Entire program – September 30, 2010

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Today on The World: Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf prepares a political comeback; Also, Brazil may elect its first ever female president this weekend; Plus, a conversation about Canadian oil sands and their effect on local indigenous tribes, with Avatar director James Cameron;

Pakistan’s comeback kid?

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Pakistan has been dragged down by natural disaster, violence, and political discord. That may sound like opportunity to Pervez Musharraf. Just two years ago, the former president faced impeachment. Now, with Pakistan unraveling, the former general is launching a new political party. Laura Lynch will have more in today’s show. Download MP3 (Photo: Michael Eleftheriades)
Musharraf talked with The World’s Marco Werman in October 2009. Listen again >>>

Avatar director on environmental mission

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Film director James Cameron wants to shine a light on a dangerous and environmentally damaging oil-extraction process in Canada. The ‘Avatar’ director set out on a fact-finding mission this week to the oil sands in Alberta, meeting with government officials and local residents. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with Cameron about his latest off-screen project. Download MP3

Iraq’s Navy

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Iraqi Navy was almost completely destroyed during the 1990 Gulf War. Following the 2003 invasion, American and British forces have been slowly rebuilding Iraq’s naval capabilities. The Navy is the smallest division of the Iraqi military but because its mission is to protect Iraq’s oil exports, it is strategically important to the country’s economy. Reporter Susannah George reports from Basra. Download MP3 (Photo: Susannah George)

Rahim Alhaj

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

For the Global Hit, The World’s Marco Werman speaks with Iraqi musician Rahim Alhaj about his new recording “Little Earth,” and why the consequences of the wars in Iraq will always lend a melancholy to his music. Download MP3

Slapstick Geo Quiz

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Laurel And Hardy were huge back in the 1930′s and 40′s. Their slapstick was a hit throughout the US and Europe. Ollie, the wide one, was born in Georgia. And Stan, the skinny one, was born in ?? For the Geo Quiz, name the county in Northwest England. Download MP3

Pakistan blocks NATO supply route

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with the BBC’s Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad about Pakistan’s decision today to close a vital border crossing into Afghanistan, cutting off a NATO military supply line. The move followed a NATO helicopter raid in which Pakistan says three of its soldiers were killed.

Brazil may elect first female president

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
A former Marxist guerilla is poised to become Brazil’s first-ever female president. Reporter Solana Pyne has a profile of Dilma Rousseff, the front-runner in Brazil’s presidential race.

Khodorkovsky and the rule of law in Russia

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Russian president Dmitri Medvedev asserted himself this week by firing Moscow’s powerful mayor. Now he faces another test — what to do about Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He’s the one-time billionaire oligarch who ran afoul of Vladimir Putin and is now in prison. Reporter Eric Niiler speaks with Khodorkovsky’s lawyers.

Gates and Buffet pushing philanthropy in China

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
US moguls Bill Gates and Warren Buffett hosted a private dinner in Beijing on Wednesday for some of China’s newly rich to talk about giving their money away. China’s communist years put an end to the idea of philanthropy, so today’s new millionaires and billionaires want to hang on to their fortunes. Gates and Buffet want to change that. Anchor Lisa Mullins finds out more from the BBC’s Michael Bristow.

Progress in Iraq

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Anchor Lisa Mullins talks with Anthony Shadid, Baghdad correspondent for the New York Times, about the stalled progress in Iraq’s ability to take over the reigns from US forces. Iraqis are still unable to form a government nearly seven months after elections, and insurgent violence is not going away.

Music Heard for September 30, 2010

Tunes Spun On The World Between Our Reports For September 30, 2010. Artists featured are Yoshida Brothers, Chicha Libre, Anthony Rouchier, Etran Finatawa.

Global Political Cartoons: September 23 – 30, 2010

Kim Jong Il annoints his youngest son to be next in line; the Arab-Israeli negotiations are unsettled by settlements; and a computer worm infects Iran.

• Watch the slideshow
• Subscribe to our multimedia feed on iTunes

Entire program – September 29, 2010

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Today on The World: We find out the details about an alleged terrorist plot against cities in Europe and possibly the United States; Also, protests in Europe against plans to cut government benefits for workers throughout the continent; Plus, China’s growing taste for pork raises some serious environmental concerns.

• Music heard on the air

European workers protest austerity measures

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Thousands of protesters from across Europe are taking part in a mass demonstration in Brussels against spending cuts by some EU governments. Other protests against austerity measures are being held in Greece, Italy, Ireland and Latvia. A general strike is also taking place in Spain, hitting transport and other public services. Trade unions say EU workers may become the biggest victims of a financial crisis set off by bankers and traders. The World’s Gerry Hadden reports. Download MP3
>>In pictures: Europe’s mass protest