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Monday

Expert: Afghan Security Forces Can Be Made Ready

Andrew Exum, senior fellow with the Center for a New American Security, says the U.S. has not yet tried to win in Afghanistan, having diverted forces to fight in Iraq. He says that he expects Afghan security forces to take the lead in protecting the Afghan population in 12-24 months after an increase in U.S. troops to train them.

Expert: Afghan Security Forces Can Be Made Ready

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Top General Calls Afghan Situation Serious

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, submitted a report Monday assessing progress in the war there, saying the situation remains "serious," but that "success is achievable." The report did not address the issue of whether more U.S. troops were needed in Afghanistan.

Top General Calls Afghan Situation Serious

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Movies

In Cape Town Theaters, 'District 9' Hits Home

The summer sci-fi hit imagines a world in which millions of refugee extraterrestrials live in a filthy, violence-plagued shantytown outside Johannesburg. South African moviegoers got their first look at the film — and its political and cultural overtones — when it opened there Aug. 28.

In Cape Town Theaters, 'District 9' Hits Home

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U.S. Commander: New Plan Needed In Afghanistan

U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces, visits an Afghan National Police compound in the Baraki Barak district of Logar province on Aug. 21. Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images

U.S. Commander: New Plan Needed In Afghanistan

Gen. Stanley McChrystal delivers a strategic review of the war in which he says the situation in the country is serious and that a new strategy is needed to defeat the Taliban.

First Test For Japan's New Ruling Party: The Economy

Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, exits a conference room at party headquarters in Tokyo, Aug. 31, 2009. After its landslide election win, the DPJ has begun talks on forming a new government and faces the daunting challenge of reviving the country's struggling economy. Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images

Asia

First Test For Japan's New Ruling Party: The Economy

Japan's likely next prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, is in talks Monday to form a new government a day after his party's historic upset of the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Hatoyama's center-left Democratic Party of Japan trounced the LDP, winning 308 of the 480 parliamentary seats up for grabs.

First Test For Japan's New Ruling Party: The Economy

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Asia

Myanmar Refugees Flee To China To Escape Clashes

The number of refugees crossing into China to escape fighting in Myanmar has slowed. Some 30,000 refugees fled to China while government forces in Myanmar fought rebel militias.

Myanmar Refugees Flee To China To Escape Clashes

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Pakistan's Military Wins Swat Valley Radio War

In Pakistan's northwestern frontier, two men recently battled for the hearts and minds of people in Swat Valley. That's where the Pakistani government is trying to push back Islamist militants. One man is a leader of the Taliban, who is believed to be in hiding now. The other works for the publicity arm of Pakistan's military.

Pakistan's Military Wins Swat Valley Radio War

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Sunday

Asia

Japan's Opposition Elected In Historic Victory

Voters in Japan threw out the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for only the second time since the conservative party was formed, shortly after World War II. NPR's Louisa Lim talks to Guy Raz.

Japan's Opposition Elected In Historic Victory

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Asia

Ruling Party's Reign Broken In Japan

After more than a half-century in power, Japan's ruling party has been ousted by the voters. Japanese media is reporting that the opposition Democratic party of Japan has scored a landslide victory will take control from the LDP — the party that has been ruling almost uninterrupted for the past 53 years. Host Liane Hansen talks to NPR's Louisa Lim about the latest reaction.

Ruling Party's Reign Broken In Japan

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Politics

Hillary Clinton's Quiet Revolution

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is quietly revolutionizing U.S. foreign policy. That was the thrust of a recent editorial in the Washington Post. Clinton's top advisors say they don't object to that characterization.

Hillary Clinton's Quiet Revolution

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Europe

Bosnia Falling Back To The Brink Of Violence

An article in Foreign Affairs Magazine says that after 14 years of intense international efforts to stabilize and rebuild Bosnia, the country now stands on the brink of collapse. Host Liane Hansen speaks with article authors Patrice McMahon, associate professor of political science at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and Jon Western, Five College associate professor of international relations at Mount Holyoke College.

Bosnia Falling Back To The Brink Of Violence

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Religion

The Muslims Who Saved The Jews

Host Liane Hansen speaks with photographer Norman Gershman about his book Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews in World War II, which is also the subject of a documentary called God's House. Greshman spent five years collecting stories of Albanian Muslims who harbored Jewish refugees during World War II.

The Muslims Who Saved The Jews

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History

In Vietnam, Calley's My Lai Apology Barely Registers

Ten days ago, the only man convicted for the My Lai massacre publicly expressed remorse for what happened there in March 1968. The publicity-shy William Calley told a Kiwanis club lunch there was "not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened. I am very sorry." After his apology, Voice of America expressed interest in having Calley apologize on the air in Vietnam, but few seem interested in hearing it.

In Vietnam, Calley's My Lai Apology Barely Registers

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Pop Culture

Mexico City Moonwalks For Michael

The previous world record for the most people simultaneously dancing to the ground-breaking 1983 video was a meager 242 at the College of William and Mary earlier this year. Mexico City planned to obliterate that record.

Mexico City Moonwalks For Michael

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