World News

World News

Dozens Of ISIS Hostages Freed And Sent To Turkey

2:28am September 21, 2014

The militant group calling itself the Islamic State released 49 hostages, most of them Turkish. NPR's Arun Rath talks to NPR Middle East Correspondent Deborah Amos about what the release signals.

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Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, center, poses with dozens of freed Turkish hostages at the Esenboga Airport in Ankara Saturday. The group was held by militants in northern Iraq for more than three months.

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Dozens Of Turkish Hostages Freed, As ISIS Advances In Syria

2:14pm September 20, 2014

by Bill Chappell

The hostages included diplomats, children and others seized along with Turkey's consulate in Mosul in June. As it celebrates their return, Turkey also receives thousands of Kurds fleeing ISIS.

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From 'Yes' To 'No': One Scot's Shift On Independence

11:16am September 20, 2014

Scottish author Ewan Morrison started out campaigning for the "yes" vote in the independence referendum, but ended up in the "no" camp. He talks with NPR's Scott Simon about what made him make the jump.

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Organizers Hope U.N. Climate March Will Be Largest In History

11:16am September 20, 2014

by Joel Rose

Hundreds of thousands are expected at a march in New York City ahead of the United Nations climate summit. Organizers want to send a message to world leaders that it's time to take concrete action.

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Analyst: U.S. Needs To 'Deconflict' Syria To Defeat ISIS

11:16am September 20, 2014

How does the U.S. destroy the self-declared Islamic State without aiding the Syrian regime? NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Christopher Harmer of the Institute for the Study of War about options.

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Pro-independence demonstrators shout slogans outside the Catalan parliament on Friday in Barcelona, Spain. The Catalan parliament has approved rules for a self-determination referendum — which would violate the Spanish constitution.

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Over Spain's Objections, Catalonia Plans Referendum On Independence

11:16am September 20, 2014

by Lauren Frayer

Now that Scotland has voted to stay in the U.K., attention is turning to another separatist movement. Emboldened by the peaceful Scottish referendum, Catalans are planning a vote in November.

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During the three-day lockdown, the government of Sierra Leone is sending teams of workers door-to-door to talk to people about how to protect themselves from Ebola.

Workers Hand Out Soap And Advice As Sierra Leone Locks Down

11:16am September 20, 2014

by Anders Kelto

Under the country's three-day experiment to control the deadly Ebola virus, people must stay home while health care teams go door-to-door to spread the word on prevention.

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Venetians celebrate during the Festa del Redentore in Venice. The festival began in 1576 when the Republic's Senate voted to build a church on the Giudecca Island to Christ the Redeemer to thank God for the city's deliverance from the Plague.

Ebola Battlers Can Learn From Venice's Response To Black Death

7:03am September 20, 2014

by Christopher Shea

The city fathers didn't understand the plague they faced in the Middle Ages. Yet they improvised brilliantly. A new paper explains how their mindset is a model for how to face an unknown threat.

Dance therapy? Mamadee, 11, made everyone happy at the Ebola treatment center with his dancing. He made a full recovery.

WATCH: The Boy Who Danced In The Face Of Ebola

6:03am September 20, 2014

by Michaeleen Doucleff

A nugget of joy in the battle against Ebola: A little boy infected with the virus dances his way through treatment — and he's really good.

An Indian Kashmiri man in Srinagar uses a rope to cross over floodwaters in early September.

Social Media Get The Right Stuff To India's Flood Victims

6:55pm September 19, 2014

by Rhitu Chatterjee

Waters rose as high as two and three stories in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. People were trapped. They needed supplies, and #jkfloodrelief came to the rescue.