World News

Seleka fighters pose for a photograph in Bossangoa, Central African Republic, on Nov. 25. The landlocked country has been gripped by violence since the mainly Muslim rebels seized power in the majority Christian country in March.

World News

Violence Escalates In Central African Republic; U.N. OKs Troops

7:35pm December 06, 2013

by Hannah McNeish

Amid growing fears of a potential genocide, the U.N. has approved military intervention in the former French colony. Muslim fighters staged a coup in March in the majority Christian nation. The fighting has displaced an estimated 400,000 people.

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Mexican Lawmakers Hope Private Investment Will Boost Oil Industry

7:35pm December 06, 2013

by Carrie Kahn

Mexico's congress is set to pass a controversial plan to open up the country's vast and sluggish oil industry to private investment. The move requires a constitutional amendment since Mexico forbids foreign involvement in the oil industry. Opponents of the plan say the president is selling out the country, but many experts say that without foreign investment, Mexico won't be able to tap all its oil and won't modernize.

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Chinese naval soldiers stand guard on China's first aircraft carrier Liaoning as it travels toward a military base in Sanya, Hainan province, in this undated picture made available on Nov. 30.

China's Military Buildup Reignites Worries In Asia, Beyond

12:18pm December 06, 2013

by Tom Bowman

China's leaders hope to be able to fight and win two regional conflicts by 2020, according to the Pentagon in a report that highlights the East China Sea, site of recent tensions with the U.S. and Japan. The showdown over air space is the latest example of what the Pentagon sees as a resurgent Chinese military.

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Former NPR Correspondent Remembers Working For Mandela

11:57am December 06, 2013

NPR's former South Africa correspondent John Matisonn worked for Nelson Mandela, helping the leader improve his media savvy after he was released from prison on Robben Island. Matisonn remembers Mandela's keen intelligence and resilience. Matisonn tells Robert Siegel the Nobel Peace Prize recipient emphasized that he was an ordinary man, and insisted he was no saint.

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Former Robben Island Inmate Recalls Mandela's Discipline, Courage

11:57am December 06, 2013

For 27 years, Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island for his fight against South Africa's apartheid regime. Saki Macozoma served time on Robben Island alongside Mandela in the 1970s, and he joins Robert Siegel to remember Mandela, who died Thursday at age 95.

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Freed From Prison, Mandela Preached Harmony, Equality

11:57am December 06, 2013

On Feb. 11, 1990, upon his release from prison, Nelson Mandela stood on the steps of City Hall in Cape Town, South Africa. He told the gather crowd of more than 100,000 people to seize what he called "a decisive moment." In the audio above, you can listen to a segment of that speech.

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If a plan taking shape is finalized, the MV Cape Ray, managed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, will be turned into a floating chemical weapons disposal plant.

Plan Calls For Syria's Chemical Arsenal To Be Destroyed At Sea

10:49am December 06, 2013

by Geoff Brumfiel

The world wants Syria's chemical arsenal destroyed. But so far, no country has offered to do the dirty work on its soil. Over the past week, an alternative has gained ground: Carry out the destruction at sea. The plan taking shape is complicated and untested, but it just might work.

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Renee Montagne Reflects On Covering Mandela

10:49am December 06, 2013

Nelson Mandela was released from a South African prison in 1990. Steve Inskeep talks to Renee Montagne about her time covering South Africa in the early 1990s.

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Why Music Played An Important Role In Mandela's Life

10:49am December 06, 2013

Morning Edition reports on the music that sustained Nelson Mandela and other members of the anti-apartheid movement while they were in a South African prison. Many of them were huge reggae fans.

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For Much Of His Life, Mandela Was A Controversial Figure

10:49am December 06, 2013

Former South African President Nelson Mandela is universally admired but there was a time when he was caught up in controversy. Steve Inskeep talks to Bill Keller, a columnist for The New York Times, about Mandela's controversial past.

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