Entire program – October 20, 2009

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Today on The World: Afghanistan’s embattled president agrees to a run-off election in November;Also, China launches an effort to catalogue cultural artifacts it says were looted from China more than a century ago; And how digital technology makes it harder to forget even that which may be best forgotten.

Afghan election goes to run-off

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Afghanistan will hold a deciding round of its problem-hit presidential poll on November 7th, pitting incumbent Hamid Karzai against his rival Abdullah Abdullah. News of the run-off vote comes after a UN-backed panel said it had clear evidence of fraud in August’s first round, lowering Karzai’s vote share below 50%. Initial results suggested Karzai had received 55% of the vote, and ex-Foreign Minister Abdullah 28%. Marco Werman talks with Waheed Omer, a campaign spokesperson for Karzai. Download MP3 (Photo: Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images)

• BBC coverage
• Matthew Bell on a possible power sharing deal in Afghanistan
• Marco Werman’s interview with Dr Abdullah

China’s lost art

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According to reports in the state press, China will send a team of experts around the world to catalog cultural relics it claims were looted from Beijing’s Old Summer Palace by European armies at the end of the 19th century. The World’s Alex Gallafent looks at an episode many Chinese regard as one of the most humiliating in their history. Download MP3

• BBC coverage

Egypt to ban full women’s veils

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Egypt’s highest Muslim authority has said he will issue a religious edict against the growing trend for full women’s veils, known as the niqab. The practice is widely associated with more radical trends of Islam. Reporter Aya Batrawy has the story. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• The niqab in Islam

Ayatollah vs. Ahmadinejad

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Could conservative Iranian clerics help bring about the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Iran? It sounds unlikely. But some of the country’s top clerics believe President Ahmadinejad is bringing Islam into disrepute – and they want him out. In our latest ‘Best of the BBC’ selection we feature an e-mail interview with Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri (pictured), one of Iran’s most respected clerics and an outspoken critic of Ahmadinejad. Download MP3

• BBC Radio Four’s ‘Analysis’ program
• More ‘Best of the BBC’ on The World

Peruvian fog nets

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The BBC’s Dan Collyns reports on the way some low-income residents of Lima, Peru, collect their clean water. They use fog nets to harvest water from the mist that often shrouds the city.

Monitoring the runoff

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Marco Werman speaks with Peter Galbrait, the former Deputy UN envoy to Afghanistan, about how to prevent fraud in the upcoming second round of elections there.

US policy towards Afghanistan

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What impact will today’s announced runoff in Afghanistan have on US military policy? The World’s Jason Margolis has more.

Forgetting in the digital age

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Anchor Marco Werman and Technology Correspondent Clark Boyd talk about a book called “Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age.” An interview with the book’s author is featured in The World’s technology podcast.

Troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan

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Debate continues to rage over US troop levels in Afghanistan. The military has requested tens of thousands of new troops. But at even if they get all they want, then the number of troops in Afghanistan would still be less than the number in Iraq. President Obama met with Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, at the White House today.

Geo Quiz

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Our daily geography quiz.

Geo Answer

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The answer to today’s Geo Quiz is a city in Ecuador named Tena. Melaina Spitzer recently traveled there to sample some of the locally grown organic chocolate produced by a workers cooperative called Kallari, and sent us an audio postcard.

Global Hit

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Anchor Marco Werman speaks with guitarist Louis Mhlanga about his involvement with Playing for Change. This global music project started as a You Tube video and now the Playing for Change ensemble is on tour in the United States.

Music Heard on Air for October 20, 2009

Tunes Spun On The Word Between our reports for October 20, 2009. Artists featured are Bela Fleck, Bassekou Kouyate, Ngoni Ba, Sorotoumou, Oki Dub Ainu Band, Bill Frisell.

Playing for Change

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Our Global Hit today is about a musical project called “Playing for Change.” It’s a truly global, multi-media project that started a few years ago.