Search results for

Karen Michel reports on a collection of music from former Portuguese colonies in Africa assembled by David Byrne, a former member of the 70's art-rock band Talking Heads. The common thread throughout the music is beauty, sadness, and political content. The music is also connected BECAUSE of Portuguese colonization. For example, the Angolan "semba" in the collection bears a striking resemblance to Brazilian "samba". (STEREO)

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that President Clinton has taken the extraordinary step of barring the president of Colombia from traveling to the United States. The State Department said today that Mr. Clinton revoked President Ernesto Samper's (sam-PAIR) visa because the Colombian took money from drug traffickers and in exchange, pursued policies on their behalf. The State Department spokesman said the US will continue to work with Colombia's government in fighting drugs. Colombia is the source of most of the cocaine and much of the heroin consumed in the U-S.

Owen Bennett-Jones reports from Geneva that U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher has pressured Balkan leaders into a new agreement. The Presidents of Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia have agreed to protect the rights of voters during the Bosnian elections next month. They promised to apprehend war criminals and assure refugees the right to return to home...and in an agreement to be signed tomorrow in Sarajevo, the Bosnian government turns over power to a federation of Bosnian Croats and Muslims.

In many parts of farming country, the harvest season is underway. This means long hours and hard work for farmers and, in many cases, for their children as well. It's estimated that every year hundreds of children die from farm-related accidents. Marge Pitrof from W-U-W-M in Milwaukee reports that one group from Wisconsin is trying to get the government more involved in protecting children on farms, but some farmers say safety can't be regulated.

NPR's Philip Davis reports on a charge by the British that Switzerland turned over only a small part of the gold it was holding from the German Nazis during World War Two. The Foreign Office said the Swiss paid out only a little more than a tenth of all the gold thought to be in Swiss vaults. Switzerland declined to comment and deferred to a government commission being set up to examine the war-time activities of Swiss Banks.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports that even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Washington today for U.S.-mediated peace talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Israel tightened its hold on the occupied territories of the West Bank, sending new tanks and troops to the area and drastically curtailing travel. Tensions remained high, though there were none of the violent demonstrations that all but killed off the Middle East peace process last week.

NPR's Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem on the worst flareup of civil violence between Palestinians and Israelis since the intifada of the 1980s. That violence led to the start of the peace process that has now stalled in the wake of the election of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Today's riots, which ended with armed Palestinian policemen exchanging gunfire with Israeli army troops for the first time ever, came in the wake of Netanyahu's government opening a controversial tunnel next to Islamic holy places in Jerusalem.

NPR's Ted Clark reports that when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein sent his troops into northern Iraq he may have had a more important reason of state for doing so than just helping a pro-Baghdad Kurdish faction battle against its opponents. Iran and Turkey --Iraq's two neighbors -- may well have been bent on carving up the Kurdish provinces of northern Iraq for themselves.

The first black photographer to receive a Guggenheim fellowship, Roy De Carava was one of a handful of innovators in the early 1950's who broke with traditional styles and subjects for photography, and tried to capture the humanity of his subjects -- the "real life" of his neighborhood, the subway, restaurants, and especially jazz musicians. Now the first major retrospective of his work is touring the country, organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Karen Michel (mih-SHEL) reports.

Today President Clinton sent a letter to Congress endorsing a Republican bill that would allow a tax credit for parents adopting children, and would discourage states from holding up interracial adoptions. The President is moving towards Republican positions on other family issues as well. This weekend, Mr. Clinton said he would not allow states to give welfare benefits to teenage mothers unless they live with their families and attend school. NPR's White House correspondent Mara Liasson reports.