World News

Argh, it's on the tip of my tongue! Contestants in the Names and Faces competition focus at last year's World Memory Championships held in Guangzhou, China. A new field of mental athletes is currently vying for the 2012 championship.

World News

Ready. Set. Memorize!

1:43pm December 16, 2012

by Vicki Barker

There's no place for chronic misplacers of keys at the 21st World Memory Championships under way in London. About 75 competitors from some two dozen countries are vying to see who can memorize the most numbers, faces, playing cards or random words in a set amount of time in this "mnemonic Olympiad."

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World News

Egyptians Vote On Contested Constitution Draft

7:04pm December 15, 2012

by Merrit Kennedy

In Egypt, voter turnout is high in the first phase of a controversial constitutional referendum. This comes after more than three weeks of mass protests for and against the document and President Mohammed Morsi, leaving Egypt deeply divided.

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World News

Young Gazans Brave Fear To Welcome Hamas Leader

9:14am December 14, 2012

by NPR Staff

In many countries, the very young have zero interest in politics. After decades of conflict, however, Gaza is an intensely political place and its young people were out in force to give Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal a hero's welcome — even though many are still suffering the effects of the recent eight-day missile offensive.

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Patriarch Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem (center), splashes holy water toward worshippers after the washing of the feet ceremony in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in 2009, during Easter celebrations. A cr

Israel, Christians Negotiate The Price Of Holy Water

9:13am December 14, 2012

by Anthony Kuhn

High-level diplomacy helped avert a disaster last month, in a dispute over the unpaid water bill of one of Christendom's holiest sites. The water company that supplies the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem said it owed $2.3 million. Eventually, the bill was waived — but the church now promises to pay going forward.

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World News

Chemical Weapons And The Syrian Civil War

9:12am December 14, 2012

After intelligence officials reported activity at Syrian chemical weapons sites, the U.S. warned Syrian President Bashar Assad he'd face "consequences" if Syria uses such weapons. Many questions remain about what chemical weapons Syria has and how they could use them.

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What North Korea's Rocket Launch Tells Us About Iran's Role

9:03am December 14, 2012

by Tom Gjelten

U.S. officials wonder whether North Korea's successful rocket launch this week helped Iran — another country whose nuclear program concerns the U.S. The two countries have worked together in missile design, but it's unclear who's helping whom.

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Barcelona forward Lionel Messi (in dark blue) shoots on Cordoba's goalkeeper Mikel Saizar (left) during the Spanish Copa del Rey football match in Cordoba on Wednesday.

With 88 Goals, Lionel Messi Celebrates A Record Year

2:42am December 14, 2012

by Lauren Frayer

The Barcelona star has broken several records this year — and many say the 25-year-old still hasn't peaked.

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World News

Options For Intervention In Mali's Growing Crisis

2:13pm December 13, 2012

A military coup brought down Mali's prime minister in March, allowing radical Islamists from Mali and surrounding areas to take hold of an area the size of Texas. As al-Qaida-linked militants take over the northern part of the country, many wonder what the U.S. and other can do to intervene.

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Beers made by Trappist monks at St. Sixtus Abbey's Westvleteren Brewery in Belgium are sought by connoisseurs. For the first time, the monks are exporting the beer overseas, including to the U.S.

World News

A Sign From Above? Needing New Roof, Monks Sell Rare Beer In U.S.

8:39am December 13, 2012

by Teri Schultz

Westvleteren 12, a Belgian beer often called the best in the world, officially hits U.S. store shelves for the first time Wednesday. But fans of the beer may want to act quickly: The Trappist monks who brew it are only selling enough overseas to raise money to pay for a new roof and other renovations.

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Spain's Civil Servants Draw Grumbles, And Envy

4:54pm December 12, 2012

by Lauren Frayer

Spain's economic crisis has helped drive the nation's unemployment rate above 25 percent. Many of the jobless resent the relatively high pay and job security public sector workers enjoy.

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