This week cartoonists take a jab at President Obama’s attempts to defuse a racial flare-up by inviting the protagonists to the White House for a beer.
They also have fun with global warming fears, North Korea, the stunning corruption scandal in New Jersey, and the news that Microsoft and Yahoo are ganging up on Google.
Cartoonists find poignancy in the timing of the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing and the death of veteran newsman Walter Cronkite. President Obama goes in for some image polishing, North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have a long-distance war of words, and rumors of doping haunt the Tour de France.
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Reports that North Korea’s leader has pancreatic cancer are unconfirmed, but they’re fueling speculation about who will next rule the reclusive communist dictatorship. Listen
This week, why a Pentagon program to recruit more foreign language-speaking soldiers is attracting so many Koreans. Then selling beer North Korean style. After that we give thanks to activist listeners in Gagauz, Tongan, Czech and many other languages. Finally, as Barack Obama heads to Ghana, we head to a beach in Ghana, a beach whose name is hotly debated. Listen
Anchor Lisa Mullins has some advertising news from the Vatican and from North Korea.
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In the lastest podcast, the Obama Administration is moving to boost foreign language speakers at the State Department and the CIA. But at the Pentagon there’s a problem: the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy has resulted in early discharge for more than 300 linguists, including 60 Arabic speakers. Also today, Ukraine wants to change the names of cities named after Soviet heroes, many of them Russian. And a conversation with Jag Bhalla, collector of foreign language idioms. Listen to The World in Words Podcast
The World’s Mary Kay Magistad reports from Beijing on talks between the militaries of China and the U.S. on everything from North Korea’s nuclear program to tensions in the South China Sea. Listen
The son of North Korea’s ailing leader Kim Jong Il was rumored to have visited China’s president last week in Beijing. That’s fueling suspicions that Kim’s third son has been anointed to be North Korea’s next leader. The World’s Mary Kay Magistad has more. Listen
This week cartoonists around the world share the excitement and concern as Iranians prepare to go to the polls. They also respond to North Korea’s latest provocations and the rightward results of the European elections.
North Korea’s recent nuclear test has received condemnation from around the world. But North Korean residents themselves make of it? Despite the difficulties of investigating inside a closed society like North Korea’s, a Japanese magazine called ‘Rimjingang’ managed to get a glimpse behind the facade, helping a few brave people to film inside North Korea. BBC correspondent Roland Buerk went to Osaka to meet the man behind the project, Jiro Ishimaru.
A court in North Korea has sentenced two American journalists to twelve years’ hard labor. The White House says the charges are without merit and the journalists should be freed. The World’s Jason Margolis has the story. Listen
“A New Beginning” is the theme of this week’s global political cartoons. It was the title of the speech President Barack Obama gave in Cairo when he addressed Muslims around the world. But it could easily describe the message of the GM bankruptcy and reports out of South Korea that North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il has nominated his third and youngest son, 26-year-old Jong-Un, as his successor.
On this week’s podcast, we focus exclusively on North Korea. There are signs that Kim Jong-il may be paving the way for his third son, Kim Jong-un, to take over power. Also, we hear about two American journalists set to go on trial in Pyongyang for entering North Korea illegally. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be in a North Korean prison, then this is the podcast for you. We speak with a former US Navy Officer who spent more than 11 months in one after the ship he was on was captured in 1968. Read more…
