World Audio/Video - NPR

Already one of the poorest countries by many measures, Yemen — a nation of roughly 22 million people — has been struck by severe droughts and depleted water supplies in recent years. Some Yemenis are calling the situation a potential time bomb.

The deadly 7.8 magnitude quake hit China Monday afternoon — Xinhua News Agency reports that more than 8,533 people have been killed in the devastation. Its force flattened at least eight schools and one hospital and was felt hundreds of miles away in Beijing and Shanghai.

The U.S. has delivered its first relief supplies to Myanmar since the Southeast Asian nation was hit by a cyclone earlier this month. Aid supplies have only gradually made it into the country and the storm's official death toll is approaching 30,000.

Veteran peace negotiator Padraig O'Malley worked on the conflicts in Northern Ireland and South Africa. Mac Maharaj played a role in the latter nation's anti-apartheid movement. Both took part in recent closed-door negotiations in Finland, aimed at bringing reconciliation among rival factions in Iraq.

Navy ships are massing off the shore of Myanmar, preparing to assist in disaster relief efforts after last week's cyclone. But the military personnel haven't been called into action yet.

The Chinese government is in "full-out mobilization mode" in response to the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in the country's Sichuan province. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports that the country's premier has flown to the area and that teams of rescue workers are assembling in Beijing.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit China's Sichuan province on Monday, killing thousands. As many as 80 percent of the buildings in one county in the region have collapsed.

Widespread hunger and political unrest have severely destabilized the Caribbean nation of Haiti. Rev. Jesse Jackson and writer E.R. Shipp discuss their recent trip to the country and how they believe the international community can help feed the people and quell the violence.

As many as 8,500 people may be dead after a major earthquake hit China on Monday, wiping out 80 percent of the buildings in a single county in Sichuan province and causing ammonia to spill from a chemical plant, the state media reported.

Matthias Gihbauer, who reports for Global News Radio in Bangkok, explains continuing efforts to work with the Myanmar government to get aid to suffering cyclone survivors in Myanmar.

The Shiite power struggle in Iraq is further dividing the war-torn country. Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's American-backed crackdown on the Mahdi Army is dividing some Shiite families. There are family members who are split between loyalists to Muqtada al Sadr and the Ayatollah Hakim's Badr Brigades.

The fragile cease-fire in Sadr City, the large Shiite section of Baghdad, appears to be holding. But people there are cautious because the matter at the root of the violence hasn't been resolved.

After five days of fighting, Lebanon is largely quiet Monday. The streets of Beirut, which have been the focus of bloody sectarian clashes between Sunnis and Shiites, have been largely deserted. The violence has done nothing to resolve Lebanon's long-running political crisis.

Volcanic ash is raining down on Chile, 10 days after an eruption occurred for the first time in thousands of years. People in the area were evacuated. The volcano eruption has turned lakes and rivers white and coated plants in a dense layer of ash.

The death toll is expected to rise following an earthquake Monday that struck Southwest China. The state news agency says thousands of people have been killed. An NPR reporting team in Sichuan province, site of the quake's epicenter, reports from the scene.

Despite the deadly cyclone, Myanmar's military government went ahead with a weekend referendum on a new constitution. Co-host Renee Montagne talks with an NPR reporter in Yangon about how the people felt having to vote in the midst of a humanitarian crisis.

Relief supplies have been dribbling into Myanmar more than a week after a huge cyclone struck the Southeast Asian nation. The storm's official death toll is approaching 30,000. Andrew Kirkwood, director of Myanmar operations for Save the Children, talks about the latest developments.

The Chaiten volcano in the remote Patagonia region of southern Chile has been dormant for 2,000 years. But for more than a week, lava, ash and huge plumes of smoke have spewed from the volcano. Thousands of people in surrounding towns are being forced to leave their homes and livestock behind.

Pro-European candidates have eked out a victory in Serbia's parliamentary elections. Dejan Anastasijevic, a journalist for the Serbian newsmagazine Vreme, talks with host Andrea Seabrook about the hard-fought contest against the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party.

