World News

Diplomat's Arrest In N.Y. Sparks Anger In India

9:53am December 18, 2013

Financial Times New Delhi correspondent Amy Kazmin speaks with NPR's Linda Wertheimer about the case of an Indian diplomat arrested in New York for allegedly paying her maid below minimum wage. The diplomat was strip-searched and jailed, touching off an angry reaction in India.

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Is A 500-Year-Old German Beer Law Heritage Worth Honoring?

8:56am December 18, 2013

by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

A German brewers association is seeking UNESCO World Heritage status for a 500-year-old law that dictates how to make beer. The brewers argue that the law ensures purity in German beers. But others say the law is from a bygone era.

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World News

Protesters In Ukraine Agitated By Economic Deal With Russia

8:02am December 18, 2013

As pro-Europe protests continue in Ukraine, the country's president signs a deal getting billions of dollars worth of loans and gas discounts from Russia. It's the latest move in a tug-of-war over whether that brawny country will align itself economically with Europe or Russia.

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An auto worker tightens bolts on a Focus at a Ford plant in Michigan in October. Labor unions predicted in 1993 that NAFTA would send many U.S. manufacturing jobs to Mexico, and they continue to argue that the pact prompted a race to the bottom for worker

What Has NAFTA Meant For Workers? That Debate's Still Raging

12:31am December 18, 2013

by Don Gonyea

Two decades ago, labor unions warned that the North American Free Trade Agreement would drive away U.S. jobs and push wages down. Today, unions feel as strongly as ever that NAFTA was a mistake for U.S. workers, but quantifying the factors behind the decline in the middle class is no simple matter.

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World News

Destruction Plan To Be Announced For Syrian Chemical Weapons

12:30am December 18, 2013

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is releasing its final report Tuesday on how Syria's chemical stockpile will be destroyed. The plan is a complicated process and the first step may be the hardest: getting the chemicals to the Syrian port in the middle of a civil war.

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William Wong (standing) poses with his parents and nephew in an old family photo. Wong's mother immigrated to the U.S. from China as his father's "sister" to bypass the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Chinese-American Descendants Uncover Forged Family Histories

12:30am December 18, 2013

by Hansi Lo Wang

The Chinese Exclusion Act, designed to prevent Chinese laborers from entering the country, prompted tens of thousands of people to use forged papers to enter the U.S. The law was repealed 70 years ago, but many Chinese-Americans are still piecing together their ancestors' true identities.

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Freshly caught catfish wriggle in large nets in Doddsville, Miss.

Battle Of The Bottom Feeder: U.S., Vietnam In Catfish Fight

1:17pm December 16, 2013

by Jackie Northam

When the popularity of catfish moved from the South across the U.S. in the 1980s, American catfish farmers could barely keep up with demand. But Vietnam has flooded the U.S. market with cheaper catfish, driving many catfish farms out of business and sparking a dispute that threatens a major trade deal.

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Blasting through powder on wooden, horsehide-bottomed skis, with a single pole for balance, an Altai skier shows off the skills and equipment his distant ancestors perfected.

Deep In China, 'Cowboys' Have Skied For Thousands Of Years

10:21am December 16, 2013

by NPR Staff

On wooden skis, the Tuvan people of Central Asia have been traversing the snow for at least 4,000 years. Travel writer Mark Jenkins went to the region for National Geographic, where he joined a group of lasso-wielding men on skis tracking elk.

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On Sunday, Ireland became the first country to formally exit the bailout program funded by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.

Ireland Exits Bailout Program, But Economy Still On The Mend

8:24am December 16, 2013

by Jim Zarroli

Ireland has big budget deficits, low growth rates and high unemployment. But the country is ready to take a big step toward getting back to normal. On Sunday, it became the first country to exit the bailout program put in place by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.

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Boulevard Brewing's lineup includes seven year-round beers, five seasonal beers and 13 beers in its Smokestack series.

When Craft Beer Goes Global: A Kansas City Brewery's Tale

8:07am December 16, 2013

by Frank Morris

Boulevard Brewing has become a Kansas City staple since its founding in the 1980s. It has many loyal local fans — and soon, a new international owner, Duvel. The deal says a lot about how the world now values a product made with a firm sense of place.

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