World News

A Bangladeshi worker participates in a protest outside a garment factory in Dhaka.

World News

The Tragic Number That Got Us All Talking About Our Clothing

5:31pm December 26, 2013

by Caitlin Kenney

As 2013 wraps up, NPR is looking at the numbers that tell this year's story. The number 1,134 got us all talking about where our clothes come from, who's making it, and under what conditions. It's the official death toll of the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh.

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South Sudanese troops have retaken the flashpoint town of Bor, north of the capital Juba.

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Clashes Continue In South Sudan Despite Calls For Cease-Fire

10:41am December 26, 2013

by Gregory Warner

Amid fighting between government soldiers and rebels in an oil-rich part of the country, President Salva Kiir appealed for peace at a Christmas celebration in a church in the country's capital. The past week of violence has left thousands dead and tens of thousands displaced.

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The Secret Protectionism Buried Inside NAFTA

7:49am December 26, 2013

by Zoe Chace

In order to get the North American Free Trade Agreement signed 20 years ago, a specific trade-off was made. The trade-off would not protect U.S. jobs from moving overseas.

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World News

Nativity Scenes Liven Centuries-Old French Village

7:04pm December 25, 2013

by Eleanor Beardsley

The small French village of Flavigny was dark and quiet around Christmas time until a resident organized a Nativity wonderland. There are 85 Nativity scenes in the windows of village houses and a treasure map to help visitors find them.

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Turkish Leaders Resign In Anti-Graft Probe, Erdogan Claims Conspiracy

4:47pm December 25, 2013

Three government ministers in Turkey have resigned in a corruption scandal. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has denounced the anti-graft investigation as part of an international conspiracy. For more on the political developments, Robert Siegel speaks with Turkish columnist and television commentator Astli Aydintasbas.

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High Numbers Of Casualties Tell The Story In Iraq

1:17pm December 24, 2013

We're using numbers to highlight some of the stories of 2013. We look now at the situation in Iraq and the number is 6,639. Steve Inkseep talks to William Dunlop of Agence France-Presse, which has been compiling numbers of those killed and wounded in Iraq.

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Laura and Thanos Ntoumanis recently moved from Greece to Germany, where Thanos, a psychiatrist, got a job.

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With Its Economy Hobbled, Greece's Well-Educated Drain Away

6:54pm December 23, 2013

by Joanna Kakissis

Since the start of its financial crisis, Greece has been exporting some of its most highly trained professionals. Thanos Ntoumanis is just one of thousands of medical professionals who have left their struggling homeland for jobs in Western Europe.

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Syrian Activist Seeks Support From Syrian-Americans

5:00pm December 22, 2013

Raed Fares, a pro-democracy activist from the Syrian town of Kafr Nabl, has helped lead that town's anti-government protests since the very early days of the Syrian conflict in 2011. This week, Fares is in the U.S., on only his second trip outside of Syria. Fares is attempting to rebuild support for the revolution among Syrian Americans. He speaks with NPR's Arun Rath about the conflict and the toll it has taken on his town.

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Israeli Startup Offers Kids Social Media Training Wheels

9:14am December 22, 2013

by Emily Harris

Most social networks require users to be at least 13. But Itay Eshet's daughter, like many kids, wanted to join Facebook when she was just 10. So Eshet created a site just for younger kids, designed to protect them from bullying and other risks while teaching them to navigate social media safely.

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Russian Amnesty Decision Made Before Start Of Winter Olympics

11:13am December 20, 2013

Two members of the Russian activist band Pussy Riot and billionaire Mikhail Khordorkovsky are expected to be released from prison by Russian President Vladimir Putin. David Greene talks to reporter Masha Gessen about whether this move signals a liberalizing trend, or is simply a calculation ahead of the 2014 Olympics.

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