World News

World News

Predictions, Warnings Round Out World Economic Forum

6:34pm January 26, 2013

The World Economic Forum ended Saturday in Davos, Switzerland, and Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times gives weekends on All Things Considered host Robert Smith a debrief on the week's events and why predictions made there are so often wrong.

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Mohammad Afzaal, a 35-year-old house painter from northeastern Pakistan, has signed up for a voluntary repatriation program run by the International Organization of Migration and financed by the European Commission.

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EU Money Sends Migrants Stuck In Greece Home

5:36pm January 26, 2013

by Joanna Kakissis

For years, most undocumented immigrants have been entering the European Union through Greece. They intend to settle in richer countries, but strict border controls and a broken asylum system means they end up not leaving Greece. Many are now turning to an EU-funded repatriation program that will pay their way home.

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The Cathedral of Alcala de Henares is one of many buildings owned by the Catholic Church in Alcala de Henares, Spain. The town, which is outside Madrid, is broke and is pursuing a plan to have the church pay additional taxes.

Spain's Strapped Towns Look To Churches For Cash

5:12pm January 25, 2013

by Lauren Frayer

Alcalá de Henares is re-evaluating the status of hundreds of church holdings that have been exempt from paying property tax for hundreds of years.

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Algeria Attack A 'Wake-Up Call' For Energy Companies

1:19pm January 24, 2013

by Tom Gjelten

Investors didn't panic after last week's attack, and oil and gas prices held steady. But if the attack on the gas complex signals the beginning of a new phase of terrorism in North Africa, energy companies and governments will need to make new assessments of the risks and benefits of investments.

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Report Blasts India's Treatment Of Women

1:19pm January 24, 2013

A panel reviewing sexual offenses in India has submitted its report to the government almost a month after the rape and murder of a female student in New Delhi. The report says India systemically discriminates against women, and does little to respond to violence against them.

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Du Xin, the "Chinese Gunther," owns Central Perk in Beijing. That's not all he has in common with Gunther on the show. "I love Rachel," he sighs.

'Friends' Will Be There For You At Beijing's Central Perk

8:53pm January 23, 2013

by Louisa Lim

A Chinese man in Beijing has set up a cafe identical to the New York hangout on the hit TV show. For owner Du Xin, Friends is "like a religion" — and he's not the only one. He's opened a second Central Perk in Shanghai, capitalizing on the Chinese fondness for the six friends and their laid-back, freewheeling lives.

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Health workers in Nepal culled chickens and destroyed eggs following an outbreak of bird flu in Kathmandu in October 2012.

Scientists Put An End To Moratorium On Bird Flu Research

8:53pm January 23, 2013

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

After researchers created versions of the bird flu virus that could spread more easily, critics began to worry that the work could spawn a pandemic if a virus escaped from the lab. After halting their work for more than a year, scientists now say the benefits outweigh the risks, and they are set to restart their experiments.

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Gen. Carter Ham, who heads the U.S. Africa Command, meets with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika last September. Amid upheaval in the region, AFRICOM is still attempting to define its mission.

U.S. Military Seeks Its Role In Troubled North Africa

8:53pm January 23, 2013

by Tom Bowman

The U.S. Africa Command, designed to strengthen defense relationships in Africa, is still trying to define its mission. African states have been wary, while the State Department and aid groups also express concerns. But growing conflicts in the region may soon put AFRICOM to the test.

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A wave of racist tweets prompted a Jewish student organization to file a lawsuit asking the American company Twitter to reveal the identities of users sending anti-Semitic tweets. Twitter says data on users is collected and stocked in California, where Fr

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French Twitter Lawsuit Pits Free Speech Against Hate Speech

8:48pm January 22, 2013

by Eleanor Beardsley

A French judge will decide this week if Twitter must hand over the identities of users sending anti-Semitic tweets. The case, brought against Twitter by a Jewish student group, is a clash of legal cultures: U.S. free speech guarantees vs. European laws banning hate speech.

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Al-Qaida's Next Stronghold? What's At Stake In North Africa

2:10pm January 22, 2013

Recent unrest in Mali and Algeria point to the growing influence of al-Qaida in North Africa. Wall Street Journal Pentagon reporter Julian Barnes and Ret. Col. Thomas Dempsey, chair for security studies at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, explain the latest developments and the threat al-Qaida presents in the region.

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