World News

A soldier from the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, Manchus, looks toward the tree line through his rifle scope while on a foot patrol to visit Afghan Local Police in the Panjwai District of Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan. Panjwai is one o

World News

Friction Among Afghans A Threat To Post-U.S. Mission

3:48pm June 25, 2013

by Tom Bowman

By this time next year, there will be roughly half as many U.S. troops in Afghanistan as there are today. And for U.S. strategy in the country to work, Afghan security forces will have to hold off the Taliban after the Americans leave. But it's unclear if the Afghans will all stand together.

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For octopus flesh to be tender enough to grill, it must be dried in the sun at least one full day.

Mastering A Sea Monster: From Greece, A Lesson In Grilling Octopus

3:09pm June 25, 2013

by Joanna Kakissis

The Greeks have been eating octopus since ancient times, but there's an art to grilling these tentacled sea creatures. An octopus has to be dried in the sun for at least a day first. Otherwise, the flesh just steams and turns into "a rubbery mass."

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World News

Saudi Arabia Solidifies Support Of Syrian Opposition

2:56pm June 25, 2013

Secretary of State John Kerry held a press conference Tuesday with the Saudi foreign minister. Prince Saud al-Faisal said his country cannot ignore Iran and Hezbollah's support of Assad's regime. NPR foreign correspondent Deb Amos explains Saudi Arabia's role in Syria.

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World News

Artist's Fake Diploma To Be Sold At Auction

11:55am June 24, 2013

David Hockney's fake diploma is expected to sell for up to $27,000. He created it in 1962 when he was denied a real degree by the Royal College of Art because he refused to write a final essay.

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World News

Protests Allow Brazilians To Feel Part Of Global Movement

11:54am June 24, 2013

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

Brazil's government has been caught by surprise by the size and scale of recent protests. But analysts say they shouldn't have been. In a connected world, what happens in one part of it — say Turkey — can inspire social movements as far away as Brazil.

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World News

Turkey's Protests Are An Impediment For Its Prime Minister

11:54am June 24, 2013

by Peter Kenyon

After more than three weeks of anti-government protests, Turkey's leaders insist they will restore order and quickly bounce back from any damage to the country's economy or image abroad. The crisis comes at a delicate time for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He is in the midst of a fragile peace initiative with the Kurdish minority, dealing with an escalating war next door in Syria, and trying to convince parliament to strengthen the office of the president, which he is expected to run for as his final term as prime minister winds down.

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Rodan Gatia gets water from a spring. A chlorine dispenser is behind her.

World News

A Surprising Barrier To Clean Water: Human Nature

10:38am June 24, 2013

by David Kestenbaum

Getting clean water to people in the developing world isn't just an engineering problem.

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Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's new film is called I'm So Excited.

World News

'I'm So Excited': Pedro Almodovar's Spanish Metaphor

8:29am June 23, 2013

by Jasmine Garsd

The legendary film director's new film is about a group of passengers stuck on an airplane. It's a comedy: In between panicking, the passengers find time to fall in love, make love — and come out of the closet. It's also a return to the filmmaker's Spanish roots.

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A steamroller tries to flatten tusks, without much luck.

World News

Philippines Pulverizes Ivory To Discourage Traffickers

6:18pm June 22, 2013

The Philippines is a stopover for dealers trying to unload illegal ivory into the Asian black market. On Friday, the government destroyed 5 pounds of confiscated ivory.

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World News

India Revives An Ancient University

10:59am June 22, 2013

At one time, Nalanda University was a prestigious center of learning that attracted scholars from all over Asia. But after it was destroyed in the late 1100s, it languished. Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon talks with Nobel economist Amartya Sen about plans to revive the ancient university as a collaborative school between several Asian nations.

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