Adopt a Walloon

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A culturally torn Belgium goes to the polls on Sunday amid fears that growing support for Flemish radicals could split the country permanently. The World’s technology correspondent Clark Boyd is in Brussels, where an online group is trying to cool passions by encouraging rivals to ‘adopt’ someone from the other side.

An update on Gaza

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Anchor Marco Werman gets an update on life inside Gaza from the BBC’s Wyre Davies. He says there’s food, if you can afford it, but few supplies to build up Gaza’s fragile infrastructure.

Questions about Jamaica’s police

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At least 73 Jamaicans died in gun battles this month when police and military pursued alleged drug lord Christopher Dudus Coke in Kingston. While the manhunt continues, human rights advocates urge police restraint to prevent more collateral deaths. The BBC’s Nick Davis reports from Kingston.

What’s 40,000 barrels?

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The new estimate for the amount of oil spewing from the drill hole in the Gulf of Mexico is 40,000 barrels a day. Anchor Marco Werman finds some worldwide comparisons, to put the size of the gusher in perspective.

Translating health care for immigrants

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For immigrants living in the US, understanding health care and accessing services can be a big challenge, especially for those not proficient in English. Elana Gordon reports from Kansas City on how medical interpreters can play an important role in bridging that communication and cultural gap.

Geo Quiz and answer

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The answer to today’s Geo Quiz is South Australia. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Lou Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society about the Japanese Space Agency’s mission Hayabusa. The space craft has travelled billions of miles in space and is expected to finally land near a remote military zone in the Australian state of South Australia.

Music Heard on Air for June 11, 2010

Tunes Spun On The World Between Our Reports For June 11, 2010. Artists featured are, Moriba Koita, Kaouding Cissoko, Zulya, Mr. Chill’R, Lord Newborn, Fussible.

Ikaros and Hayabusa

For today’s Geo Quiz — we want to introduce you to Ikaros and Hayabusa. They’re two Japanese Space Agency missions…

The language of the beautiful game

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In the latest World in Words podcast, it’s not just Brazil vs Spain at the World Cup. It’s Bafana Bafana vs Les Elephants, soccer vs football, cleats vs boots and the coach vs the gaffer. We have stories on the new adidas ball and its globally correct corporate name; on the race to rename streets in South African cities; and on the US-English confrontation off the field: the linguistic battle over soccer terminology. Download MP3

Ethiopian kids talk soccer

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Think you know a thing or two about international soccer? So do these delightful nine-year-old Ethiopian boys that the BBC’s East Africa reporter Will Ross met in the Ethiopian highlands. They don’t speak much English, but they are fluent in the language of soccer. (flickr image of kids in Addis Ababa: hypertornado) Download MP3

Entire program – June 10, 2010

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Today on The World: The Gulf Oil spill as a national security threat; Also, a poker player’s view of nuclear negotiations with North Korea and Iran; Plus, how the official soccer ball of the World Cup has evolved over the years.

Bilateral discontent over BP oil spill

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In Britain, there are growing fears that the nation’s image has been damaged by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. And British politicians say Barack Obama is at least partly to blame because of his remarks about British Petroleum. It’s all prompted British Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene. Cameron will call President Obama this weekend in hopes of improving relations. Laura Lynch reports from London. (image shows David Cameron with President Obama in April) Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• US backlash against BP
• BP’s tarnished image

The murder of albinos in Tanzania

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The East African country of Tanzania is known for its natural beauty and relative stability. But recently it’s become known for something quite macabre — the killings and mutilations of members of Tanzania’s albino population. They’re spurred by a lucrative trade in albino body parts for witchdoctor rituals. The World’s Jeb Sharp reports from Dar es Salaam. Download MP3

• Read more
• Audio slideshow: Senegal’s traditional healers
• Phillip Martin’s reports on albinism

The new World Cup ball

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Adidas’ new ball for the World Cup is named after the isiZulu word for “celebrate” but goaltenders aren’t celebrating. They think that the soccer ball’s flight will be erratic, leading to more goals. Alex Gallafent checked it out. Download MP3 (flickr image: CLF)

• World Cup balls 1970-2010
• World Cup 2010 on The World
• The language of soccer
• World Cup History

World Books Review: A Turkish Delight

The latest novel (now in paperback) from Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk centers on a wealthy Istanbul man who goes against convention and chooses a life governed by passion. The book also proffers a profound depiction of Istanbul, a city whose identity is symbolized by the Bosphorus—a bridge between the Middle East and Europe, Muslim and Christian, traditional and secular. What results is an urban portrait recalling the grimness of Dostoyevsky’s St. Petersburg and the romanticism of Proust’s Paris.

• Subscribe to the World Books podcast via iTunes
• Bill Marx’s Arts Fuse blog