World Audio/Video - NPR

Emerging markets that avoided the impact of the first wave of economic shocks will likely feel the second wave as investors pull out of African and Latin American markets. Luis de la Calle, managing director of Public Strategies in Mexico City, discusses how the financial crisis in the U.S. is affecting Latin America.

In a sign that the Federal Reserve isn't convinced that the $700 billion financial rescue package will get the economy back on track, the central back announced it would boost credit-market liquidity by buying commercial paper and opened the door to an interest rate cut.

On today's "Africa Update," the U.S. military is expanding its footprint in Africa, and that has some people worried. Plus, a new study shows some hopeful signs in the quality of African governance. For more, Farai Chideya talks with Emira Woods.

Finance ministers from the 27 European Union countries meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday to consider what, if anything, their governments can do together to stop the spreading financial crisis. Individual European governments disagree about what should be done.

The Nano, billed as the world's cheapest car, was supposed to roll off an Indian production line this month. But that plan hit a snag when Tata Motors announced it had to build the car somewhere else. The company closed the new plant in the state of West Bengal after violent protests.

European governments are scrambling to shore up their banks. The governments promised to work together to solve the financial crisis, but so far, they have acted separately. Philip Coggan, a columnist for the Financial Times, talks with Ari Shapiro about the steps European officials are taking to reassure investors, and whether those steps are working.

The Army has a new operations manual that emphasizes nation-building over conventional warfare. The Stability Operations Field Manual was put together at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., the home of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center. The new doctrine will drive Army resources, organization and training for many years to come.

A University of Chicago professor won a share of the Nobel Prize in physics Monday. Yoichiro Nambu, a Tokyo-born U.S. citizen, shares the prize with two Japanese scientists. Nambu gets half the prize for the discovery of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics.

Most of the tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan who have lost legs to land mines have no way to make a living other than begging. But one group has come up with another way to feed its families: It operates a bicycle messenger service in Kabul.

More European governments are following Germany's lead by offering blanket deposit guarantees to savers in a frantic effort to calm fears among investors over the worst financial crisis in 80 years. Sweden became the latest to act.

U.S. officials are urging Pakistan to reform its Inter Services Intelligence spy agency. Pakistanis don't like taking orders from the U.S., but there are those who agree the ISI needs reforming. Recently the new prime minister attempted this, but he got cold feet.

The 2008 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine went in part to two French researchers for discovering the virus that causes AIDS. The award was not shared by American Robert Gallo, who has also claimed a role in the discovery of HIV. Additionally, a German scientist got the prize for establishing the cause of most cervical cancers.

The security forces, organized through local churches, are manning checkpoints in Iraq and working with police. The mystery of where their funding comes from seems to center on a media-shy and reclusive political figure.

Cleverly packaged U.S. subprime mortgages have contaminated economies around the world. European countries were among the first to realize that hundreds of billions of dollars in toxic mortgage securities were woven into their assets. Will the United States' place in the global economy survive?

Share prices dropped on the European markets in response to the growing financial crisis Monday. A number of European governments are guaranteeing bank deposits, following a trend set by Ireland last week.

Author David Rothkopf explains why he believes the current financial crisis may have "greater and more lasting ramifications" than the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. His op-ed, "9/11 Was Big. This Is Bigger," appeared Sunday in The Washington Post.

Horace Engdahl, a Nobel Prize official, commented on Wednesday that the United States is "too isolated" and "too insular" to generate literary Nobel laureates. He said Europe remains the "center of the literary world."

The financial turmoil shaking Wall Street is also taking a toll in Europe, where authorities moved to assure bank depositors that their money was safe, and a bailout was planned for a large German lender. European leaders are struggling to deliver a unified response to the crisis.

Mexico's bloody drug war is raging just across the border from San Diego. Tijuana is suffering one of the worst waves of violence in decades. So far this year, more than 400 people have been killed, and Tijuana's mayor has called on Mexico's government for help.

The 2008 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine goes to two French scientists for discovering the virus that causes AIDS. A German researcher shares the prize for discovering the viruses that cause cervical cancer.

