NPR Topics: World

Direct Flights Take Off Between China, Taiwan

While the U.S. celebrates its freedom this Fourth of July weekend, there's a new freedom being inaugurated a half a world away. Direct weekend flights between mainland China and Taiwan start this weekend. It's the clearest sign of rapprochement since the two sides split apart in 1949.

Irish, S. African Leaders Share Lessons With Iraqis

Sunni and Shiite leaders will meet in Iraq with Martin McGuinne, the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and former IRA leader, and Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African negotiator who helped end apartheid. They have been meeting privately with Iraq's politicians for two years to try and hammer out an agreement on reconciliation.

Clarke: Negotiate With Pakistan To Staunch Al-Qaida

June was the deadliest month for U.S. troops since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001. Much of the spike in violence is attributed to a resurgent Taliban and al-Qaida. Richard Clarke, a top counterterrorism adviser, talks about how the United States could reduce the threat from these groups.

Africa's Oldest National Park In Crisis

Virunga National Park in Central Africa is located in what has become a war zone. Its trees are being cut down to support a lucrative, militia-controlled charcoal trade. If the destruction continues unchecked, most of the trees in southern Virunga will be gone in a decade.

SambAsia Grows In China

Originally created in San Francisco to unite Asians and Latinos, SambAsia has attracted a serious following in Beijing. We dance our way through this lively version of Samba, which creates unlikely partnerships.

What Chinese Men Really Think of Western Women

Chinese women complain that Western guys use them as private interpreters; Western women worry about being much bigger than their Chinese boyfriends. An American expat in Beijing goes undercover to find out what dating in China really entails.

Records 'Too Dangerous' To Stay In Iraq

Some Iraq government officials accused Kanan Makiya of looting, when he gave Baathist documents to the Hoover Institution for safe keeping. He says that because the records rate Iraqis according to their loyalty to Saddam Hussein, it's too dangerous to leave them in Iraq.

U.S. Opens Embassy in Germany

U.S. diplomats and German politicians have been emphasizing the important symbolism of the new building and its location next to the Brandenburg Gate. Germans seem less convinced.

Betancourt Welcomed Back To France

The former Colombian presidential candidate is back in France Friday, six years after being taken hostage by the FARC. She received a hero's welcome from French President Nicolas Sarkozy and told her supporters she "cries with joy."

Colombian Military Basks in Glory of Incredible Rescue

Commandos fooled the hostages' captors in an elaborate scheme that involved a mole, false radio commands and tricking FARC operatives into thinking helicopters were part of a humanitarian mission. How did they come up with such a plan?