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Behind The Curtain Of Communism Photographer Tomas van Houtryve entered North Korea with an illegal passport and concocted an elaborate lie to avoid being detained. It was all part of his project to document modern-day communism. |
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Cut Diplomatic Ties? Hide Him In A Crate? How Might Assange Standoff End? As the WikiLeaks founder remains holed up in Ecuador's London embassy, theories are emerging about how British police might get to him - and how he might be able to avoid arrest and get out of the country. |
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Ecuador Gives WikiLeaks' Assange Asylum The WikiLeaks founder has been living in Ecuador's London embassy since June. He's trying to avoid being extradited to Sweden, which wants to question him about allegations of sexual misconduct. Assange says his enemies want to eventually send him to the U.S. |
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More Carnage In Pakistan: Gunmen Execute About 20 Shiites Gunmen reportedly stopped three minibuses, demanded that passengers show their IDs, and killed only those who were Shiite Muslims. That followed Thursday's attack by militants on an air base. |
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Ecuador Grants Assange's Asylum Request The government of Ecuador on Thursday granted asylum to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. Assange has been holed up at Ecuador's embassy in London for two months while the British government has demanded that he be handed over. He faces questioning in Sweden for alleged sexual misconduct. |
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In South Sudan, Cows Are Cash And Source Of Friction In South Sudan, a man's worth is measured by bovine wealth, and ever-increasing dowries are paid in cows. Cattle-rustling is an age-old problem. But recently, these raids have become markedly more violent, and the new nation is having difficulty stopping them. |
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Asked To Spy On Rebels, Syrian Soldier Becomes One Ra'ed was 19 when he was drafted into Syria's elite Republican Guard unit two years ago. The Sunni Muslim conscript says his commanders, who were Alawites, never trusted him. He was asked to pose as a defector, and ultimately he joined their cause. Now in Lebanon, he fears being returned home, where he believes he would be killed. |
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'No Terrorists Here': Sinai Residents Fear Crackdown Egyptian security forces are conducting a major campaign in the peninsula after a deadly attack by masked gunmen on a border post earlier this month. While the government says it will deal with the threat, Sinai residents worry that they will be blamed, targeted and abused as a result of the assault. |
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Creating A Schwenker World, One Backyard Grill At A Time It sounds a little dirty, but a schwenker is just a German word for a swinging grill that looks like a tripod, set over charcoal. Schwenker evangelists are spreading the word about this unique grill around the world. |
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Militants Attack Pakistani Air Base News reports say the militants are heavily armed and include suicide bombers. No casualties have been reported. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack on the base, which is about 50 miles from the capital, Islamabad. |
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India's Planned Mars Mission Irks Critics India turned 65 on Wednesday, and amid the great pomp and ceremony of National Day celebrations, the prime minister announced plans for a mission to Mars. India plans to send a research satellite to the Red Planet in November next year - at a cost of $82 million. Critics say the money would be better spent on the nation's creaky infrastructure, and connecting the 400 million Indians who are not on the national electricity grid. |
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On Denmark's Summer Nights, Tivoli Gardens Beckons It opened in the middle of the 19th century and has a wooden roller coaster that's nearly a century old. Set in the center of Copenhagen, the amusement park is still a favorite with the Danes. |
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Author Asks If Mumbai Money Can Flatten Tradition Mumbai is one of the world's largest cities, and the setting for a gripping novel about the struggles and tensions that emerge in this rapidly modernizing metropolis. As Tell Me More takes a look at literature from emerging countries, guest host Jacki Lyden speaks with Aravind Adiga about his latest book, Last Man In Tower. |
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Police Chief Urges Toronto Mayor To Get A Driver In Ontario, it's illegal to text while driving but apparently its ok to read. So technically, Toronto Mayor Tom Ford was not breaking the law, as he checked out a stack of papers while driving. A Twitter user snapped a photo of the mayor. |
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Taliban Showing New Willingness On Prisoner Swap At issue is the fate of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the only known U.S. prisoner of war held captive in Afghanistan. The Taliban may be keen to trade him for some of its leaders held at Guantanamo Bay. |
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Egypt's Christians Form Their Own Brotherhood A former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood occupies Egypt's presidential palace, leaving many of the country's Coptic Christians deeply anxious about their future. A new group calling itself the Christian Brotherhood has emerged, vowing to stand up for the rights of Copts. |
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Sneaking A Bite During Ramadan's Long, Hot Days The daytime fast during Ramadan is never easy. It's particularly tough when the holy month falls during the hottest days of summer. This appears to be causing some Muslims to forgo the fast this year - though they would prefer that their family and friends don't know. |
