Archive for November, 2012
Astronomer Tycho Brahe ‘Not Poisoned’
New research suggests that Tycho Brahe, the Danish astronomer who died more than 400 years ago, was not felled by mercury poisoning.
Uruguay’s ‘Poor’ President
For our Geo Quiz Thursday we travel to the capital of Uruguay. BBC Mundo’s Vladimir Hernandez profiles Uruguay’s president Jose Mujica, who’s been called the world’s “poorest” president. He gives away most of his salary, and lives on a ramshackle farm just outside Uruguay’s capital instead of a presidential palace.
China’s New Leadership Unveiled
Meet the new leaders of China’s Communist Party. At the top is the incoming president, Xi Jinping. He’s 59, the son of a well-known reformer but most of the other leaders introduced at Thursday’s news conference are older and conservative.
‘Somewhere Between’: Adopted from China, Coming of Age in US
About 80,000 girls have been adopted from China into American families in recent decades. A new documentary, “Somewhere Between,” follows four of those girls as teenagers coming to terms with who they are and where they come from. The World’s Jeb Sharp caught up with the filmmaker and three of her subjects at a recent screening in Boston.
Environment Roundup: BP Agrees to $4.5 Billion Gulf Oil Spill Settlement; Obama Talks Climate
Four and a half billion dollars. That’s what the British oil giant BP has agreed to pay today to settle federal criminal charges stemming from its massive 2010 oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The World’s Environment Editor Peter Thomson has been following this developing story as well as the rest of the week’s environmental news.
Women Candidates in Sierra Leone Face Intimidation
Sierra Leoneans head to the polls this weekend for parliamentary elections. But they won’t see many women on the ballot. As Bonnie Allen reports, female candidates face intimidation and discrimination. And it doesn’t end once they’re elected.
Ahmed Gallab’s Sinkane: Searching for Sudanese Roots
Ahmed Gallab was born in Sudan and raised in the US. In his early 20s he gained a measure of indie-rock fame playing with groups such as Of Montreal and Yeasayer. But it’s his solo project Sinkane that seems to be drawing him back to his African roots.
Music Heard on the Air for November 15, 2012
Tunes spun on The World between our reports for November 15, 2012. Artists featured are: Kalaban Coura, Mocean Worker, Toubab Krewe, Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra, Sinkane.
PRI’s The World: 11/14/2012 (Israel, Europe, Britain)
Israel kills a top Hamas military leader in Gaza, amid concerns about escalating violence in the region. Also, with its top brass tarnished, the US military re-examines its leadership. Plus, a British scientist who’s working on developing a sixth sense.
Israel Kills Head of Hamas Military Wing
The head of the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, Ahmed Said Khalil al-Jabari, has been killed during a series of Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip. He and another senior Hamas official died when the car they were traveling in was hit in Gaza City. Israel says it’s the start of a broader operation, fueling concerns about a larger conflict.
Is the US Military Suffering from a Leadership Crisis?
Long before the recent scandals involving Generals Petraeus and Allen, concern over the quality of US military leadership has been growing. We speak with Martin L. Cook, who is a professor of professional military ethics at the US Naval War College in Rhode Island.
Sex and Power in the US Military
The turmoil at the Pentagon and the CIA speaks volumes about the US military’s attitude toward women, says Helen Benedict, a professor at Columbia University’s School of Journalism and the author of “The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq.”
Engineering Extra Senses: Technology and the Human Body
Sight, sound, touch, smell, taste. We interact with the world and navigate through it thanks to our senses. But what if we could add to that repertoire? A British scientist and a small group of enthusiasts are exploring ways to do just that. Ari Daniel Shapiro of our partner program NOVA reports.
Music Heard on Air for Novmber 14, 2012
Tunes spun on The World between our reports for November 14, 2012. Artists featured are: Jamshied Sharifi, Kila, Kaya Project,Toubab Krewe, Kerekes Band, Silina Musango, Mory Kante, Jose Zeca Neves.
Thousands in Europe Protest Spending Cuts, Rising Unemployment
Across Europe today, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest government spending cuts and rising unemployment.The biggest protests took place in some of the nations hardest-hit by the financial crisis, like Italy, Greece and Spain. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with the World’s Gerry Hadden in the Spanish city of Barcelona.
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