hear about how the U.S. relationship with NATO is expected to change under Trump.

President Trump has made clear his desire for the U.S. to take Greenland saying the territory is vital to U.S. economic security. Greenland is an autonomous territory of U.S. ally Denmark. And as we hear, Danes have had a variety of reactions to Trumps words.

The Trump administration is dismantling the United States Agency for International Development, USAID. They had been doing humanitarian work in more than 100 countries. We hear from NPR correspondents around the world about what the agency had been doing on the ground and what it's elimination could mean.

Israel vowed to remove Hamas from power when it went to war in Gaza, following the attacks on Israel in October, 2023. With a temporary ceasefire in place we're able to see if they've reached that goal and it seems Hamas is still deeply entrenched in Gaza. We'll hear more about who is taking charge as the dust settles and what the future of governance in the territory might be.

As President Trump takes office he inherits two international conflicts in which the United States is deeply involved. On the campaign trail he said he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Last month he said there would be "hell to pay" if Hamas and Israel did not reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal before he assumed office. A temporary and fragile ceasefire began on Sunday.

We hear from NPR correspondents in Israel, Russia and Ukraine to hear about those countries' expectations for the Trump presidency.