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Nerves Raw, U.S., Israel Open Conference
When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to warn him that an Israeli housing project in East Jerusalem is harming U.S. interests, a pro-Israel lobby in Washington was quick to accuse Clinton of blowing things out of proportion. AIPAC, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, called on the Obama administration to tone down the rhetoric. The Obama administration did get support, though, from a new pro-Israel lobby, J Street, which says Israel has to take steps to improve relations. It is against this backdrop that AIPAC opens its annual policy conference, a meeting where both Clinton and Netanyahu are expected to speak.
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EU Sets Out To Lead Climate Changers
Connie Hedegaard, the European Union's Commissioner for Climate Action, has laid out an ambitious goal — in five years, she says, she wants to see "a Europe that is the most climate-friendly region in the world." Host Liane Hansen speaks to Hedegaard about the EU's attempts to move forward on climate talks. Commissioner Hedegaard tells Liane how Europe has benefited from climate legislation, and what it might mean for the U.S.
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Rubik's Cube Still Confounds At 30
It has been 30 years since one of the world's great puzzles came to this country. The multicolored device was called the Magic Cube when it first went on sale in a Budapest toyshop. But by 1980, the puzzle carried the name of its inventor, Hungarian architecture professor Erno Rubik. Host Liane Hansen takes a moment to note the toy's anniversary.
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Chilean Children Suffer From Quake's Mental Shocks
The Chilean capital, Santiago, withstood last month's 8.8 magnitude earthquake remarkably well. But mental health experts say the earthquake and the powerful aftershocks that followed it are having strong psychological effects, particularly on children.
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Demise Of Coral, Salamanders Show Impact Of Web
The Internet has emerged as one of the greatest threats fueling the illegal wildlife trade, making it easier to buy everything from live baby lions to wine made from tiger bones, conservationists said Sunday.
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Lunar Rover Is Spotted For First Time In 37 Years
Video game developer Richard Garriott bought the broken Soviet lunar rover at an auction in 1993 — this week, thanks to new photos released by NASA, he's been able to see it on the moon for the first time.
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Huge Sandstorm Burns The Sky Over Beijing
The strongest sandstorm so far this year hit the country's north, delaying some flights at Beijing's airport and prompting a dust warning for South Korea's capital. China's expanding deserts now cover one-third of the country because of deforestation, urban sprawl and drought.
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Pope Blasts Irish Bishops, Orders Investigation
Pope Benedict XVI rebuked Irish bishops Saturday for "grave errors of judgment" in handling clerical sex abuse and ordered a Vatican investigation into the Irish church to wipe out the scourge.
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Victors In Iraqi Elections Include Suspected Murderers
For all the talk of unity and reconciliation, many Iraqi citizens are in for a shock when the new parliament swears in. Several of the winners, including top vote-getters, are believed to have committed mass murder during Iraq's sectarian civil war. One of the names bandied about as a compromise candidate for prime minister allegedly managed a secret prison where Sunnis died by electric drill. Another is a famous death squad leader. With the results finally crystallizing, it's not at all clear that this election will heal any of Iraq's wounds.
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Week In Review With Juan Williams
Washington was swept up in drama this week as the health care debate finally came to a vote. Obama also signed his jobs bill, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Russia. Host Scott Simon reviews the week's news with NPR News Analyst Juan Williams.
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Oops, Taliban Arrests Derail Secret U.N. Talks
The arrest of senior Afghan Taliban figures in Pakistan ended secret talks between the Taliban and the United Nations, according the former head of the U.N. mission in Kabul. U.N. representative Kai Eide, who stepped down this month, says the capture of more than a dozen Taliban members, some through joint U.S. Pakistan operations, effectively derailed the possibility of continuing dialogue about settling the war in Afghanistan. But Pakistan says there was no intention to sabotage anything.
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How To Rebuild A Life In Haiti
Two months after the earthquake, Haitians are now facing the long, hard slog of trying to rebuild their lives. NPR's Katia Riddle brings us snapshots of several people facing the question: "Where do I go from here?"
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Cartoon Furor Met With Muted Response In Sweden
Swedish artist Lars Vilks has lived with a $100,000 bounty on his head since 2007 for a drawing he made depicting the Prophet Muhammad. But unlike the angry protest that erupted in 2005 after similar cartoons were published in Denmark, Swedes have remained largely silent on the controversy.
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Haiti Quake 'Orphans' Reunited With Parents
All of the 33 children that U.S. missionaries tried to take out of Haiti after the deadly January earthquake have been returned to their parents. But at least one mother says that she would consider giving up her children for a better life elsewhere than subject them to the desperate living conditions in Haiti.
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Israeli Envoy On U.S. Relations
Israel's recent announcement that it will build new homes in an East Jerusalem neighborhood sparked one of the worst diplomatic disputes in recent memory between the U.S. and Israel. Over the past few days, the two sides have begun to mend fences. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called a phone conversation with Israel's prime minister productive. Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to Washington, offers his insight.
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