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.

NATO prepares big offensive against Taliban

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Hundreds of villagers living in a Taliban-controled area of southern Afghanistan are leaving before a major NATO-led offensive gets under way. It is expected to be one of the largest counter-insurgency operations since the Afghan conflict began in 2001. The operation to clear insurgents from the southern town of Marjah, in Helmand province, is expected to begin soon. The BBC’s Frank Gardner is 90 miles east of Marjah in Kandahar. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• On The World: President Obama’s Afghanistan plan
• NATO media photos from Afghanistan

Chinese popular with American students

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Medgar Evers College Preparatory School is a public school in central Brooklyn, NY. Most of its student population is African American and Afro-Caribbean. The school runs one of the largest Chinese language programs for students not from a Chinese background in the US. The World’s Alex Gallafent went back to school for us. Download MP3

• Alex Gallafent’s photos from the Brooklyn school
• From the NY Times: Will Americans Really Learn Chinese?
• The World in Words

Clandestine dining in Spain

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The police in Barcelona recently raided a suspicious looking dry cleaners. It was late at night and something fishy was going on. People were going in. But they weren’t coming out. It had all the makings of a front for some illegal business. Turns out it was a front. But the cops didn’t find anything nefarious. Just people eating dinner. The World’s Gerry Hadden explains. Download MP3

• Watch an undercover video of the secret restaurants

Karine Polwart

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Scottish singer Karine Polwart crafts songs which combine the Scots ballad tradition with contemporary issues to create a sound utterly her own. Her skill as a songwriter and the power of her singing have propelled her to the forefront of the traditional music scene in Scotland. Now working as a solo artist, Polwart previously performed with the band Malinky (which she founded), MacAlias, and as the lead singer for The Battlefield Band. She talks with Marco Werman about her music and the Scottish ballad tradition in our Boston studio. Download MP3

• Watch a video of Karine singing in our studios
• www.karinepolwart.com/

Training the Afghan police force

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US led forces in Afghanistan are increasing their efforts to train a professional Afghan national police force. But as the CBC’s Derek Stoffel reports from Kandahar, that force is plagued by corruption and low pay.

Parsing the Ukrainian presidential election results

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Viktor Yanukovich won yesterday’s presidential runoff in Ukraine. He was the loser in Ukraine’s Orange Revolution back in 2004. But times have changed. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Mykola Riabchuk of the Uraine Center for Cultural Studies in Kiev about yesterday’s election results.

Silver scribblers

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Anchor Marco Werman tells us about a Ukrainian writer who lives in England. Marina Lewycka was nearly 60 when her first book was published. And now she’s backing a British campaign to encourage older people to join book clubs and even write their own novels.

The perils of “my way”

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Anchor Marco Werman has details on how the song “My Way” has become deadly to sing in Philippine karaoke bars.

Geo Quiz

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Where will our Geo Quiz take us today?

Internet use and depression

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Are you on the Internet because you’re depressed, or are you depressed because you’re spending too much time on the Internet? Anchor Marco Werman discusses the question with The World’s Clark Boyd.

Geo answer

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Today’s Geo Quiz links North, Central, and South America. The answer is the American Cordilleran System. Jacob Thompson and some friends rode the whole thing on their mountain bikes. He tells us about their trip.