Search results for

NPR's Martin Kaste reports that in addition to all of the usual problems associated with illegal drug production, the drug trade in Colombia is causing environmental problems. Chemicals such as ammonia and sulfuric acid, used in the production of cocaine, end up in rivers that flow through sensitive ecosystems such as the country's rain forest. Colombian officials have used the environmental argument to obtain a billion dollars of U-S aid money to fight the cocaine industry. They say their efforts to eradicate illegal drug production will save vast areas of rain forest.

Sarah Chayes reports the French government has offered a package of tax reductions to the fishing industry to offset the high price of fuel. Fishers enraged by prices that have increased 140-percent in a year have been blockading ports around France for the past week. Following the government's concessions, fishing unions have urged an end to the protests. But not all the fishermen have complied, and taxi drivers, truckers and farmers say the tax reductions for fishers do nothing to alleviate their high fuel prices.

NPR's Michael Sullivan reports that the trial of former Indonesian President Suharto opened today in Jakarta, but Suharto failed to appear. A team of 24 doctors attending the former president told the judge they had examined Suharto earlier in the day and that he was too ill to go to court. The trial now has been postponed for two weeks to allow the court to rule on a prosecution request for an independent medical examination of Suharto. He is charged with illegally siphoning off some 500-million dollars from charities during his three decades in power.

Minnesota Republican Rod Grams is considered one of the most vulnerable US Senators facing re-election this fall. He's a staunch conservative in a state with a long history of progressive politics, but he's also a maverick in a state known for its independence. Anemic poll numbers and a modest legislative record brought lots of challengers into this month's Democratic primary, but the big field may prove to be Grams best defense. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports.

NPR's Gerry Hadden reports that another election defeat for the party that for years ruled Mexico has re-ignited hopes that the government can reach a peace agreement with guerrillas in the south. The Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI yesterday lost the gubernatorial election in the state of Chiapas. Only six weeks ago, the PRI lost the presidential election to opposition candidate Vicente Fox . Both Fox and the opposition winner in the governor's race yesterday have pledged to resolve the bloody conflict in Chiapas between government forces and the indigenous Zapatista rebels.

NPR's Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem on the differing receptions that await Israel's Prime Minister Barak and Palestinian Leader Arafat, as they return today from the 15-day Summit at Camp David. The talks ended yesterday without an agreement. Arafat is being praised for standing firm on issues of importance to Palestinians, especially sovereignty over East Jerusalem. Barak returns home with an uncertain political future.

This week, Polish-born Jan Karski, one of the first people to report an eyewitness account of the Nazi Holocaust to the West, died in Washington D.C. Host Jacki Lyden speaks with Karski biographer Tom Wood. Wood is the author of Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust. Jan Karski was a liason officer for the Polish underground during World War II and a retired history professor at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. He was 86.

NPR's Mary Ann Akers reports on what has become the most controversial party scheduled before next month's Democratic National Convention -- a fundraiser for a Hispanic vote political action committee to be held at the Playboy Mansion. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, a California Democrat, defends the event as a way of obtaining money for her cause. The money will go to her PAC, not the Democratic National Committee. Vice President Al Gore insists he will not attend. But some Democrats are still grumbling at what the fundraiser may say about their party.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports on the final day of the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. Last night, Texas Governor George W. Bush accepted the GOP nomination. In his acceptance speech, Bush told delegates that he'll work for better education, stronger Social Security and Medicare, lower tax rates, a stronger military. He accused the Clinton-Gore administration of squandering the opportunities presented by the good economic times and the huge government surpluses.

NPR's Mike Shuster reports the Russian navy has begun a rescue operation to save the 116 men trapped in the nuclear-powered submarine "Kursk" at the bottom of the Barents Sea. The Russians are trying to send a rescue capsule down to the stranded sub. The first try to do this failed. It's a difficult, time-consuming operation, particularly since the sub is buffeted by strong currents. The capsule can bring up only 20 men at a time and must ascend very slowly, to avoid the risk of decompression sickness.