World Audio/Video - NPR

NPR's David Kestenbaum returned recently from several months teaching journalism in Cambodia. The country is undergoing rapid change but it is still unclear and somewhat ambivalent about the concept of a free press.

As the physical reminders of the massive earthquake that killed thousands of school children are swept away, Chinese officials are waging a campaign to tamp down on potential unrest among survivors and bereaved parents.

In Paris, Sen. Barack Obama and French President Nicholas Sarkozy stressed areas of commonality. Obama declined to directly criticize President Bush while he is abroad and emphasized that Iran should promptly agree to a deal on its nuclear program.

Five months after a new government swept into power, Pakistan is in crisis. No one seems to be in charge — especially when it comes to an anti-Taliban strategy. The new prime minister is due to meet President Bush, but Washington may be talking to the wrong person.

Five months after a new democratically elected government swept into power, Pakistan is facing a deep crisis and widespread criticism that nobody seems to be doing anything about the problems.

A Chinese company has spent nearly $50 million to gain a shipping foothold in the heart of Europe, taking over a German cargo airport. Chinese goods may soon be assembled nearby in order to receive a coveted "Made in Germany" label.

Sen. Barack Obama drew a crowd of more than 200,000 people for a speech in Berlin. The Democratic presidential hopeful called on the U.S. and Europe to mend frayed ties and called for efforts at "shared security" in Afghanistan.

When 89-year-old Jack Tagg began losing his vision, Britain's National Health Service told him he would have to go blind in one eye before it would pay for treatment. In a public campaign, the World War II pilot took on the government — and won.

The Chinese government is training 300,000 cheerleaders in the hopes that their peppy slogans will drown out any embarrassing lapses in sportsmanship at the Beijing Olympics. Still, such conformist cheerleading invites comparison to China's mass campaigns of the past.

U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes, back from a visit to Myanmar, says rebuilding efforts are under way after May's deadly cyclone. But Holmes says relief and recovery operations still have a long way to go.

Britain's ruling Labour Party has lost a parliamentary seat in Glasgow East, a traditional Labour stronghold in Scotland. The defeat has fueled talk that Prime Minister Gordon Brown could be ousted.

The Bush administration is considering shifting more than $200 million intended for counterterrorism to help Pakistan make improvements to its fleet of F-16 jets. Congressional critics question claims that enhanced F-16s will be useful in the fight against terrorists.

Pressure to send more troops into Afghanistan presents military planners with a logistical challenge. Factor in training and recovery time — and a "surge" in Afghanistan isn't likely until the spring of 2009.

Taliban militants are gaining strength and power around the northern Pakistan city of Peshawar. As the group expands its control, it is having a direct impact on U.S. and NATO military operations in Afghanistan.

Radovan Karadzic's arrest on war crimes charges was met with a burst of celebration in the streets of Sarajevo, which suffered a brutal siege at the hands of Bosnian Serb militias loyal to Karadzic during the Bosnian war. But many citizens of Sarajevo are bitter that he was able to live on the lam for 13 years.

Both John McCain and Barack Obama support nuclear disarmament of Russia. McCain, however, wants to go one step further, kicking Russia out of the G-8.

As head of the Serbian Democratic Party in 1990, Radovan Karadzic was still expressing moderate views. Hard-line nationalism was the ascendant ideology in Serb circles, however, and soon he was spewing anti-Muslim invective. Whether he believed his own hateful words is another question.

The presidential hopeful addressed an expansive crowd Thursday near the site where the Berlin Wall once stood, calling on the U.S. and Europe to build new bridges of partnership. "The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand," Obama said, alluding to often strained relations between Europe and the U.S. under President Bush.

Coke is a big business all around the world. But in Africa, the soda is so pervasive that it acts like a key indicator of political stability. In other words, if you can't get a Coke somewhere, you might want to get out of the country — fast. We examine this unusual political indicator.

On the day Democratic candidate Barack Obama arrives in Germany, residents offer their views of the United States and the presidential candidates. One man asks, "Why should I care?"

