2010 January | PRI's The World - Part 14

Archive for January, 2010

Haiti devastation emerges

By The World ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ 5 comments ⋅ Transcript

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The extent of the devastation from a huge quake in Haiti is slowly emerging, with a number of UN peacekeepers among thousands of people feared dead. The 7.0-magnitude quake, Haiti’s worst in two centuries, struck south of the capital, Port-au-Prince, on Tuesday. The Red Cross says up to three million people have been affected. Jeb Sharp gets the latest from Bob Poff, disaster coordinator for The Salvation Army in Haiti. Download MP3

Donations for Haiti quake victims

By The World ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ 15 comments ⋅ Transcript

International efforts to help Haiti in the wake of Tuesday’s earthquake are picking up speed, as governments around the world and aid agencies mobilize search and rescue teams and aid supplies. While the full scale of the disaster has yet to emerge, it is clear it represents a huge challenge.

You can help through these aid organizations

Google ‘may end China operations’

By The World ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Internet giant Google has said it may end its operations in China following a “sophisticated and targeted” cyber attack originating from the country. In Beijing, the news prompted some to leave flowers outside of Google’s offices. We’ll check in with our correspondent in Beijing, and our reporter in San Francisco. (Photo by youthfilm)

Haitians in US wait for answers

By The World ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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Haitians in the US are desperate for news of friends and loved ones back home. The World’s Katy Clark visits a Haitian radio station in Boston that’s serving as an information hub.

Geologists expected Haiti quake

By The World ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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Geologists were not surprised by yesterday’s earthquake in Haiti. The quake occurred on a well-known fault, and some seismologists had predicted that a large temblor was likely. The World’s Science Correspondent Rhitu Chatterjee reports.

Google lifts filters in China

By The World ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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Internet giant Google is challenging China’s censorship of the web. The company lifted its web filters for users in China, and is threatening to pull out of China because of human rights violations. The World’s Mary Kay Magistad has the story.

Google’s threat to China

By The World ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

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Google cites cyber attacks on the e-mail accounts of Chinese rights activists as the reason for threatening to pull out of China. Cyrus Farivar reports on what kind of attack it was and what Google’s move means for other Internet companies doing business in China.

The US response to Haiti

By The World ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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President Obama has set in motion a coordinated aid effort for Haiti following yesterday’s devastating earthquake. The World’s Matthew Bell reports on the obstacles facing that relief effort.

International response to Haiti

By The World ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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Anchor Jeb Sharp speaks with Port-au-Prince-based journalist Ann Rose Schoen about the effects of yesterday’s earthquake in Haiti, and ongoing relief efforts.

Obama’s wars

By The World ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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An article in the upcoming New York Times Magazine describes President Obama’s two wars. One with al-Qaeda; the other at home over how to fight. Anchor Jeb Sharp speaks with the author, Peter Baker.

Geo Quiz

By The World ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

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Where will our Geo Quiz take us today?

Geo answer

By The World ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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The answer to today’s Geo Quiz is the Tibetan city of Nagqu, where China plans to build the world’s highest airport at an altitude of 14,500 feet above sea level. The new airport could be a welcome boon to the local economy, but critics say it’s another way for China to tighten its grip on the region. Anchor Jeb Sharp finds out more from Elliot Sperling, a professor of Tibetan Studies at Indiana University.

Tibetan airport

By The World ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

We’re looking for the site of a new Chinese airport for today’s Geo Quiz. This airport is only in the planning stage. China says it plans to build it high up on the Tibetan Plateau by 2011. 14,500 feet up to be exact. That would make it the highest airport in the world…

Septeto Nacional

By The World ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

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The Cuban musical sound – el son Cubano – was born in the 1800s. It mixes instrumental styles from the Spanish conquest with the tones and rhythms of descendants of African slaves. That son Cubano evolved into a music we now think of as from all of Latin America – salsa. But as reporter Lonny Shavelson found out at a rare U.S. concert of the Cuban band Septeto Nacional, some Cuban musicians want the credit for salsa back. Download MP3

Music Heard on Air for January 13, 2010

By Ann Lopez ⋅ January 13, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Tunes Spun On The Word Between our reports for January 13, 2010. Artists featured are Ali Farka Toure with Ry Cooder, Jack de Johnette & Foday Musa Suso, Jan Garbarek, Orchestra Lissanga, Kila.