Ban Ki-moon: There’s No Plan B For Syria
By any definition, the situation in Syria is atrocious with an estimated 10,000 people killed since the uprising started more than a year ago. The latest international effort to reach a ceasefire is on the ropes. And, last night, during an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon seem to give little [...]
A Tweet, A Year In A Labor Camp, And Now An Appeal
This is the tale of a single tweet and its far-reaching consequences in China. In April 2011, retired forestry official Fang Hong posted a scatological tweet, mocking a powerful Chinese politician, Bo Xilai, the Chongqing party secretary. Fang had been critical of Bo in the past. But last year, he was fired up by what [...]
Egypt May Be Headed To Runoff Between Islamist And Former Mubarak Aide
As Egyptian officials count ballots from this week’s first-ever free presidential election in that country, the Muslim Brotherhood is claiming its candidate got the most votes and will likely be in a runoff next month against ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister. From Cairo, NPR’s Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson cautions that officials are advising against [...]
What A Show! China’s Movie Theaters Have Improved Dramatically
On Morning Edition, NPR’s Frank Langfitt reported about a Chinese company’s $2.6 billion purchase of North America’s second-largest movie theater chain. Now, he tells us how the movie-going experience has changed in China in recent years: When I first moved to Beijing in 1997, going to the movies wasn’t really an option. Many of the [...]
To Tap Arctic Oil, Russia Partners With Exxon Mobil
Russia is still the world’s largest producer of oil and gas, but growth has stalled and to get to new supplies requires going to a very difficult place — the Arctic. “If you want to be in this business in 2020, 2025, you must think about the Arctic,” says Konstantin Simonov, head of the National [...]
How Crumbling U.S. Dollars Bailed Out Zimbabwe
Four years ago, Zimbabwe experienced one of the worst cases of hyperinflation in history. The country abandoned its own currency and switched to the U.S. dollar — a move experts say prevented a complete economic collapse. But using American dollars has created a host of bizarre issues. The bills are filthy, crumbling and often in [...]
Hollywood Dreams Led Chinese Firm To Buy Into U.S.
One of the big movie blockbusters this year isn’t a film, but a business deal. The Chinese company Wanda, one of that country’s leading cinema owners, is buying AMC Entertainment, North America’s second-largest movie theater company, for $2.6 billion. When the agreement was announced in China this week, it did not make a lot of [...]
Estonia’s Fake Chocolate: Born Of Necessity, Reborn In Nostalgia
Some of the world’s most interesting food products have been born out of the innovation that comes with deprivation. Take chicory, for example. It’s a trendy New Orleans coffee blend you can buy anywhere now, but it was first used during the Civil War when those caffeinated beans were scarce. And when chocolate became scarce [...]
Hard-Line Muslims Test Indonesia’s Tolerance
In the city of Bekasi, Indonesia, outside Jakarta, a handful of Christians head to Sunday worship. But before they can reach their destination, they are stopped and surrounded by a large crowd of local Muslims who jeer at them and demand that they leave. This is the Filadelfia congregation, a Lutheran group. They are ethnic [...]
Talks With Iran To Reconvene Next Month
“Iran and world powers have agreed to meet in Moscow next month for another round of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program,” The Associated Press reports. That would indicate the two days’ worth of talks that just concluded in Baghdad were at least productive enough for the parties to agree they can continue. The New York [...]
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