Poetry from M.I.T.; Mark Van Doren

A terrorist suspects roots in a Norwegian village today Thursday October 24th. This is The World I'm Marco Werman A BBC reporter traces the path of a Somali man accused of being involved in the Westgate Mall attack in Kenya and finds himself in large Vic Norway. It's a sleepy sleepy place it's a million miles away in every sense from the ravages of Somalia's 20 a long civil war. And later New York City's n line gets a Spanish accent has become the NBA line thanks to some street artists. Also British folk legend Linda Thompson on why she and her then husband Richard decide to become Sue fees back in the 70s. Leila white overeducated you know and looking for some meaning to life. Plus remembering Bollywood legend day. BBC News when Jerry Smit the German chancellor Angela Merkel has said that

spying among friends is not done. She was speaking as she arrived at a European summit which is likely to be overshadowed by allegations that U.S. intelligence agencies have been intercepting her mobile phone calls. The Italian prime minister Enrico Letta has demanded to know the truth about reports that the U.S. and Britain have spied on Italy's government communications. GAVIN HEWITT reports. When Chancellor Merkel arrived in Brussels she went out of her way to say the alleged spying was not just about her but about every German citizen are a mind that Germany is a country highly sensitive to surveillance as European leaders arrived there were demands to know the full truth. Some said the allegations were unacceptable unusually. David Cameron said nothing as he arrived for the two day meeting in a rather tense atmosphere. There are questions about the role of GC HQ Britain's intelligence agency. A senior official of the Bulgarian interior ministry told our preacher has confirmed that two

people have been questioned and DNA samples taken in the inquiry into the identity of the young blonde girl named Maria found with a Roma family in Greece last week. The Greek Roma couple say the girl was given to them by a barbarian mother who could no longer care for her. Mark Lowen has more. The chief of staff of Bulgaria's interior ministry has told the BBC that the couple could be the parents of the little blonde girl Maria and they've been questioned by police. DNA samples have been taken and he says the couple will be officially named once the tests are compared with the DNA of Maria Bell Gary and media however have identified them as Sasha Ruseva and at last Russo reports say the couple recognized the little girl on television. Local journalists interviewed the family who appear to have several children. Some of them bearing a resemblance to Maria new genetic research suggest that thousands of small segments of DNA determine how one person's face can look so different from another's. With more details here's Rebecca Morel. Scientists have identified thousands of sequences in our DNA. It influence our

appearance as we develop in the womb. By looking at my face they found that removing some of this genetic material subtly altered the rodent's appearance in some the modified DNA led to a longer or shorter skull while others had wider and narrower faces. The researches say that although the work was carried out on animals the human face is likely to develop in the same way. The United States says is concerned about the rise in piracy off the coast of West Africa. After two American citizens were kidnapped from an oil supply ship the Sea Retriever owned by a US Marine transport company was attacked on Wednesday and its captain and chief engineer were kidnapped. Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has increased by a third this year. World news from the BBC. The French army says several hundred soldiers are engaged alongside the United Nations and local troops in a major operation against Islamist fighters in northern Mali. A

spokesman for the French military said the aim was to reinforce security in the area and prevent a resurgence of militant activity. Contractors who developed a troubled website at the center of President Obama's flagship health reform have told a U.S. congressional panel that the governments did not allow enough time to test it thoroughly under the new system commonly known as Obamacare. Millions of Americans are expected to buy health insurance through the website health care dot gov. White House spokesperson Jay Carney acknowledged the problems have been greater than anticipated. We knew and said prior to that October 1st that there would be some glitches or hiccups with the rollout of a large scale and complex website like health care dot gov. But what we did not know was that we would encounter the kind of scale of problems that we've seen. And that's why the president and secretary have made sure that some of the best minds in the country are tackling these problems and improving the website every day. Newly published research has shown that finding a cure for the millions of people around the world who have

AIDS is likely to be even more difficult than scientists had feared. A three year study has found that the signs of the dormant reservoir of HIV the virus that can lead to AIDS is up to 60 times larger than previously thought. Experts say the findings explain why HIV usually makes a rapid comeback if an infected person stops taking antiretroviral drugs. A spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry has warned women that measures may be taken against them if they take part in a campaign this weekend against a ban on women drivers. The spokesman said the women were banned from driving and that laws would be applied against violates his or anyone demonstrating in support of their cause. BBC News support for PR eyes of the world comes from Medtronic philanthropy developers of the Save a life simulator and interactive online experience designed to teach the public lifesaving responses to sudden cardiac arrest. Each day thousands die from

cardiac arrest learn how to respond. At Heart rescue now dot com and by TV Yes with Independent Lens exploring the issues in education today through the eyes of six Latino and Latino students from across the United States. The graduates premiering Monday night at 10:00 9:00 Central only on PBS. I'm Marco Werman this is the world. Let's break a misconception. You might think a childhood in a quiet prosperous western democracy would be enough to dissuade a young man from signing up to wage jihad. Think again. Kenyan authorities say one of the gunmen who laid siege to the Westgate Mall in Nairobi last month grew up in a small coastal town in Norway. Twenty three year old Hasan OBD-II duelo was reportedly identified in video footage of the attack ruthlessly gunning down shoppers. Today officials in Oslo admitted they'd had suspicions about the young Somali immigrant. They said they even tried to talk him out of his plans to join a militant group in