Stephen Green, head of research at Standard Chartered Bank in Shanghai, speaks with host Liane Hansen about how the global financial crisis has hit China. China has close to $1.3 trillion invested in U.S. debt with up to $500 billion in agency securities.

European Union heads of government held a summit in Paris to discuss their own plans for how to bail out their threatened banks. Unlike the U.S. plan, they plan to deal with bank failures on a case-by-case basis.

European heads of government are gathering in Paris for an economic summit to discuss ways to deal with their own teetering banks. France has proposed an agreement for a $500 billion bailout fund, but Germany and others are opposed.

Trinity High School in Euless, Texas, has the nation's top-ranked football team. Many credit the squad's success to the town's large Tongan population — and the large players it produces. The team is at the core of two communities that believe in football and family.

Honda has unveiled a new five-door gasoline-electric hatchback to challenge rival Toyota's success with the Prius. Honda's latest hybrid offering was put on display at the Paris Auto Show. It's called Insight, and looks suspiciously like the Prius.

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has called for an immediate influx of 15,000 troops to help stabilize the region, but analysts say that isn't all that is needed. The White House also has been seeking advice from Afghanistan experts outside the administration.

Workers from the Pacific Island of Palau now work at the Agriprocessors packing plant in Postville , Iowa. But Agriprocessors has been charged with an array of labor violations. Palauan officials recently traveled to Postville to meet with plant managers.

The global community has always struggled with developing strategies that help stop violence and create peace. Jane Holl Lute, the new head of the United Nation's Peacebuilding Commission, on what it takes to keep the peace, and what can be done to sustain peace in countries throughout the world.

Italy has sent 500 troops into the southern part of the country in an effort to deal with a new upsurge of Mafia-style violence there. Local residents and journalists say, however, the measure will have little effect because the Mafia is so entrenched in local life.

Key European leaders will meet in Paris on Saturday to discuss managing the widening financial crisis. While a coordinated response may not come from the meeting, one commentator believes simply meeting will help set a proper course.

Many are watching to see whether Taro Aso, Japan's new prime minister, can break through a tough political stalemate and overcome a flagging economy. The tough-line Aso is popular, but critics note that his party has seen a series of short-term leaders.

Violence in Mexico is on the rise, as the battle with Mexico's drug war continues. President Felipe Calderon is using the army and federal police to fight narcotics traffickers, but more and more, innocent bystanders seem to be caught up in the conflict. Malcolm Beith, the Mexico section editor of The News, an English language newspaper in Mexico, discusses the dire situation just across the U.S. border.

Political protests in South Asia aren't what they used to be. Mahatma Gandhi really did walk hundreds of miles when he defied British colonial taxes on salt by trekking to the sea. And when he went on hunger strike, he really did starve himself. When Pakistani lawyers recently protested in a "long march," they drove, in comfy air conditioned SUVS.

The U.S. Senate approved a long-awaited nuclear accord with India. The agreement ends a 34-year ban on nuclear trade with India. It will allow U.S. businesses to begin selling nuclear fuel, technology and reactors to India in exchange for safeguards and U.N. inspections at India's civilian nuclear plants.

The deal would open up a multibillion-dollar market for U.S. energy companies, but there are lingering concerns about what it means for efforts to stop the spread of sensitive technology. One lawmaker said the U.S. will one day look back on the deal with regret.

Venezuela is trying to increase its influence throughout Central and South America — in particular Haiti. In the aftermath of summer storms, Venezuela has been contributing significant amounts of aid to the country. What is President Hugo Chavez after?

Women in Iraq who have lost their husbands now face the challenge of supporting themselves. Many have turned to government trailer parks, but conditions are dire and much of the infrastructure is shoddy, incomplete or nonexistent.

Presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain are expanding their get out the vote efforts beyond the U.S. Both campaigns are targeting citizens overseas in an effort to bolster their support. One of the largest expatriate communities is in Israel, where efforts are intensifying.

Since Iraq has become less violent, it's gotten easier to move around the country. Even in Iraq, there's a need for the right song for a road trip. These days, that song is called "The Shotgun."