Kandahar supply lines

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The US military operation in Kandahar is currently focusing on a district to the north, called Arghandab. Arghandab holds the key to controlling the northern roads coming into Kandahar, the area once posed a serious challenge to Soviet military planners, and now NATO troops. Ben Gilbert was in the district last month with troops from the 82nd airborne division. (Photo: Ben Gilbert) Download MP3

• Multimedia: Ben Gilbert’s photos from Arghandab
• BBC map: foreign troops in Afghanistan
• Military base close to the front
• US strategy in Afghanistan

Buddhist teacher for Vietnamese immigrants

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Vietnamese immigrants in California have hired a white American man to teach Buddhism to their kids because they think they will relate to the teacher and to his English. Lisa Napoli reports from Long Beach. (Photo: Lisa Napoli) Download MP3

• Exploring US immigration

Why foreigners like Fanta so much

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When the weather gets hot and humid in America, many people will ask for a Coke or a Pepsi, please. A Fanta? Not so much – but Fanta is right up there with the big boys in Europe, Latin America, and Africa. Brian Palmer wrote about the foreign Fanta phenom in “Slate.” Katy Clark talks with him. Download MP3

• Slate article

Searching for lost frogs

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A major scientific effort to search out frogs around the world is getting underway. Researchers will fan out across 14 countries as part of the U.N. summit on Biodiversity looking for rare frog and toad species that may be on the brink of extinction including the Gastric Brooding Frog. Anchor Katy Clark interviews Conservation International’s Robin Moore about the search for lost frogs. (Photo: David Crosse/Conservation Int.) Download MP3

• Video: Conservation International’s Robin Moore and Don Church talk frogs
• Searching for lost frogs
• A Lifelong Passion for Amphibians
• More on Conservation International

Vampire rock

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In 1979 Peter Murphy sang about the death of a vampire and gave birth to gothic rock. Now Murphy portrays a vampire in the latest ‘Twilight’ film. For today’s Global Hit, Matthew Brunwasser profiles the front man of the seminal gothic rock band Bauhaus. Download MP3

• Peter Murphy talks ‘Twilight’
• Global Hit archive
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• Peter Murphy official page

Aid workers face dangers in Afghanistan

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Anchor Katy Clark speaks with Holly Ritchie, a British aid worker in Afghanistan, about the dangers of humanitarian work there. Ritchie has worked for the group “International Assistance Mission,” which was the target of an attack last week that killed 10 foreign aid workers.

Extreme weather in Europe and Asia

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Monsoon rains are frustrating attempts to get aid to millions of people in a flooded region in Pakistan. China too is struggling with its worst flooding in years. In Russia it’s the opposite problem – too little rain. Heidi Cullen is a research scientist and correspondent at Climate Central. She’s also author of the new book “The Weather of the Future: Heat Waves, Extreme Storms, and Other Scenes from a Climate-Changed Planet.” Cullen speaks to anchor Katy Clark.

• ‘The Weather of the Future’
• Annual Climate Report Shows We Live in a Warming World
  
• Heidi Cullen: The Hottest Summer Ever

US guest worker rights

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Monica Ortiz Uribe reports on a US legal aid group that helps Mexican immigrant workers pursue legal cases to protect their rights. Many of the workers leave the US without pursuing legal action because of their immigration status.

Undocumented Missouri student in immigration limbo

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Yahaira Carrillo has been living in the U.S. illegally since she came here from Mexico at the age of seven. She’s now 25 and has been studying at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri. She could be deported but as today’s New York Times reports, the Obama administration does not seem to be deporting students who came to the U.S. without papers when they were children. Anchor Katy Clark speaks with Ms. Carrillo.

Geo Quiz

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For today’s Geo Quiz, we’re looking for a sacred city in Sri Lanka where a 10-day Buddhist festival, complete with elephants on parade, is taking place.

Geo Answer

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The answer to today’s Geo Quiz is Kandy in Sri Lanka. Buddhists in this city are celebrating Perahara. It’s a 10-day affair with elephant parades and fire-dancing all rolled into one.

• Watch an audio slideshow
• Geo Quiz Archive

Music Heard on Air for August 9, 2010

Tunes Spun On The World Between Our Reports For August 9, 2010. Artists featured are Habib Koite & Bamada, Silina Musango, Ramon Cordero, Ali Farka Toure, Ry Cooder, Kekele.

Global Political Cartoons: August 1 – 7, 2010

This week the digerati try to break from their online lives for a few hours at the beach; the United Arab Emirates’ stone age answer to the digital age; and debating a proposed mosque near the site of the World Trade Center.

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Buddhist festival

Today’s Geo Quiz celebrates the Perahara: It’s a 10-day Buddhist festival with elephant parades and fire-dancing all rolled into one. It gets underway this week in city in central Sri Lanka. That’s the city we want you to name.

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Pakistan’s flooding catastrophe

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Rivers are bursting their banks in Pakistan’s Sindh province, as the worst monsoon rains in 80 years continue to hit Pakistan. More than 4 million people have been affected, and whole villages have been washed away.
For more on the story we hear from The BBC’s Aleem Maqbool.
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• Video: Pakistan’s flood sweeps south
• Video: Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for Pakistan floods
• Map: Pakistan’s flooded areas
• Killer floods in Pakistan