Entire program – September 8, 2010

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Today on The World: French President Nicolas Sarkozy defies massive protests and union threats over a plan to raise the retirement age; Also, a public school in California is set to launch a full, K-12 Arabic-language immersion program; Plus, people in poor countries could soon have access to a quick and inexpensive new eye test via cellphone.

France protests over pensions to continue

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Following large protest marches over pension reforms, the labor unions in France agreed today to call another day of strikes and protests on September 23, raising the stakes in the showdown with Nicolas Sarkozy. The French president promised that the pension reform bill now before parliament could be tweaked to account for special cases but he refused to budge on the core elements of the reform. Anita Elash reports. Download MP3

• BBC video: Strike over French pension reforms

Arabic immersion school teams up with FBI

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Some kindergartners in California spend half their days learning Arabic. Muslim immigrant families there like the program but they’re troubled by the school’s partnership – with the FBI. Hana Baba from station KALW in San Francisco has the second part of our ‘Learning in two languages’ series.
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• Slideshow for this story
• Part one: Native Spanish speakers in Southern California
• Learning in two languages series
• The World in Words podcast

MIT develops smartphone-based eye exam

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MIT’s Media Lab is working on a project that could help people in poor countries get their eyes tested using a cellphone. Anchor Marco Werman travelled to the Media Lab to interview researcher Ramesh Raskar and get his eyes checked using the new technology. Download MP3

• Video: See Anchor Marco Werman get an eye exam at MIT
• More on MIT’s NETRA technology
• In The World: Easy on the eyes
• Video: BBC ‘Smart vision for mobile phones in the developing world’

P.K. 14

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Our Global Hit is about a Chinese band that stands out to both Chinese and foreign audiences. The band is called ‘P.K. 14′, and its music has been called post-punk. But its lead singer says he’s been influenced by everything from Bob Dylan and Motown to the Beat Generation and French existentialism. Mary Kay Magistad reports from Beijing. Download MP3

• Video: ‘Some Surprises Happen Too Soon’ by P.K. 14
• P.K. 14 on MySpace
• Global Hit archive
• Global Hit on Facebook

Chinese leader meets US officials

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Chinese president, Hu Jintao, met with senior US officials, including Larry Summers, director of President Obama’s National Economic Council today. The US and China have disagreed about a number of economic matters, like trade imbalances and currency policies. Anchor Marco Werman finds out more from Washington Post Asia diplomatic correspondent John Pomfret.

Global economic outlook still tepid

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Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Simon Johnson, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund about the current global economic outlook. Johnson says that despite some good news internationally, the global economic outlook remains tepid.

• Global Economy podcast

‘Mohammed’ cartoonist gets German media prize

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Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard penned a controversial cartoon of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed a few years ago. It sparked protests from Muslims in several countries. Now Westergaard has been awarded a German media prize. The award fuels the ongoing debate about Islam and freedom of the press. Anchor Marco Werman has details.

• Global Political Cartoons on The World

Geo Quiz

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Our daily geography puzzler.

European State of the Union

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The World’s Clark Boyd reports on the European Union’s first ever “State of the Union” address from EU President Jose Manuel. EU officials hoped for an inspiring speech but they were also worried about how many European members of parliament would actually show up to hear it.

Geo Answer

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The answer to today’s Geoquiz is Nairobi, Kenya, where cell phone users are chatting up a storm following a drastic drop in cell phone rates. The arrival of an India-based telecom giant has triggered a price war. Anchor Marco Werman finds out more from the BBC’s Josphat Makori.

• Geo Quiz Archive