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British Bank Settles After Hiding Iranian Transactions The British bank accused of using its New York branch to launder money from international transaction has agreed to pay New York's top banking regulator $340 million. Regulators said the bank schemed to hide more than 60,000 financial transactions totaling $250 billion for Iranian clients. The bank denied the charges. Audie Cornish talks with Jim Zarroli. |
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Once Safe, Cairo's Streets Now Plagued By Crime Egypt's criminals are among those who have benefited from the country's revolution. Cairo, once known as a safe city, has seen a rise in lawless behavior, including everything from sexual assaults to carjackings, bank thefts to kidnappings. |
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Palestinians Fear New Israeli Moves In West Bank A 1993 interim peace accord divided the West Bank into three areas. The largest, known as Area C, is under full Israeli control. Israel continues to build Jewish settlements there and has issued orders to demolish Palestinian homes. |
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Boosting Travel Options, Google To Buy Frommer's Frommer's is one of the best-known travel guide-book companies. The search giant is trying to offer more robust travel related results and sell more ads. Last year, Google bought the Zagat restaurant review brand as well. |
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From A British King To Rock 'N' Roll: The Slippery History Of Eel Pie Island Seeking eel pie's origins, the Kitchen Sisters find an island where the Rolling Stones used to play. The traditional British dish can only be found in a handful of London shops now, but Eel Pie Island lives on in music history. |
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Winners And Losers From London's Summer Olympics, 'The Crying Games' The London 2012 Olympics were billed as the Social Games, with fans following along on Twitter, Facebook and other services. But it might be remembered as "The Crying Games," for the swelling of emotions many Britons experienced. We run down some of the winners and losers of the Summer Olympics. |
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Calls Grow For U.S. To Intervene In Syrian Conflict Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Istanbul this weekend to talk with Turkish officials about a post-Bashar Assad future for Syria. Clinton says it's urgent to plan for a transition and make sure Syria's institutions remain intact. She's also warning against a sectarian war. But some Syrian exiles say the U.S. has done too little, too late and its messages won't be heard as the warring factions become more radicalized. |
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Diversity Helps South Korean District Win Locals Back Itaewon is a neighborhood in South Korea that locals used to avoid because it attracted a high number of foreigners, especially young American soldiers from the U.S. Army Garrison just down the hill. But Itaewon's image has changed in recent years - it's now a trendy hangout for young Koreans, attracted by its relatively liberal atmosphere in a culturally conservative nation. |
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After Olympics, London Sees Exodus Of Thousands The well-staged London Olympics have drawn to a close and on Monday, thousands of fans made their way to airports for the flight home. |
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On Call-In Radio, Egypt's Leader Offers Reassurance New Egyptian leader Mohammed Morsi came to power amid an economic crisis and political turmoil. Now, he hopes to reassure Egyptians he's putting the country on the right track. One way is by answering questions on a call-in radio show. |
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Can East London Keep The Olympic Spirit Burning? The Olympics are over, but guest host Jacki Lyden takes a look at the lasting impact of the Games on young people living in the neighborhoods around Olympic Park. She speaks with East London residents Amber Charles and Rumi Begum. Both young adults participated in the Olympic torch relay in recognition of their contributions to sports in the area. |
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In Egypt, Talk Of Coups And Countercoups President Mohammed Morsi's bold move to sack two top generals is generating much discussion about how it could be a decisive step toward democracy. |
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Egypt's Military Chiefs Dismissed By New Leader New Egyptian President, Mohammed Morsi, is asserting his authority in the boldest move he's made since assuming the nation's top job. |
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Egypt's Military Chiefs Dismissed By New President Egypt's first freely elected president made history Sunday when he ousted top military chiefs. Mohammed Morsi had been hesitant to confront the country's top brass, who've long been suspicious of the Islamist leader. But in one fell swoop, Morsi shifted the balance of power, ordered top generals into retirement and asserted civilian authority over the military leadership. |
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Report Issued On 2011 Shooting Rampage In Norway A Norwegian commission on Monday issued a report criticizing authorities for failing to prevent and interrupt a bombing and shooting rampage by Anders Breivik. He killed 77 people last year. Most Norwegians feel their country showed the proper response to the violence. |
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Poland Watches Warily As Euro Crisis Spreads Poland is part of the EU but hasn't yet adopted the euro single currency. An economic success story during rough times, Poland's economy grew an average of nearly 4 percent annually since 2008. But now there is concern that the crisis in the eurozone may threaten the country's post-communist run of prosperity. |
