Soviet Wizard of Oz at the Staatsballett Berlin

A new ballet is being performed in Berlin that is based on the Soviet version of the “Wizard of Oz.”

Germany’s 2010 bug

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Remember the Y2K bug? Well, Germany is experiencing a computer glitch, 10 years after millennium bug. It’s a software problem that’s preventing computers from recognizing “2010″ on credit cards. David Hecht checked it out for us. Download MP3

• Financial Times coverage

Fast food in Nigeria

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Mr. Bigg’s is the largest fast food chain in Africa’s most populous country. This Nigerian chain, loosely modeled on McDonald’s, offers hamburgers and French fries as well as local fare. But running a fast food operation is no easy feat in a country beset by mismanagement, corruption, and a lack of infrastructure. David Hecht reports. (Photo: David Hecht) Download MP3

• Mr. Bigg’s website
• Wikipedia: Mr. Bigg’s

African famines examined

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Famines often occur during times of drought, but their causes go much deeper than a lack of rain. With East Africa now facing widespread hunger, we look back at a major food crisis that struck the Western African nation of Niger in 2005. Reporter David Hecht examines the roots of that crisis and finds some of them stretching across Niger’s border, to the neighboring country of Nigeria. Download MP3

• 2005 Niger food crisis
• Niger country profile

Few nations fighting bribery

Twelve years after many Western nations agreed to fight bribery of foreign officials, only four countries are actively enforcing the ban. That’s according to a progress report released today by an anti-corruption watchdog group. David Hecht reports from Berlin. Listen