World News

Russian Lawmakers: Don't Criticize Soviet Actions In WWII

Corey Flintoff — Sun, 19 May 2013 10:07:00 +0000

World War II remains a monumental event in the collective Russian mind. It's known as the "Great Patriotic War," and Russians believe no one made greater sacrifices than the Soviet Union when it came to defeating Nazi Germany.

The end of the war is celebrated with a huge military parade in Moscow's Red Square on May 9, commemorating the millions of men and women, military and civilian, who died during the struggle.

Any criticism of the Soviet war effort is rare.

Afghans With Disabilities Fight For The Right To Rights

Sean Carberry — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:41:00 +0000

Climbing the rickety metal staircase is precarious enough if you aren't on crutches, but it's simply dangerous if you are. At the top is the office of Janbazan-e-Mayhan, one of many social councils for disabled Afghans. Men missing arms, legs or hands sit around the small room.

Afghanistan isn't an easy place for anyone to make a living. But for those with disabilities, it's a downright hostile environment. Tens of thousands have been maimed and disabled during decades of conflict.

Spaniard's Song Brings YouTube Fame ... And Maybe A Job

Lauren Frayer — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:20:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PALNcW_eQXw

Bashar Assad: A Political Solution In Syria is 'Unreal'

Eyder Peralta — Sat, 18 May 2013 19:14:00 +0000

Syrian President Bashar Assad essentially dismissed attempts by the United States and Russia to bring the civil war in the country to a political solution.

"Believing that a political conference will stop terrorism on the ground is unreal," Assad said in an exclusive interview with the Argentine newspaper El Clarin.

In Zimbabwe, Will Next Election Be More Peaceful?

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton — Sat, 18 May 2013 11:23:00 +0000

Host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton about Zimbabwe's upcoming presidential election and efforts to alleviate its international isolation.

Afghan Mineral Treasures Stay Buried, Hostages To Uncertainty

Sean Carberry — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:13:00 +0000

For years, reports have suggested that Afghanistan is sitting on massive deposits of copper, gold, iron and rare earth minerals valued up to $3 trillion. This provides hope for a future economy that would not have to rely so heavily on foreign donations.

But with an uncertain political, regulatory and security environment, international investors are hesitant. And it could be many years before Afghanistan begins extracting its mineral wealth.

The Afghan Geological Survey office in Kabul is one of the few agencies in the country that measure up to international standards. Here, a U.S.

French President Signs Same-Sex Marriage Into Law

editor — Sat, 18 May 2013 05:58:00 +0000

France is officially the 14th country to legalize gay marriage. Saturday, President Francois Hollande signed a bill that Parliament had passed in April, which gives same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt.

Opposition had stalled Hollande's action.

Need A Tattoo Translated? Forget The British Foreign Office

Scott Neuman — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:16:00 +0000

The British Foreign Office is happy to assist its citizens, but officials want to make clear that there are some requests they won't fulfill.

Such as supplying Olympic tickets or doing a background check on that Swedish woman you met online.

Those are just a few of the "often good natured" but distracting requests that the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) says it received over the past year, according to a press release issued Thursday.

Some others that no doubt provided stodgy Briti

U.S. Doctor: 'We Truly Are Failing The Syrian People'

editor — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:20:00 +0000

Stephen Cornish of Doctors Without Borders was recently in Syria. He talks to Audie Cornish about how medical personnel are managing to reach patients in the war-torn nation where he says there is a lack of respect for doctors on both sides of the conflict.

Architect Of Argentina's 'Dirty War' Dies In Prison

editor — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:20:00 +0000

Jorge Rafael Videla was a former senior commander in the Argentine Army who was the de facto president of Argentina from 1976 to 1981. He came to power in a coup d'etat that deposed Isabel Martinez de Peron.

U.N. Tries To Get Syria Peace Talks Back On Track

editor — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:20:00 +0000

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, saying it is important not to "lose momentum" in the effort to convene a peace conference on Syria. Ban was only the latest in a string of foreign dignitaries who have come to Russia, seeking Putin's blessing for such a conference, expected to be held in early June. There's a lot at stake. Russia has been a long-time supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and continues to supply weapons to his regime. U.S.

Mother Of India Gang Rape Victim Faces Suspects In Court

Julie McCarthy — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:32:00 +0000

In India, the mother of the 23-year-old woman fatally gang-raped on a moving bus last December appeared in court Friday and for the first time clapped eyes on the men accused in the heinous attack on her daughter.

The four men on trial have been charged with murder and face capital punishment for the crime that convulsed the country and prompted harsher punishments for rape.

Three of the defendants sat in a back row of the small Delh

Former Argentine Dictator Who Oversaw Death Squads Dies At 87

Scott Neuman — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:24:00 +0000

Jorge Rafael Videla, an ambitious Army chief who seized power in Argentina in 1976 and orchestrated a campaign of terror against his opponents, has died in prison at age 87.

Videla, whose "Dirty War" killed at least 15,000 people, perhaps twice as many, died of natural causes in Argentina's Marcos Paz prison, where he was serving multiple life sentences for crimes against humanity, officials said.

After leading a bloodless coup that toppled President Isabel Martinez de Peron on March 24, 1976, Videla became the head of a junta.

He says the van picked up four other teenagers before heading to the central police compound. Turns out, the police were after his hair.

Venezuelans Stock Up On Toilet Paper Amid Shortage

Krishnadev Calamur — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:28:00 +0000

Venezuelans may be used to a dearth of medicine, milk and sugar, but there's a new shortage that's, shall we say, a bit more problematic: toilet paper.

