11/06/2012
PRI’s The World: 11/06/2012 (South Africa, China, Canada)
Election Day is under way in the US. We find out how voters in New York City are making their way to the polls. Also, China’s Communist Party is on the verge of selecting the leaders who will likely be in power for the next decade. And from New Zealand, scientists have identified remains of what may be the world’s rarest whale.
Voting Poses Challenges to Storm-Battered Russian Immigrants
The damage done when Hurricane Sandy slammed into the immigrant neighborhood of Brighton Beach has hung around for voting day. Host Aaron Schachter talks with a poll watcher and an election coordinator at the Shorefront Jewish Community Center in Brighton Beach.
Why the US Election is Important for Iran
The World’s Marco Werman speaks with staff from the BBC’s Persian Service about why the US election is so important for Iran. Pooneh Ghoddoosi is a host at the BBC Persian Service; Amir Azimi, who speaks first, is News Editor.
The Implications of the US Election for Israel
The World’s Matthew Bell reports on the implications of the election for Israel, and on support there for both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.
Election Sentiment in Europe
For a view on the US elections in Europe we spoke to Amy Bracken in Paris and Gerry Hadden in Barcelona.
Scientists Find What’s Believed to be Rarest Whale Species: The Spade-Toothed Beaked Whale
Two years after they washed up on a New Zealand beach, scientists have identified two whale carcasses as members of what they believe is the world’s rarest whale species: the spade-toothed beaked whale.
China Braces for New Leadership
The Chinese People’s Congress meets this week to select a new set of leaders for the country. The decisions will all be made behind closed doors. Security is massively tight. As The World’s Beijing correspondent Mary Kay Magistad tells anchor Aaron Schachter, it couldn’t be more different from what’s happening in the US.
South Africans Watch the US Vote
We hear from The World’s Anders Kelto is in Capetown, South Africa, for a look at how the US election is playing there.
New South African Currency Honors Mandela
South Africa has introduced some brand new banknotes. For the first time, the country is honoring former president Nelson Mandela by putting his picture on the currency. The Governor of the South African Reserve Bank spent some of crisp new Rand bills at a local market in the South African city where the national Reserve Bank is headquartered.
The Challenges of Elections in India
If you think lines are long at your polling station, imagine what things must be like when over 700 million people come out to vote. Hartosh Bal, political editor of the Indian newsweekly Open, talks about the extraordinary challenges faced by election officials in the worlds biggest democracy, and why such a high percentage of Indians from all classes enthusiastically participate.
New Saudi Interior Minister Moves Up Succession Ladder
The appointment of Prince Mohammed bin Nayef as interior minister represents a significant move in the complex political chess game that is being played out in the Saudi royal family.
Alistair Cooke’s ‘Letters from America’ Go Online
British journalist Alistair Cooke is perhaps best known as the long-time host of PBS’s Masterpiece Theater. But he also sent hundreds of audio letters back to Britain during the decades he reported from the United States. Clark Boyd samples some of Cooke’s “Letters from America.”
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