Delivering aid in Haiti still difficult

More than 200 international medical relief groups have sent teams to help the people of Haiti after the devastating earthquake. Now, four weeks after the catastrophe, early spring rains threaten to cause landslides and bring about health problems in the makeshift camps where more than half a million people are living. And delivering aid in Haiti continues to be difficult, we’ll have an update from the Caribbean nation later in the show. (Audio available after 5PM Eastern) (AP Photo:Ramon Espinosa)

• BBC coverage
• On The World: Boston Haitian mother reunited with her son
• The Haitian Revolution podcast

German pensioners ‘kidnapped financial adviser’

It sounds like a plot line for a movie. Four disgruntled senior citizens kidnap and hold hostage their financial advisor after losing a bundle in the US property market. Except it’s not a movie: Two married couples in the German state of Bavaria are accused of the crimes. They’re now on trial (Courtroom photo: Jörg Koch/AFP/Getty Images). Marco Werman finds out more from Bavarian Radio reporter Annette Kuglar. (Audio available after 5PM Eastern)

• BBC coverage
• Deutsche Welle story about the case

Playing “plena” with jazz musician Miguel Zenón

Closing out our show today is music from Puerto Rico. More specifically a style known as plena. Miguel Zenón’s new CD ‘Esta Plena’ is a jazz infused take on this Afro-Carribbean style. The Puerto Rican born Miguel Zenón explains on today’s show. (Audio available after 5PM EST)

• www.miguelzenon.com
• Plena

Haiti Part 2

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We continue our exploration of Haiti’s history into the 19th and 20th centuries. Kate Ramsey of the University of Miami tells us about the diplomatic isolation Haiti faced after independence. She also describes the U.S. occupation of Haiti between 1915 and 1934. Chantalle Verna of Florida International University tells us about the period after the U.S. occupation, sometimes called “Haiti’s Second Independence.” And finally, sociologist Alex Dupuy of Wesleyan University tells us about Haiti under the Duvaliers.Download MP3

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Entire program – February 8, 2010

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Today on The World: US and NATO troops prepare for a major operation against a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan; Also, clandestine dining in Spain that requires a password… or a fingerscan; And a Scottish balladeer with a new take on an old tradition.