Much of the difficulty lies in finding a solution to the civil war and humanitarian crisis that's acceptable to all parties — both within and outside of Syria.
News of Siamak Namazi's detention comes as Iran takes part in international talks on Syria, with foreign ministers of the U.S. and other countries meeting today in Vienna.
Volvo says it's working on technology to detect kangaroos in Australia. The automatic brake system must be specially designed for the quick and erratic animals.
Talks on the Syrian civil war taking place in Vienna have an unprecedented new arrival: Iran. It's the first time Iran has formally met with the U.S. and other world powers about the war.
Steve Inskeep talks to Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon about Israel's perspective on Syria. There are no good options in Syria for Israel, he says.
Antonio Guterres, who has served as United Nations high commissioner for refugees since 2005, will step down at the end of this year. Steve Inskeep talks to him about Syria and Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II.
A new proposal to install surveillance cameras at Jerusalem's most contested holy site reveals that, like much of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, even the idea is subject to interpretation.
NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to Dulce Ramos, editor of the website Animal Politico, about NarcoData, which examines decades of information about drug trafficking and organized crime in Mexico.
Ireland brought the tradition of Halloween to America with turnip carving. Then America ran with it, turned turnip carving into pumpkin carving and now British farmers are rolling out pumpkins for the season like never before. Halloween has overtaken Valentine's day as the UK's third largest retail event.