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U.S. Female Olympians Outshine Most Countries The London Olympics are over but there is a remarkable statistic left behind. If American women had competed as their own country, they would have tied for third in the gold medal count, and finished fifth in total medals. |
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Tears And Drama Punctuate Olympics' Final Weekend The U.S. men's basketball team defended its Olympic title today as the London Summer Games draw to a close, and there was plenty of drama elsewhere on the final game of the competition. NPR's Tom Goldman tells host about Guy Raz the greatest moments and those that were a little embarrassing. |
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The Olympic Soundtrack: A Story Of National Pride It's a moment of pride and glory when athletes hear their country's national anthem ringing out at the medal ceremonies of the Olympic Games. Host Guy Raz talks to freelance journalist Alex Marshall, whose writing a book on the history of national anthems, about some of the patriotic tunes. |
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Egypt's New Leader Dismisses Military Chiefs The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi ordered the retirement of Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi and Chief of Staff Gen. Sami Annan. It's seen as the boldest move he's made since assuming the nation's top job. |
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Economic Woes For 'Good Italy' And 'Bad Italy' Weekend Edition Sunday guest host Linda Wertheimer talks with author Bill Emmott about his book Good Italy, Bad Italy, which explores some of the economic challenges Italy faces. |
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Life Is Good For Norwegians, But Tourists Pay Price NPR's Eleanor Beardsley brings us a postcard from pricey Norway where a glass wine at dinner cost her the equivalent of $30. Norwegians have one of the highest living standards in the world and live in a society protected by oil and gas reserves. Life is nice for Norwegians, but tourist beware. |
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Migrants Targeted Amid Rise Of Greek Extremists As the country's economy lies in ruins, some Greeks feel threatened and burdened by migrants, many of them Muslims. Human rights groups say authorities are ignoring a sharp rise in vigilante attacks on immigrants, including those working legally in Greece. |
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Mexico Devastates Brazil In Historic 2-1 Olympic Soccer Final Mexico shocked Brazil in Olympic men's soccer, winning gold in a 2-1 game in which it never trailed. Mexico's Oribe Peralta scored just 29 seconds into the game, after pouncing on a turnover by to take early control of the match at London's Wembley Stadium. |
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Preparing For A 'Horrible Event'; The U.S. And Turkey Plan For Syria's Collapse Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkey's foreign minister announce the creation of a working group to deal with the collapse of Syria, and the potential of a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government. |
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An Olympian Named Mo Farah Takes Britain By Storm When Mo Farah, the gold medalist in the 10,000 meters, was asked if he would rather have run for Somalia, he responded with a curt retort: "Look mate, this is my country!" This Olympic summer is a world away from last year's riots in England. |
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Three NATO Soldiers Killed By Afghans An Afghan working on an installation shared by Afghan and foreign forces shot and killed three NATO soldiers on Friday - raising to six the number of international troops killed by their Afghan partners in 24 hours, officials said. |
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Seeing The World Through The Olympic Rings [Infographic] Using only the rings of the Olympic logo, artist Gustavo Sousa strips down world statistics to illustrate global disparities, including those for population, obesity, carbon dioxide emissions and Coco-Cola sales. What would the medal count for the 2012 Olympics look like in this infographic style? |
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Gaming The Games: The Rules That Got Bent In London Several times during these Olympics, there've been moments when the Olympic oath seemed all but forgotten - you know, the one at the opening ceremony where athletes pledged to abide by the rules and spirit of fair play. |
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Sunni Cleric Rises To Challenge Hezbollah In Lebanon Little-known Sunni Sheik Ahmad Assir has gained prominence recently with his public protests against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Assir says Iran is using the militant Shiite group to expand its influence, and he is calling for the group to surrender its weapons, as the crisis in Syria - another Hezbollah backer - unfolds. |
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7,500 Square Miles Of Pumice Floating In Pacific Is 'Weirdest Thing I've Seen' The rocks, floating in the waters near New Zealand, must have been created by an underwater volcano. The floating mass is about 200 square miles larger than New Jersey. |
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Encoding Geopolitics: Virus Infects Banks In Lebanon A common cybercriminal tactic appears to have been adopted by a nation-state for classic espionage purposes. The Kaspersky Lab in Moscow says the Gauss virus is targeting several large banks in Lebanon. Though the nation-state behind the virus hasn't been identified, analysts say it may be part of a U.S. effort. |
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In Krasikov's World, Dreamers Can't Afford Dreams Tell Me More is reading literature from countries on the rise in the global arena: the so-called BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Sana Krasikov's short story collection, One More Year, focuses on Russia. She talks with host Michel Martin about her characters and what it takes to make it in Russia. |
