Search results for

Secretary of State Colin Powell addresses the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, seeking congressional support for a possible war with Iraq. Powell's testimony comes a day after he presents the U.N. Security Council with a report detailing evidence against Iraq. NPR's Bob Edwards and NPR's Michele Kelemen.

As the White House awaits Monday's report on U.N. weapons inspectors' progress in Iraq, President Bush finalizes his State of the Union address. Bush is expected to address the possibility of war with Iraq in his Tuesday speech. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea and Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI).

Today, according to statements from the Taliban in Afghanistan, ancient Buddhist statues carved into a mountain have been destroyed despite attempts by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to prevent it. Host Lisa Simeone talks with Humanities Professor Crispin Sartwell who says that destruction of idols has a long tradition in Western history. (5:00).

NPR's Michael Sullivan reports on U.N. Secretary Kofi Annan's unsuccessful appeal to leaders of Afghanistan's Islamic Taliban government to stop the destruction of two huge Buddha statues. Secretary Annan was told that the statues, which are carved from a rock cliff near the central Afghan town of Bamian , are mostly destroyed.

Legal questions arise as President Bush calls on the U.N. Security Council to lift sanctions imposed years ago against Iraq. Lifting the sanctions could leave the United Nations with less influence in Iraq's rebuilding process. Hear from NPR's Michele Kelemen and Ian Johnstone, assistant professor of International Law at Tufts University.

For the second time in a month, Senate Democrats block the confirmation of John Bolton to become U.N. ambassador and are urging President Bush to consider another candidate. The president left open the possibility that he'd bypass the Senate and appoint Bolton during the July Fourth congressional recess.

Muzammil Siddiqi is chairman of the Fiqh Council of North America, an association of Islamic legal scholars that interprets Muslim religious law. On July 28, the group issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, condemning all acts of terrorism and religious extremism as fundamentally un-Islamic.

NPR's Michele Kelemen reports from New York on what Russian President Vladimir Putin said last night during a special call-in program on National Public Radio. He talked to NPR's Robert Siegel and answered questions from NPR listeners. Before the broadcast, the Russian President visited the site of the World Trade Center disaster and met with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

President Bush welcomes the formation of Iraq's interim government, saying it brings the country closer to democracy. With the leadership named, the United States and Britain hope the U.N. will approve a Security Council resolution that details security arrangements and the transfer of sovereignty in Iraq. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

Car bombs exploded minutes apart Tuesday in central Algiers, heavily damaging a United Nations building and ripping the facade off the wing of a government office. Dozens were killed, including some U.N. employees, and the death toll is still climbing.