World News

World News

Engineers Begin Righting Wrecked Cruise Ship

7:09am September 16, 2013

The Costa Concordia is lying on its side in shallow waters off the west coast of Italy. It struck a reef 20 months ago when the captain steered too close to land. Thirty-two people died. On Monday, the task is to begin to slowly rotate the ship to an upright position, using a complex system of chains and underwater platforms and cables.

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South Sudanese pan for gold in Nanakanak, in the eastern part of the impoverished country. Tens of thousands of informal miners are looking for gold, and the government is trying to attract international mining companies to carry out the search on an indu

World News

Panning For Gold In South Sudan, A Gram At A Time

7:08pm September 15, 2013

by Hannah McNeish

In the desperately poor country, some 60,000 informal miners are working by hand to unearth an estimated $660 million worth of gold each year. The government is hoping to lure international mining companies to carry out the search on an industrial scale.

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A wounded Syrian, suffering skull, stomach and pancreas injuries from an explosion, in intensive care at Ziv Medical Center in Israel. Hospital staff asked that faces and names not be included to protect the safety of the Syrian patients who could get in

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An Unlikely Refuge: Some Wounded Syrians Treated In Israel

10:40am September 15, 2013

by Daniel Estrin

Many Syrians have fled their homes and sought refuge in neighboring countries. But Israel and Syria are enemies, and Israel hasn't opened its gates to Syrians fleeing the violence. But it has helped about 200 injured Syrians get medical attention. The Syrians come to Israel at great personal risk.

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The black, long-horned Camargue bull is just one of two breeds of fighting bulls in Europe. The bulls are shown here at the Roman arena in Arles, southern France.

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In France's Camargue, Bulls Are A Passion And A Way Of Life

8:00pm September 14, 2013

by Eleanor Beardsley

The marshy wetlands of the Camargue in southern France are rich in wildlife and folklore. But the region's most stunning icons roams free here: the Camargue bull, one of Europe's last two breeds of fighting bulls. The creatures are taunted and teased, respected and revered.

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A U.S. Marine carries a light flame-thrower while wearing experimental clothing designed to protect against atomic, biological and chemical warfare in 1960.

Breaking Down Chemical Weapons, One Fact At A Time

8:00pm September 14, 2013

by NPR Staff

As the U.S. and Russia announce a deal to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons program, we take a step back to look at where the weapons came from, what they're made of and how to get rid of them.

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In Syria Debate, Obama's Internal Dialogue Becomes Audible

6:21pm September 14, 2013

by Scott Horsley

President Obama's approach to Syria has taken a number of surprising twists and turns in the weeks since a poison gas attack in August. A surprise agreement between Russia and the U.S. on a timetable for destroying Syria's weapons is the latest in what appears at times to be an unscripted drama.

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New Computer School Makes French Students Teach Themselves

1:25pm September 14, 2013

by Eleanor Beardsley

The school, simply named 42, requires no high school diploma and no money to apply. It's turning French education on its head, but it may also solve some of the country's most pressing problems.

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Diplomats Sing For Peace

11:28am September 14, 2013

A group of five United Nations diplomats has gone beyond talking and taken up singing in their effort to achieve world peace. Host Scott Simon talks to several of the ambassadors, whose album, Ambassadors Sing for Peace, came out on Tuesday.

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An aerial view taken on Aug. 23 shows the Costa Concordia as it lies on its side next to Giglio Island. The wrecked cruise ship will be rolled off the seabed and onto underwater platforms.

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Off The Tuscan Coast, Raising The Ill-Fated Costa Concordia

8:29pm September 13, 2013

by Sylvia Poggioli

Next week, a salvage crew plans to rotate and raise the Costa Concordia cruise ship, in one of the biggest maritime salvage operations ever undertaken. The huge vessel has been partially submerged off Giglio Island since an accident in January 2012 that killed 32 people.

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Serious But Funny Discoveries Win Prizes

7:07am September 13, 2013

The lg Nobel Prize honors discoveries that are very scientific yet humorous. Winners include researchers who showed dung beetles navigate using the Milky Way. Other scientists proved that people who are drunk think they're more attractive.

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