World News

Demonstrators who are critical of the Catholic Church and favor abortion rights take part in a protest in Rio de Janeiro during Pope Francis' visit to Brazil on July 27. Abortion is illegal in Brazil with rare exceptions. Some lawmakers are attempting to

World News

Brazil's Restrictions On Abortion May Get More Restrictive

12:15pm October 29, 2013

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

Latin America has some of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the world. Many countries in the region have a total ban. In Brazil, abortion is illegal, but there are some exceptions. A new bill is trying to roll those exceptions back.

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Ethnic Divisions In Russia Grow Sharper

10:12am October 28, 2013

Police in Moscow have been rounding up hundreds of migrant workers after an ethnic riot in the southern part of the city. Thousands of ethnic Slavic men rioted after an ethnic Slav was murdered — allegedly by a migrant from the North Caucasus region. Migrants from southern Russia and the Central Asian republics are routinely blamed for crimes in the Russian capital.

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Candidates for town council Michal Chernovitsky (left) and Adina Ruhamkin campaign in a park in El'ad, or Forever God, a small religious community in Israel. They could be the first women on El'ad's council, and the first ultra-Orthodox women to win publi

Election In Ultra-Orthodox Israeli Town Tests Gender Norms

8:29am October 27, 2013

by Emily Harris

"It's a new thing. I hope it will be accepted, but I'm not so sure," one resident says about women running for town council. "Here women who express themselves aren't seen as a good thing."

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A Teenage Music Phenom, Infographics, Motorcycles In Vietnam

9:45pm October 26, 2013

Ozy co-founder Carlos Watson tells NPR's Arun Rath about a teenage singer with a grown-up voice, two tutors turned bloggers, and Vietnam's Harley Davidson craze.

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Ava Gene's, a Roman-inspired restaurant in Portland, Ore., incorporates colatura, a modern descendant of ancient Roman fish sauce, into several of its dishes.

Fish Sauce: An Ancient Roman Condiment Rises Again

11:19am October 26, 2013

by Deena Prichep

We usually associate fish sauce with Southeast Asian cooking. But it turns out the briny condiment also has deep roots in Europe, dating back to the Roman Empire. What caused its decline? Historians say it boils down to taxes, and pirates.

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France's government has taken legal steps to protect the country's independent booksellers from behemoths like Amazon. It already prohibits discounts of more than 5 percent on books. Now it's considering a law that would not allow online retailers like Am

Little 'Libraires' That Could: French Law Would Keep Amazon At Bay

7:55pm October 25, 2013

by Eleanor Beardsley

A proposed law in France prevents online booksellers like Amazon from pricing books at deep discounts. It's the French government's latest effort to protect the country's many independent bookshops.

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Hong Kong director Tsui Hark's latest film, Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon, just hit cinemas in Asia.

Before Sherlock: An Ancient Chinese Sleuth's Enduring Appeal

12:19pm October 25, 2013

by Anthony Kuhn

The sleuthing exploits of Judge Dee, a character based on a seventh-century Chinese official, are gripping new audiences as new generations of writers, movie directors and storytellers tell his tale and build on his legend. His stories continue to inform ordinary Chinese people's understanding of justice and law.

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A woman drives a car in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Saudi Arabia is the only country where women are barred from driving, but activists have launched a renewed protest and are urging women to drive on Saturday.

Saudi Women Go For A Spin In Latest Challenge To Driving Ban

7:39pm October 24, 2013

by Deborah Amos

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that effectively bars women from driving. Women are making a renewed challenge to the ban by getting behind the wheel and posting videos in advance of a national drive-in set for Saturday.

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An Afghan child writes on a blackboard at a school built by German troops in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Mazar-e-Sharif. The number of students enrolled in Afghan schools has skyrocketed since the fall of the Taliban at the end of 2001.

World News

Are Afghanistan's Schools Doing As Well As Touted?

6:25pm October 24, 2013

Under the Taliban, 1 million Afghan boys and very few girls went to school. Now, 10 million students are enrolled, 40 percent of them female. But on any given day, a much smaller number actually shows up for class. What's more, there are shortages of classrooms, books and qualified teachers.

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News Stories Dredge Up Old Stereotypes Of Europe's Roma

6:25pm October 24, 2013

Melissa Block speaks with Dr. Jennifer G. Illuzzi, assistant professor of history at Providence College in Rhode Island, about the history of discrimination of the Romani population in Europe following two cases of children who were taken from Roma families into police custody this week in Ireland and Greece.

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