Entire program – May 31, 2010

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Today on The World: Turkey accuses Israel of state terrorism in attack on a flotilla of ships headed toward Gaza; Also, remembering oil spills in the Atlantic – these from tankers sunk by German U-boats in the Second World War; Plus, a Vietnam veteran who’s made it his mission to bury the unclaimed cremated remains of war vets.

Israeli forces storm Gaza aid ship

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At least nine activists have been killed after Israeli commandos stormed a convoy of ships carrying aid to the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army says. Israel says its soldiers were shot at and attacked with weapons; the activists say Israeli troops came on board shooting. The activists were attempting to defy a blockade imposed by Israel after the Islamist movement Hamas took power in Gaza in 2007. Linda Gradstein reports. Download MP3(Photo: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images)

• BBC coverage
• Middle East crisis
• Egypt blocks Gaza border (Jan)

Forgotten veterans

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Anchor Marco Werman talks to Major Fred Salanti, executive director of the Missing in America Project about his work, giving war veterans’ unclaimed cremated remains a proper burial. Download MP3

• Missing in America Project
• Soldiering on – Part I
• Soldiering on – Part II

Personal soundtracks to war

This Memorial Day week 2010, we’re bringing you a look at the music US soldiers are listening to in Iraq on their iPods or personal music players. The selections were collected by correspondent Jake Warga who was embedded with the 3rd Infantry Division.

• Click here to listen to the selections
• Jake Warga on embedding with the armed forces
• Veterans’ stories on The World
• Share what’s on your iPod

How Germans remember the past

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On a day when we’re remembering soldiers and wars, it’s also useful to think about how we remember. In Germany, memory of the past is often painful: two world wars, the Holocaust, the Berlin Wall. Now, Germans are again thinking about how they remember these events. Writer Alissa Quart visited a couple of museums in Berlin. Download MP3(Photo: Gerry Hadden)

• Neues Museum
• Berlin-based Yiddishkeit band ‘Jewdyssee’
• Berlin Wall graffiti

Reaction from Turkey

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Turkey’s prime minister has called Israel’s attack on a flotilla of ships heading to the Gaza Strip an act of state terrorism. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with the BBC’s Jonathan Head, in Istanbul, where thousands have staged anti-Israel protests today.

Past oil spills

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Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Molly Murray, reporter for the News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware, about the oil that was spilled in the Atlantic during World War Two when German U-boats torpedoed U.S. oil tankers.

• Molly Murray’s article in The News Journal

China’s new restrictions on torture

Anchor Marco Werman talks to The World’s Asia Correspondent Mary Kay Magistad about new regulations in China aimed at curbing the use of torture and forced confessions in criminal and death penalty cases.

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KMT soldier report

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Correspondent Yuen Chan tells the story of a Chinese man whose life has followed the twist and turns of the tense relationship between China’s Communists and the remnants of the Chinese Nationalist army.

Geo Quiz

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Our daily geography puzzler.

Geo Answer

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We were looking for the Arab city that was home to the Thousand-and-One Nights, and where there’s now a surge in plastic surgery. The answer is Baghdad. The BBC’s Jim Muir reports on the rise in demand in Baghdad for comestic transformations.

• The Geo Answer is Baghdad

Iraq iPod

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All this week, American troops in Iraq will tell us what’s on their iPods…and why. Today we hear from Staff-Sergeant Adam Treen.

• Personal soundtracks to war

Mideastern Metropolis

In the Geo Quiz, we’re searching for the home of the Arabian Nights this time. This Arab city was once the capital of the Muslim world, now it has seen a surge in cosmetic surgery.

Entire program – May 28, 2010

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Today on The World: Deadly attacks on two mosques in the Pakistani city of Lahore; Also, how World Cup organizers are preparing to protect the tournament from crime and extremist threats; Plus, the United Nations honors its fallen peacekeepers.

The war in Afghanistan

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The American military death toll in Afghanistan has reached 1,000 and the number of US troops in Afghanistan has now surpassed the total in Iraq. The grim milestone comes midway between President Obama’s decision last December to send 30,000 more American troops to Afghanistan and a progress report on the war that he has promised by the end of the year. Reporter Ben Gilbert is embedded with an Army unit currently deployed in Eastern Afghanistan. Download MP3 (photo: Ben Gilbert)

• Ben Gilbert’s photos from Afghanistan
• At War blog of the NY Times
• Ben Gilbert on joint patrols in Iraq (March)