Iran-Iraq border crossing incident

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Iraq says Iranian soldiers today crossed into southern Iraq and took control of an oil well. The World’s Matthew Bell reports that border disputes are not new that oil-rich region.

Geo Quiz and Geo Answer

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The World’s daily geography puzzler. Today we ask listeners to name the site in Beijing where a winter festival is due to open tomorrow. The answer is INSIDE the Bird’s Nest Stadium built for the 2008 Olympic Games. The stadium’s field and running track are now covered in 3 feet of artificial snow.

A winter forecast

It’s a winter forecast for today’s Geo Quiz. Lots of places are battling with snow and frigid temperatures right now.

Music Heard on Air for December 18, 2009

Tunes Spun On The Word Between our reports for December 18, 2009. Artists featured are Moriba Koita, Kila, Bela Fleck, Oran Etkin.

Tech Podcast 271: Drones, tech in crisis, and the Copenhagen Wheel

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It’s a nice line-up for the last podcast of 2009. We’ve got an item on the MIT SENSEable City Lab’s Copenhagen Wheel project. Turn your ordinary bike into an e-bike. Cool. Also, we revisit drones, and we hear all about the pluses and minuses of technologies in times of crisis, political and otherwise. PHOTO: Max Tomasinelli

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Entire program – December 17, 2009

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Today on The World: Some progress but no global agreement yet as the Copenhagen Climate Summit enters the final stretch; Also, why the garbage that clogged the streets of Naples, Italy, two years ago is still a problem; And an Iraqi filmmaker who didn’t let war get in the way of making movies.

Climate deal might have to wait

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has told the Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen that the US was prepared to work toward mobilizing $100 billion a year for developing countries to help them deal with climate change. The announcement comes as doubts grow over whether the summit will achieve its declared goals of agreeing cuts in emissions, and deciding on how much rich countries should pay to assist developing countries. The World’s environment editor Peter Thomson is in Copenhagen. Download MP3 (Photo: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

• Our coverage of Copenhagen 2009
• Peter Thomson’s Copenhagen photos
• Environment coverage on The World
• BBC coverage

Hacking into American drone aircraft

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Insurgents in Iraq have hacked into live video feeds from unmanned American drone aircraft, US media reports say. Shia fighters are said to have used off-the-shelf software programs to capture the footage. The hacking was possible because the remotely flown planes have an unprotected communications link. Alex Gallafent reports. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Wired Magazine’s Noah Shachtman on the ‘drone war’ in Central Asia
• Tech Podcast: Listen to a longer version of the Shachtman interview
• Marco Werman talked with Ahmed Rashid about drone attacks

International Medical Corps: A Thousand Words

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For 25 years, International Medical Corps has been training doctors and providing medical care in some of the world’s most troubled places. Along the way, the group has collected photos from the field. Now, those photos have been published in a new book called A Thousand Words. We feature some favorites of Nancy Aossey, CEO of International Medical Corps. Download MP3

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Son of Babylon

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Bombs are still going off in Baghdad, but one Iraqi filmmaker hasn’t let that stop production on his new feature film Son of Babylon. Mohammed Al Daradji tells host Marco Werman about his new project that’s been selected to screen at the Sundance Film Festival next month. Download MP3 (Photo: Movie still from Son of Babylon)

• Son of Babylon film information
• Son of Babylon’s Facebook page

Bebel Gilberto

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New York born Brazilian artist Bebel Gilberto has released her sixth studio album All in One. A few tracks from the album were recoded and produced in Jamaica and the Island’s tropical feel floats though the album. The World’s Marina Giovannelli takes a listen. Download MP3(Photo: Henrique Gendre)

• Bebel Gilberto homepage
• Global Hit Archive

China in Copenhagen

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China has resisted calls for it to agree to binding verifiable targets for reducing emissions. But people in China say their government should be willing to make a commitment in Copenhagen. The World’s Mary Kay Magistad reports from Beijing.

Naples’ garbage problem

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Uncollected trash was piled high throughout Naples, Italy two years ago. Now the unsorted waste is stored in huge dumps outside the city. And it may be causing health problems. Correspondent Megan Williams reports from Caserta outside Naples.

Jerusalem divided

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Jerusalem’s religious and secular residents are said to be battling over the city’s soul. The World’s Aaron Schachter explains.

Beach behavior in Dubai

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Police patrolling Dubai’s beaches have been cracking down on what’s considered “offensive behavior.” Thousands of people have been stopped this year. The BBC’s Arab Affairs Editor Sebastian Usher tells anchor Marco Werman what Dubai authorities find offensive on the beach.