World News

World News

'Running Away Is The Best Policy': Syrian Refugee Recalls Journey To Greece

7:11pm August 14, 2015

NPR's Melissa Block speaks with Soufian Almobark, who fled Aleppo, Syria, about his difficult journey to the Greek island of Lesbos, and the squalid conditions in the camp.

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Letters: Greek Migrants, Summer Movies

6:21pm August 14, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel and Melissa Block read listener letters, including reaction to an interview about boatloads of migrants washing up on the Greek Island of Chios, and a Bob Mondello piece about good movies to cool you off on a hot summer's day.

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Japanese Prime Minister Expresses 'Profound Grief' For WWII Aggression

6:21pm August 14, 2015

by Anthony Kuhn

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued a statement Friday marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Asian countries, who were invaded by Japan during the war, closely watched the speech.

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Secretary Of State John Kerry Raises Flag At Reopened U.S. Embassy In Cuba

6:21pm August 14, 2015

by Michele Kelemen

Secretary of State John Kerry raises a flag at the reopened U.S. Embassy in Havana on Friday, marking a change in relations between the Cold War era foes.

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U.S. Investigates Reports ISIS Used Chemical Weapons In Attack On Kurds

6:21pm August 14, 2015

by Tom Bowman

The United States is investigating reports that self-declared Islamic State fighters used a chemical agent, possibly mustard gas, in an attack on Kurdish forces in Iraq earlier this week.

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World News

Prime Minister Abe Wants Japan To Cast Off Post-War Guilt

5:03pm August 14, 2015

by Anthony Kuhn

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to make a statement Friday marking the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender in WWII. Japan's cabinet will approve the statement before he delivers it.

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Valdelice Da Silva Dias Salum, 77, says she channels the spirits of famous painters to create her artwork.

World News

Brazil's Mediums Channel Dead Artists. Is It Worship Or Just Delusion?

4:53pm August 14, 2015

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

Mediums say they can tap into the spirits of famous artists and authors to create new works. In other countries, it might be called fraud. In Brazil, it's considered a form of religious worship.

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Immigration Officials Arrest 50 Suspected Of Human Rights Violations

4:01pm August 14, 2015

by Scott Neuman

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says the suspects are believed to have been involved in torture and aiding regimes that carried out ethnic cleansing.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows after delivering an address marking the 70th anniversary of World War II's end for his country. Abe noted Japan's continued grief over the war, but he also said future generations shouldn't be compelled to apologize

World News

Japan's Abe Notes Regret And Past Apologies In WWII Speech

3:17pm August 14, 2015

by Bill Chappell

Abe stopped short of renewing apologies extended by his predecessors, and he said he doesn't want future generations to be "predestined to apologize" for the war.

Meihua and her parents shared a room at a temporary school following the earthquake. She's shown here with her mother in 2009, a year after the quake.

World News

Rebuilding A Life Shattered By An Earthquake In China

2:49pm August 14, 2015

by Melissa Block

NPR's Melissa Block was in China when a major earthquake hit in 2008. As she wraps up her time as host of All Things Considered, she reconnects with a Chinese girl who has overcome great challenges.

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