World News

World News

Iranians Look Back On 35 Years Since The Revolution

7:45am February 10, 2014

by Peter Kenyon

Tuesday marks the 35 anniversary of Iran's Islamic revolution. For more than three decades, relations between the U.S. and Iran have been frozen. But hope for a thaw began to emerge with last summer's election of Hassan Rouhani as president.

Queue Listen Now

Wacky Moments In Winter Olympic History

12:05pm February 08, 2014

The problems with decrepit hotel rooms and stray dogs in Sochi, Russia, are stealing the headlines, but they are hardly the first Olympics to stumble. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Esquire Magazine's AJ Jacobs about some of the more inglorious moments in Winter Olympics history.

Queue Listen Now

World News

Muslims Flee CAR Capital, Chased By Christian Jeers

9:04pm February 07, 2014

A convoy of nearly 500 vehicles full of Muslim families filed out of the capital of Central African Republic on Friday, watched closely by crowds of cheering Christians. Two months of sectarian violence preceded the exodus, which Associated Press photographer Jerome Delay witnessed firsthand. Melissa Block speaks to Delay about the situation.

Queue Listen Now

Olympic volunteers pet a stray dog in downtown Sochi, Russia, on Tuesday. The city's long-standing contract with a pest control company has animal right groups concerned about the fate of the many strays roaming the area.

Sochi's Stray Dogs Melt Hearts, And Put Officials On Defensive

8:28pm February 06, 2014

by Tamara Keith

The stray dogs roaming Russia's Olympics venues have already become the unofficial mascots of the Winter Games. Olympics officials say no healthy dogs will be destroyed, but animal rights groups worried about the fate of the dogs are taking in as many as they can.

Queue Listen Now

World News

After 400 Years, Mount Sinabung Erupts

8:12am February 06, 2014

On the Indonesian island of Sumatra, a volcano has become active after centuries of silence. Huge eruptions have been occurring for about three months and more than a dozen people were killed over the weekend. For an update, Steve Inskeep talks to Ben Otto, a reporter with The Wall Street Journal in Jakarta.

Queue Listen Now

Shaun White practiced at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park in Sochi on Monday. On Wednesday, he withdrew from the event, saying the slopestyle course is too risky for him.

Snowboarder Shaun White Withdraws From Slopestyle Event

6:35pm February 05, 2014

by Robert Smith

The sport's biggest star says the slopestyle course in Sochi is too risky for him; several top athletes have already been injured. He will still compete in halfpipe, and hopes to pick up his third gold medal in the event.

Queue Listen Now

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer for men in the West, while lung and liver cancers are the top problems in Asia.

Cancer Cases Rising At An Alarming Rate Worldwide

8:20am February 05, 2014

by Jason Beaubien

The long-held idea that cancer is a disease of the rich is slowly being undermined. The world now records about 14 million new cancer cases each year, a study found. The majority of these cases occur in developing countries, which aren't equipped to detect and treat the disease.

Queue Listen Now

World News

Ex-Rwandan Officer Goes On Trial In France For Genocide

7:19am February 05, 2014

by Eleanor Beardsley

A former army captain alleged to have participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide is on trial in Paris, where the case might shed light on France's support of those involved in the massacre.

Queue Listen Now

Scarlett Johansson recently became SodaStream's spokeswoman and appeared at an event at the Gramercy Park Hotel on Jan. 10 in New York City. The actress soon found herself engulfed in controversy because of her affiliation with a company that has a factor

World News

Scarlett Johansson's Middle East Flap ... Over Soda

9:55am February 01, 2014

by Emily Harris

The American actress has stepped down as a goodwill representative for Oxfam International. She came in for criticism after agreeing to serve as a spokeswoman, and appear in a Super Bowl ad, for an Israeli company that produces at-home soda-makers in the occupied West Bank.

Queue Listen Now

World News

'Return To Homs' Follows Cycle Of Syrian Demonstrations

7:58am January 31, 2014

A new documentary about the war in Syria follows the transformation of peaceful demonstrators into insurgents. Steve Inskeep talks to Orwa Nyrabia, the producer of the film, about the toll of the Syrian civil war on the besieged city of Homs.

Queue Listen Now