World News

The China Twist by Wen-Szu Lin chronicles the author's (ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to bring Auntie Anne's pretzels to China.

Auntie Anne's Pretzels In Beijing: Why The Chinese Didn't Bite

11:41am February 11, 2013

by Frank Langfitt

It's the entrepreneurs' dream: tapping into China's market of 1.3 billion people. That dream fueled the efforts of two Chinese-American MBAs to take the soft-pretzel franchise — a staple of U.S. shopping malls — to China. Cultural and financial barriers, however, led to a far more challenging reality.

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Pope Benedict XVI To Resign Feb. 28

11:41am February 11, 2013

Pope Benedict announced Monday morning he is retiring at the end of the month. He will be the first pontiff to step aside in six centuries.

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Vatican 'Surprised' By Pope's Resignation Announcement

11:41am February 11, 2013

Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday that he will resign on February 28 because he no longer has the strength to fulfill the duties of his office. For more details, Renee Montagne speaks with journalist Josephine McKenna in Rome.

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After Pope's Resignation, What's Next For The Church?

11:41am February 11, 2013

Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday that he will resign on Feb. 28. For more on what his resignation means for the future of the Vatican leadership, Steve Inskeep talks with Mathew Schmalz, a professor of religious studies at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.

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Pope's Resignation News Pauses Runup To Obama's Speech

11:41am February 11, 2013

The runup to President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday was overshadowed Monday by news out of Rome: the announcement that Pope Benedict XVI is resigning. What does this mean for the Catholic Church in America?

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Papal Succession Process Differs For Resignation Vs. Death

11:41am February 11, 2013

Pope Benedict XVI made a surprise announcement Monday morning that he will resign at the end of February. For more on his legacy and what the succession of a new pope may bring, Renee Montagne talks with Father Thomas Reese, senior fellow at Georgetown University's Woodstock Theological Center.

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West's Allure Dulls Monkhood's Luster For Some Buddhists

4:58pm February 10, 2013

Since the Dalai Lama's exile from Tibet in 1958, reincarnated high lamas have been born in, or exposed to, the West at an increasing rate. Journalist Tim McGirk wrote about the effects of that exposure in this month's issue of The Believer.

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World News

Bulgaria Links Hezbollah To Deadly Attack On Israelis

8:51am February 10, 2013

by Michele Kelemen

The attack at a Black Sea resort town last July killed five Israeli tourists and one Bulgarian citizen. In response, the White House called Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, a "real and growing threat not only to Europe, but to the rest of the world."

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Egyptian soldiers cross to the eastern side of the Suez Canal during the 1973 war. Egyptian forces initially broke through the Israeli forces on that side of the canal.

The CIA And The Hazards Of Middle East Forecasting

8:48am February 10, 2013

by Tom Gjelten

As Arab-Israeli tensions grew in the fall of 1973, the CIA offered its analysis to President Nixon's administration: War was highly unlikely. The agency kept making that case right up to the time the war began.

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World News

Syrian Opposition Leader Holds Talks With Russia, Iran

8:47am February 10, 2013

Over the weekend, one of the main Syrian opposition leaders held informal talks with the regime's main backers — Russia and Iran. The talks were held on the sidelines of a security conference in Germany. It's unclear whether this creates an opening to a political settlement that could end the bloodshed in Syria.

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