China is in the midst of a building boom of colleges and universities. The country is attempting to improve the quality of these institutions and its world ranking.

At least a million and a half people in Myanmar are in need of food and shelter. Aid teams are arriving slowly from Thailand, but many relief workers are still awaiting visas.

The aftermath of the cyclone is still a morbid reality for millions in Myanmar, but the lax government-sponsored relief efforts haven't deterred the reigning junta. It went ahead with plans for a referendum on Saturday.

Ft. Wayne, Ind., is home to one of the largest communities of Burmese refugees in the United States. They are among those offering prayers to the cyclone victims in Myanmar.

It has been a week since a cyclone devastated the Myanmar coastline. Tens of thousands of bodies have yet to be identified or buried. United Nations consultant and expert on directing disaster relief Claude de Ville de Goyet talks with Andrea Seabrook about the difficult task ahead for Myanmar.

Sandie Petee came home from running an errand to find a message her son had accidentally left on her answering machine. She hit play and heard the sound of Stephen in the middle of a battle with insurgents in Afghanistan. Petee talks with Andrea Seabrook about the scare.

After almost a week of refusal following a deadly cyclone, Myanmar has agreed to allow one U.S. cargo plane to make a delivery of aid. The government there is still refusing entry to worldwide aid agencies. Gordon Bacon of the International Rescue Committee is one of the few who have been able to enter the country.

After a night of heavy fighting, Shiite Hezbollah militiamen seize control Friday of most parts of Muslim West Beirut from ragtag Sunni militias. The Lebanese army has so far stayed out of the fray.

Former diver Bernie Schwerdtfeger talks about working 500 feet under the water off the coast of Norway, where he helped assemble oil rigs. Many former divers are complaining of health problems and are suing for damages.

Myanmar continues its slow recovery from the devastating cyclone that left at least 100,000 people dead and nearly 2 million homeless.

Bridget Welsh, assistant professor of Southeast Asian studies at Johns Hopkins University, talks about the military government of Myanmar and why it's been so reluctant to accept outside assistance in the aftermath of the cyclone.

Despite troubles with Myanmar's military rulers, U.N. World Food Program spokesman Paul Riley says the agency has 240 staffers on the ground hurriedly working with government ministries to get aid to survivors of the cyclone. The agency fears running out of time.

The big question in Cuba is how far the new president, Raul Castro, is willing to go in changing the country. Many elements of his brother Fidel's rigid system of state socialism are still in place, such as food rationing.

Afghan journalist Barry Salaam, managing editor of a popular national news program, discusses building an independent, open media in an increasingly closed society.

Tensions are high in Lebanon's capital after three days of gun-battles have seen Hezbollah fighters taking control of much of the city. At least 11 are dead, and on Friday Hezbollah fighters attacked a pro-government TV station.

When Army Capt. Nate Rawlings, 26, returned from Iraq in 2006, he planned to apply to a graduate film program. Now, he's obligated to return to Iraq for an unexpected second tour of duty. Writer Whitney Terrell catches up with his friend at Fort Hood in Texas as he prepares for 15 more months in Baghdad.

Edgar Millan Gomez, Mexico's acting chief of the federal police, was shot dead outside his home in Mexico City Thursday. Coordinator of anti-drug operations within the Mexican military, he was the third police official killed in the past week.

Tanks and missiles rolled across Red Square for the first time since the end of communism during the annual Victory Day parade Friday. Despite the show, experts say the Russian military is in a dreadful state, crippled by widespread corruption, brutal beating of conscripts and a lack of equipment.

While protests related to Tibet and the Olympics have fizzled out on the streets, conflict continues in cyberspace. Recently, Tibetan advocacy groups and China-based foreign journalists have been hit by a wave of sophisticated computer attacks that steal data, cripple Web sites and even monitor what computer users type on their computers.

The U.N. said it is halting further aid flights to cyclone-stricken Myanmar, after the country's military leadership seized supplies destined for the estimated 1.5 million people affected by the storm. "The food aid and equipment that we managed to get in has been confiscated," WFP spokesman Paul Risley said.