World News

Is The United States A 'Dispensable Nation'?

2:04pm April 16, 2013

In his new book, The Dispensable Nation, former State Department adviser Vali Nasr explores the state of U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan and beyond. Nasr says the U.S. "is happy ... to play a less important role, to no longer be the stabilizer."

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North Korean Rhetoric Isn't Out Of The Ordinary

2:48am April 16, 2013

Monday is the birthday of North Korea's founder, and it's always marked by a massive military display. In the run-up to this day, Pyongyang unleashed a round of bellicose military rhetoric, and sparked another round of international anxiety over North Korea's nuclear intentions. Steve Inskeep talks to North Korea scholar Andrei Lankov, a professor at Kookmin University in Seoul, South Korea, and author of the new book: The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia.

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Retaliating Against U.S., Russia Bars 18 Americans

1:28pm April 15, 2013

by Corey Flintoff

The already-frayed relations between the U.S. and Russia have unraveled even more over the past several days. Russia has published a list of 18 Americans who will be barred from entering the country because of their alleged involvement in human rights violations.

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Street Artists Protest Status Quo In Haiti

4:52pm April 14, 2013

by Reese Erlich

Haiti's Resistance Artists create street sculptures — huge metal configurations that speak to the devastation following the 2010 earthquake and the stark separation between the country's rich and poor. Reese Erlich

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World News

Even In Death, Chavez Dominates Venezuelan Election

9:59pm April 13, 2013

by Juan Forero

Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who died last month, is supporting Nicolas Maduro in Sunday's presidential election. How do we know? Maduro says Chavez came to him, as a bird, in a dream. For some Venezuelans, that's enough: Maduro leads the race by a considerable margin.

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Week In News: Guns In U.S., Threats Abroad

6:09pm April 13, 2013

The gun control debate continued to dominate the news this week with President Obama coming out strongly in support of reforming the current gun control laws alongside the Newtown families. Host Jacki Lyden speaks with James Fallows, national correspondent with The Atlantic, about that story along with the bird flu in China, North Korea and the Postal Service.

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Alvaro Perez volunteers as a DJ at a socialist party stand in Caracas, Venezuela, playing songs in support of candidate Nicolas Maduro.

The Music Of The Venezuelan Presidential Campaigns

10:07pm April 12, 2013

by Jasmine Garsd

In Caracas, emotions run high and there's noise to match. Supporters of both major candidates for Venezuela's president have created soundtracks that are a constant presence on the city's streets.

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Venezuelan author Romulo Gallegos (1884-1969), circa 1950.

Oil, Chavez And Telenovelas: The Rise Of The Venezuelan Novel

10:55am April 12, 2013

by Marcela Valdes

Although Venezuela has a rich literary culture, its writers remain largely unknown outside of the country. Marcela Valdes traces the intersection of literature and politics in the large Caribbean nation, showing the forces that have kept Venezuelan writers from getting the praise they deserve.

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How Chavez Changed Venezuela's Telenovelas

10:55am April 12, 2013

by Jasmine Garsd

Morning Edition has been reporting from Venezuela this week about the legacy of the late President Hugo Chavez. During the two years Chavez spent in prison for an attempted coup in 1992, he never missed an episode of his favorite soap opera. But Chavez had his own drama with the industry.

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A South Korean soldier patrols as vehicles returning from the jointly run Kaesong industrial complex in North Korea arrive at a checkpoint in Paju, north of Seoul, on April 6.

World News

A Symbol Of Korean Cooperation Becomes A Political Casualty

8:33pm April 11, 2013

by Frank Langfitt

North Korea's decision to close off a joint North-South industrial complex is a potential financial disaster for some of the more than 100 South Korean businesses that have invested there.

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