Melissa Block talks with Syria's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Faisal Mekdad, about the upcoming international conference on Syria in Geneva and about the Syrian government's view of the civil war. Mekdad says the government of President Bashar al-Assad believes a peaceful settlement is necessary to solve the conflict in Syria. However, Mekdad says the replacement of President Assad "means destruction of Syria, means no international conference, and means support of terrorism." Mekdad says Syria will not participate in the conference with any preconditions.
The White House has released 100 pages of internal emails related to the development of talking points after the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, last year. President Barack Obama also addressed the controversy surrounding the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups. Audie Cornish talks to Scott Horsley.
The ongoing conflict on the Korean Peninsula is the legacy of the Korean War, which helps explain relations between the north and south. In a new book, historian Victor Davis Hanson discusses how the strategies of U.S. Gen. Matthew Ridgway helped to turn around what appeared to be "a lost war."
The defenders of Africa's rhinos are battling a well-financed and well-informed enemy. Poachers clear $40,000 or more for a single rhino horn. They have cash for the latest weaponry and to pay for inside information from some of the very people whose job it is to protect the rhinos.
After living underground in the United States — figuratively speaking — some undocumented immigrants deported to the Mexican border city of Tijuana have been driven — quite literally — underground. They're living in holes along Tijuana's fetid sewage canal for protection against police.
The country is gearing up for a presidential election next month, and the lack of a clear front-runner, analysts say, is a sign the political elite isn't united behind a single candidate. The late entrance of a former president, in particular, will likely alter the shape of the race.
A massive 2008 temblor in Sichuan province killed some 90,000 Chinese and pointed to the poor construction practices in China. The rebuilding effort was supposed to showcase modern China. But today, many survivors are angry over what they say is official corruption, ranging from poor construction and unpaid workers to bribes and improper compensation for seized land.
Demand for rhino horn, used in traditional Chinese medicine, is fueling a slaughter of the animals in Africa. In Vietnam, the sought-after commodity is fetching prices as high as $1,400 an ounce, or about the price of gold. There, some believe ground horn can cure everything from hangovers to cancer.
Women account for only 36 of the more than 4,000 candidates on the ballot in Saturday's parlimentary election. One of them, Naz Baloch, is following her father into politics, but acknowledges it's a rough-and-tumble game in a country where opportunities for women are limited.