The government of socialist President Nicolas Maduro announced this week that it would import 50 million rolls of toilet paper to meet the growing demand.

"We will saturate the market so the people will be calm," Commerce Minister Alejandro Fleming told the official AVN news agency.

But it appears that the people aren't very calm:

Select Young Afghans Chosen As Commandoes In Training

Renee Montagne — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:14:00 +0000

From the Afghan capital Kabul, Morning Edition's Renee Montagne talks to Gen, Joseph Dunford, the commander of all U.S. and international forces there. They discuss the challenges of the current situation on the ground, and look ahead to the withdrawal of NATO combat troops in 2014.

Are Buddhist Monks Involved In Myanmar's Violence?

Anthony Kuhn — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

In the Western stereotype, Buddhists are meditating pacifists who strive to keep their distance from worldly passions. But last month, more than 40 people were killed in fighting between Buddhists and Muslims in the central Burmese town of Meiktila. Witnesses say some Buddhist monks joined in the violence, while others tried to stop it.

One prominent monk in particular has been blamed for being behind it.

U Wirathu, 45, is head of the Masoeyein monastery in Myanmar's second-largest city, Mandalay, just up the highway from Meiktila.

Gerard Depardieu To Star In Two Chechnya-Based Films

Corey Flintoff — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:32:00 +0000

Actor Gerard Depardieu is reportedly set to begin filming a new thriller with British actress-model Elizabeth Hurley, to be set in Moscow and Grozny, the capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya.

Depardieu accepted Russian citizenship in a special dispensation from President Vladimir Putin last January, after the actor denounced a proposed new tax on the ri

No More Smuggling: Many Cured Italian Meats Coming To America

Sylvia Poggioli — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:17:00 +0000

American gourmets and lovers of Italian food products, your days as food smugglers are over.

No more stuffing your suitcases with delicacies bought in Italy, hoping the sniffer dogs at JFK or other American airports won't detect the banned-in-the-USA foodstuffs inside your luggage.

In the U.S., they're called cured meats, the French say charcuterie and in Italy, the word for cured-pork products is salumi.

Brazil Looks To Build A 10,000-Mile Virtual Fence

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:04:00 +0000
Brazil's borders are so vast, and the terrain so inhospitable, that attempting to secure them has seemed a virtually impossible task.
But Brazil's rapidly expanding economy has made the country a magnet for illegal immigration, drug smuggling and other illicit activities, and now the country has announced its own border protection program.
Called the Sistema Int

Pressure Grows In Australia To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

editor — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:29:00 +0000
Transcript
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
There's growing pressure in Australia to legalize same-sex marriage. That's after neighboring New Zealand did so just last month. As Stuart Cohen reports from Sydney, several high-profile opponents in Australia have now changed their views and many believe public opinion has reached a tipping point.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: The ayes are 77.

Underground Tunnels Feed Gaza's Hankering For KFC

editor — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:25:00 +0000
Hundreds of underground passageways wind like a maze beneath the Egypt-Gaza border, providing a way for Gazans to maneuver around the 2007 Israeli-led economic blockade that took effect after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip.
And while subterranean tunnels may seem like something out of a thrilling spy movie, the reality and practicality of these channels is somehow not surprising.
After all, with the amount of conflict that continually plagues the region, it's no wonder that such extreme measures ha

From The Heart Of Egypt's Revolt, The Pulse Of Artistic Life

Leila Fadel — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:39:00 +0000
Egypt's capital, Cairo, is now synonymous with protests and sometimes violence. Late at night, the once-bustling downtown streets are largely empty these days.

Ex-Ambassador To Iraq Weighs In On Talking To 'Monsters'

editor — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:01:00 +0000
As the death toll in Syria climbs and critics blast the Obama administration for not taking more decisive action, former ambassador Christopher Hill points instead to a failure of diplomacy in an op-ed in the New York Times. Hill talks about what the U.S. faces in facilitating talks between the regime and Syrian rebels.

Women In Combat: Some Lessons From Israel's Military

Larry Abramson — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:51:00 +0000
As the U.S. moves to open up combat positions to women, it's catching up with other countries that have been doing it for years.
But the experience in these countries, including Israel, suggests that access to combat jobs doesn't lead directly to equal treatment within the ranks.
In Israel, most men and women perform compulsory military service.

David Beckham Retires From Soccer, Ending Storied Career

Bill Chappell — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:42:00 +0000
David Beckham, who starred for Manchester United, Real Madrid and England's national team before heading to the United States and Paris, is retiring. The news was confirmed Thursday by England's Football Association.
The midfielder played his first game for Manchester United in 1992 and eventually rose to become captain of England's international team for more than 50 games, including several World Cup tournaments.

Twitter Users Risk Damnation, Say Saudi Religious Police

Mark Memmott — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:35:00 +0000
"The head of Saudi Arabia's religious police has warned citizens against using Twitter, which is rising in popularity among Saudis," the BBC reports.

Some Leaders In Saudi Arabia Condemn Twitter

editor — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:44:00 +0000
Religious authorities responded after Saudis used Twitter to show images of human rights activists on trial. The BBC reports the kingdom's most senior cleric called Twitter users "fools." The head of the religious police says any social media user will lose the afterlife.

Obama, Erdogan To Discuss Syria's Conflict Spilling Into Turkey

Michele Kelemen — Thu, 16 May 2013 08:24:00 +0000
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets President Obama at the White House on Thursday. Their talks will focus on the Syrian conflict. Erdogan has been pushing the U.S. to do more to resolve a conflict.