Feb 06, 2008 — Afghanistan is sliding, politically, militarily, and in human terms. Six years after the Taliban was driven from the capital city of Kabul the conventional word for the radical Islamists is now "resurgent." Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice flew to London yesterday to try to convince NATO to do more to help defeat the Taliban. The United States has about 27,000 troops in Afghanistan, around half of them in a NATO-led force. More than 1400 New York National Guard troops are due to go to Afghanistan in March for 10 months. Britain has about 7700 soldiers there, Canada 2500. Rice and Defense Secretary Robert gates have been pressing allies for more.

Meanwhile the news out of Afghanistan gets worse. According to a new UN report, the country now accounts for 0ver 90% of the world's opium. And opium and marijuana are major sources of income for the Taliban. Former All Before Five host Gregory Warner has made four trips to Afghanistan since last March as a reporter, and a mentor to radio journalists there. He's in Kabul now, probably his last trip given the deteriorating security conditions. His blog entries have given glimpses of taxi drivers and interpreters, lovers and clowns, as well as aid workers and tribal chiefs. He's found his accordion to be a real icebreaker. But over the year, he's been a witness to the country's deterioration, and the tone is grimmer these days. He spoke with Martha Foley yesterday.  Go to full article

Aug 24, 2007 — A chance encounter by two filmmakers in a refugee camp in Guinea, West Africa brings us our next story. Zach Niles and Banker White met the Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars in 2002. They documented the story of survivors of the deadly civil war in Sierra Leone who played music to pass the time in the refugee camp. The resulting film made the festival circuit. It snowballed into a POV documentary on PBS, an appearance on Oprah Winfrey, and a record contract for the band. The Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars' second U.S. tour makes a stop Sunday night in Burlington at the Higher Ground Concert Hall. David Sommerstein spoke with the group's founder.

**Tune in to the Beat Authority from 3-4:45 pm today for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the concert**  Go to full article

Jun 27, 2007 — Thirteen members of the Mzuzu Youth Choir from Malawi begin a month-long tour of the North Country this week. Their visit is sponsored by the Presbytery of Northern New York. They stopped by NCPR for music and conversation.  Go to full article

Apr 10, 2007 — A Vermont activist has sparked a national protest over global warming set for this Saturday, with more than 1300 events planned in all 50 states. Late last summer,...  Go to full article

Nov 09, 2006 — What if your family could combine a love of travel with a knack for shopping, and turn it all into a big, shared adventure? That's the attraction of "The Third World...  Go to full article

Jun 13, 2006 — Yesterday was a grim debut for Team USA in the World Cup in Germany. The Americans had little to surprise heavily favored Czech Republic in their 0-3 loss. According to an...  Go to full article

Jun 22, 2004 — Last Friday, Governor George Pataki signed a new law making June 19th a state holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, in the 1860s. But slavery isn't...  Go to full article