A special election Thursday in Scotland will be a crucial test for U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The parliamentary seat of Glasgow East is in a traditional stronghold of the ruling Labour Party. But polls are forecasting a defeat for Labour, which could force the unpopular Brown to step down.

Barack Obama is in Germany, where he will meet German leader Angela Merkel. The likely Democratic presidential nominee will also give the only public speech of his weeklong foreign tour, at a Berlin park. On Friday, he'll visit France. Journalists Stefan Kornelius in Germany and Jean Lesieur in France talk about Obama's expected reception in Europe.

A legendary French winery is purchasing a famous winemaker in California. The deal comes decades after the same California winery beat French wines in a blind taste test. Vic Motto, a wine industry investment banker, says it's "a very important merger of two great wine estates."

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has joined forces with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to fight tobacco use in developing countries. Gates donated $125 million to a tobacco-control initiative that Bloomberg launched in 2002.

Just a few years ago in Spain, bullfighting appeared to be on its way out. Many people, especially younger Spaniards, were telling pollsters that they just weren't interested. But the sport is regaining cachet — largely thanks to a new breed of bullfighters.

As the Olympics approach, a poll finds the vast majority of Chinese are satisfied with their country's direction. The Pew Research Center conducted face-to-face interviews with more than 3,000 Chinese. But China's stunning economic growth is also raising concerns about rising prices and the income gap.

The first Guantanamo Bay war crimes trial has started. A military jury viewed a video of the defendant Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's former driver, kneeling before a masked U.S. soldier, denying that he worked for al-Qaida. The videotape was recorded in Afghanistan shortly after Hamdan's capture in November 2001.

The Bush administration is now talking to governments it once shunned. The secretary of state met with the North Korean foreign minister this week; the undersecretary participated in talks with Iran's nuclear negotiator last weekend. The new approach has angered critics, but it doesn't extend to all "problem countries."

After he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Jeff Rubin of Philadelphia went bankrupt paying for his medical bills. Would that happen in England? Both the U.S. and the U.K. ration health care. A look at patient experiences on either side of the Atlantic.

Barack Obama has met with top Israeli and Palestinian officials. His basic message has been that he is a friend of Israel who is committed to the special relationship between the two countries. He also said he would use "big sticks and big carrots" with Iran.

An Israeli professor believes that Israel will attack Iran's nuclear program within the next four to seven months. He bases that timeline on unsuccessful diplomatic efforts and Iranian tehnological advances.

After living as a fugitive for more than a decade, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was arrested Monday on charges related to genocide and war crimes during the Bosnian war. U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke discusses a meeting he had with Karadzic in 1995.

Iraq's parliament passed a long-sought provincial election law, but only after Kurdish lawmakers walked out in a dispute over the way elections would be conducted in the northern city of Kirkuk. Iraq's president rejected the draft law as unconstitutional.

Leaders of the world's Anglicans are meeting in London amid speculation that the church might split. Conservatives argue that there is no place for practicing homosexuals in the church.

Since the arrest of Radovan Karadzic, the media in Belgrade have been filled with details of how he lived on the run for more than a decade. The former Bosnian Serb leader wanted for war crimes was passing himself off as a New Age mystic.

Barack Obama is expected to be received with the kind of religious fervor usually reserved for the Pope when he arrives in Germany on Thursday. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is seen by most Germans as a potential savior of Germany's close relationship with America.

Barack Obama is in Israel and the Palestinian territories Wednesday. The Democratic presidential candidate meets with senior officials of the Israeli government and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Obama is greeted warmly but with some skepticism by Israelis and Palestinians.

Hurricane Dolly lashed the Texas coast on Wednesday, coming ashore near South Padre Island with maximum sustained winds of nearly 100 mph.

Embrun, a tiny French village hidden away in the foothills of the Alps, has suddenly been thrust into the limelight this year. Two stages of the Tour de France are starting from Embrun — the first time that has happened in the race's 95-year history.