World

Sharon, flanked by Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (left) and Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon, reads a statement during the weekly Cabinet meeting at Sharon's office, on June 13, 2004, in Jerusalem.

World News

Ariel Sharon, Whose Life And Career Shaped Israeli History, Dies

12:09pm January 15, 2014

by Mike Shuster

The former prime minister, who had been in a coma after suffering a massive stroke in 2006, died on Saturday. Sharon's career spanned the birth of the nation and most of its essential turning points. Israelis had a love-hate relationship with him that was beginning to soften only shortly before his death.

Queue Listen Now

In a $16 billion deal this week, Japanese beverage giant Suntory announced it plans to purchase Beam Inc., maker of Jim Beam and owner of other popular bourbon brands, including Maker's Mark.

Soon To Be Big In Japan, Jim Beam's Roots To Stay In Kentucky

10:48am January 15, 2014

by Rick Howlett

In a deal worth some $16 billion, Japanese beverage giant Suntory is buying Beam Inc., maker of Jim Beam bourbon and owner of well-known American brands such as Maker's Mark. Industry leaders say it's a reflection of bourbon's exploding popularity in Asian markets, but some wonder if the new owners will preserve bourbon's Kentucky heritage.

Queue Listen Now

Though most people rely on cellphones, not pay phones these days, the telephone boxes aren't obsolete. During an art exhibit in summer 2012, artist Benjamin Shine transformed one into a work called Box Lounger, on display here in Central St. Giles in Lond

World News

Some Brits Not Ready To Say 'Ta-Ra' To Iconic Telephone Box

10:14am January 15, 2014

by Ari Shapiro

A race is on to save Britain's beloved crimson phone booth, threatened not by habitat loss or climate change, but by the ubiquity of cell phones. The country had 92,000 payphones in 2002; now, it has just 48,000. But devotees are finding new uses for the booths.

Queue Listen Now

World News

On Third Anniversary, Tunisians May Get A Constitution

6:33pm January 14, 2014

by Eleanor Beardsley

Celebrations in Tunisia on Tuesday are marking the third anniversary of the revolution that led to the ouster of its dictator and set in motion the regional uprisings of the Arab Spring. As huge crowds gather in the streets of the capital, members of the National Assembly are voting on a new constitution that has the approval of both secular groups, which are popular in the capital, and Islamists, whose strongholds are in the countryside. New parliamentary elections are expected later this year.

Queue Listen Now

There are dozens of varieties of borscht — but at its most basic, it's a beet soup with potatoes, tomatoes and often beef or pork.

Borscht Make Your Heart Beet? They're Serving 70,000 Gallons In Sochi

8:57am January 14, 2014

by Serri Graslie

Organizers of the Winter Games are preparing to serve up quite a bit of the hearty, deep-red Russian soup. Which is kind of ironic, says Russian food writer Anya von Bremzen, since borscht carries with it complicated political implications. And not all borschts are created equal, she warns.

Queue Listen Now

South Sudan's then-Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Peter Adwok Nyaba (center) celebrates the first anniversary of the country's independence in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, on July 9, 2012. Since then, all of South Sudan's Cabinet minis

World News

How I Almost Got Arrested With A South Sudanese Ex-Minister

2:28pm January 13, 2014

by Gregory Warner

A dozen war heroes from South Sudan's long struggle for independence are now accused of launching a coup to overthrow the democracy they helped create. One of them, Peter Adwok Nyaba, was telling NPR's Gregory Warner about the political roots of the conflict when police came for him.

Queue Listen Now

A makeshift graveyard outside San Joaquin Parish is now the final resting place of hundreds in the province of Leyte, Philippines.

Filipino Priest Suffers With His Flock Amid Typhoon's Ruins

8:58am January 13, 2014

by Anthony Kuhn

The Rev. Kelvin Apurillo rode out Haiyan on the second floor of his parish church. Two-thirds of his parishioners are now dead, missing or have left, and he's struggling to make sense of the destruction. In the majority Roman Catholic country, the church has played a key role in relief efforts.

Queue Listen Now

World News

Kerry: 'No Other Alternative' To Ending Violence In Syria

6:50pm January 12, 2014

by Michele Kelemen

Secretary of State John Kerry is in Paris preparing for a long-delayed peace conference on Syria next week. He's urging the Syrian opposition to negotiate with a regime they've been trying to topple. The war in Syria has raged for three years and has befuddled the international community.

Queue Listen Now

World News

Egyptians To Vote On New Constitution For Troubled Nation

6:40pm January 11, 2014

Next week, Egypt holds yet another referendum on its constitution. We talk to political scientist Nathan Brown on what the likely outcome is, and if it could mean more stability in the country.

Queue Listen Now

Ariel Sharon's Death Sparks Strong Emotions Across Middle East

6:40pm January 11, 2014

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died Saturday at the age of 85. Israelis mourned the death of the celebrated politician and army general. But Palestinians reacted differently to the death of the controversial leader, who pushed for Jewish settlement of Palestinian territories.

Queue Listen Now