World Story of the Day

The Pentagon's only maximum security prison, at the U.S. Army's Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, is one of the facilities being considered for placement of Guantanamo prisoners deemed too dangerous to release.

Kansas, South Carolina Take NIMBY Stance On Guantanamo Prisoners

7:45pm August 31, 2015

by David Welna

President Obama's plan to close Guantanamo lacks a crucial element: a U.S. prison to hold captives too dangerous to release. The Pentagon is considering military prisons in Kansas and South Carolina.

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Once Migrants Reach Europe, What Rights Are They Entitled To?

6:38pm August 31, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Babar Baloch, Central Europe spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, about how Europeans are handling the migrant crisis.

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Customers line up to enter the Gucci shop at a mall in Shanghai.

China's Tricky Economic Transition: From Steel Mills To E-Commerce

11:54pm August 30, 2015

by Frank Langfitt

Shanghai's stock market rose Friday and investors are relieved. That doesn't change the fact that China's economy is undergoing a wrenching transition away from manufacturing, with more pain to come.

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In Lebanon, Calls For More Protests As Police Push Back Demonstrators

11:54pm August 30, 2015

by Alison Meuse

Bars and restaurants in Beirut closed Saturday in solidarity with anti-government protests that have grown over the last week.

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Paul Kingsnorth — seen here in front of his writing shed — used a crowdfunding platform to publish The Wake after mainstream houses didn't bite.

'The Wake' Is An Unlikely Hit In An Imaginary Language

12:37pm August 28, 2015

by Ari Shapiro

Paul Kingsnorth self-published The Wake, his tale of the 11th-century Norman conquest of England, written in a pastiche of Old and modern English — and was startled when it became a smash hit.

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The Yuz Museum is one of the private museums that have begun cropping up along Shanghai's riverfront, part of a government effort to make the West Bund area a cultural destination. Here are recent works by Yang Zhenzhong, Shi Qing, and Yu Ji from the exhi

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China's Financial Capital Tries To Become A Cultural Capital

10:34pm August 25, 2015

by Frank Langfitt

Private museums are sprouting up along Shanghai's riverfront. The city that lures people seeking their fortune is also attempting to become a destination for art.

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Lebanese gather at a public beach in Beirut on Aug. 2. Lax governance has allowed developers to turn much of the coastline into private clubs, leaving a dwindling number of public beaches along the Mediterranean.

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Lebanon's Shrinking Public Beaches

3:06pm August 25, 2015

by Alice Fordham

In a country with a stunning coastline, a lack of governance has allowed private developers to gobble up prime seaside real estate and shunt aside ordinary Lebanese who depend on public beaches.

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Smoke rises at the site of the explosions in Tianjin.

World News

Tianjin Tragedy Is A Painful Reflection Of How China Largely Works

2:52pm August 25, 2015

by Frank Langfitt

A massive explosion in Tianjin, China killed more than 100 people earlier this month. Correspondent Frank Langfitt says the country's corruption and a lack of accountability have endangered lives.

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Russian workers threw contraband peaches off a truck outside the city of Novozybkov on Aug. 7.

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Russia's War On Western Food: Detaining Cheese, Crushing Frozen Geese

3:25pm August 24, 2015

by Corey Flintoff

Russian authorities have smashed, burned and buried more than 900 tons of allegedly contraband food. In a country that once suffered famine, many are deeply distressed to see food destroyed.

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Librarian S. Kalaivani has worked at the Jaffna Public Library in Sri Lanka for five years. "I love working here," she says. "It's a pleasure to help the people who are continuing to get knowledge."

Up From The Ashes, A Public Library In Sri Lanka Welcomes New Readers

1:45pm August 24, 2015

by Julie McCarthy

The Jaffna library once held irreplaceable, ancient manuscripts, lost when it was torched in 1981. Fully restored, the beloved landmark today is filled with readers.

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