Somalia. The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse visited do all those hometown of large Vic Norway and talked with members of the suspected gunman's family. They say he called them from Somalia as late as last summer. Now his family are under intense pressure. But they said that after Hassan left Norway in 2009 for his first visit to Somalia and then permanently in 2010 he kept in touch only sporadically that he would call them at odd times of the day only infrequently want to be few months ago and always from different Somali mobile numbers and they they didn't have an awful lot of contact with him until the last call which was they remembered last summer they were a little unclear about which month they variously said June July or August. But they said that he told them he was in trouble that he'd lost his passport that he'd given it to a trusted friend who wouldn't give it back. He said he was in trouble and he wanted to come home. Well the pressure may have gotten even higher on the family today because there's news out of Norway that

security officials now say due Hello was well known to them and they met with him several times in Norway in even try to convince him not to join Al-Shabaab. Let's listen to what the head of Norwegian police security services had to say her name is Marie Benedicte Bjorn Lund. We did an extensive preventive work towards him. I can't comment on the details but I can say that we conducted several meetings with him and had preventive talks with him. The result was that. Continued his plan and left no way where they will succeed. I mean it sounds Gabriel Gatehouse like Norwegian authorities kind of knew something was up. Why didn't they stop him from leaving the country again. Yes I suppose that's a good question. I would imagine and I am speculating here that in the absence of anything concrete on him and he was never convicted or charged with anything as far as we know in no way in the absence of anything like that he was a Norwegian citizen and presumably free to travel wherever he liked. That said on the broader picture

of people being radicalized in Norway especially in the Somali community people who are in the know say they believe that between 20 and 30 Norwegian citizens almost all of Somali origin have gone to Somalia to join Al-Shabaab in one capacity or another and in fact two weeks after the Westgate attack U.S. Navy SEALs carried out. An abortive raid on a hideout in Somalia and the man they were after we understand as a guy who goes by the name of Krema whose real name is Mohammed and he's believed to be one of our most senior operatives and we also know that he spent approximately four years in Norway seeking asylum between 2004 and 2008. You know Gabriel I have to say looking at the images of this very sleepy Scandinavian town where do hello grew up it's hard to imagine being further away from Somalia.

It's just so in Congress although perhaps not too different from a young generation moving to Cambridge Massachusetts and going off the rails. Did you get that sense of implausibility I mean how did that strike you there and little larva. It was extremely odd because it's a really beautiful picturesque quintessentially Nordic Norwegian kind of a place it's on the sea it's got a little harbor at the houses which run up and down quite steep hills are mostly made of white clapboard as you say it's a sleepy sleepy place it's a million miles away in every sense. From the ravages of Somalia's twenty year long civil war the anarchy the failed state if you like this is no way an incredibly together state an incredibly liberal country which quite frankly works and it is very odd to imagine what a young Somali boy at an impressionable age of 9 would make of moving there and from that vantage point watching on the internet keeping in touch with what was going on back home and what kind of things that must have done to his psyche.

The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse sharing the story of a Norwegian of Somali origin who is believed to be one of the assailants in the Nairobi mall siege last month. Gabriel good to speak with you thanks. Always a pleasure. Meanwhile here in the U.S. Immigration is back on President Obama's front burner. Today the president again called on Congress to pass an immigration reform bill by the end of the year. That seems unlikely but immigration reform is a top priority for both Democrats and Republicans. Given the growing influence of Latino voters Latino culture is growing in influence too. That's one of the points being made by a group of street artists in New York City. They recently started putting Tilda's on signs for one of the city's subway lines. The entrain tell the is that curved line that turns an end into the Spanish letter. Reporter Bruce Wallace went to see what writers think of that. The inline begins or ends depending on your perspective down by the water at Coney Island way south in Brooklyn.

The new story is not really pulled over 30 stops in an hour later it ends or begins in the Queens neighborhood of a story. With. The fairies sprinkled till days on the yellow and black in line signs at various stops. Apparently didn't make it out this far. The amended signs are concentrated toward the middle of the line as it runs through midtown and downtown Manhattan and central Brooklyn. These are busy stations though not many people there seem to have time to stop and notice. Down at the inn stop in Sunset Park Brooklyn a neighborhood that's nearly half a spanning more commuters were willing to stop and ponder. Some were not amused by they don't know what it is without the owner. They totally do it. Oh. I don't find it funny at all. It's. The end user the work of Z Street art project that's throwing up new pieces of public art each day for six months. The End which went up Saturday for their first strike. The group explained on their Tumblr page quote

the end line is now the end of a line for the twenty four point twenty eight percent Spanish speakers in New York City. A multicultural advertising agency launched a similar effort last year urging New York City's MTA to change the in line to the line annually during Hispanic Heritage Month. Some commuters in Sunset Park were intrigued by the project. It's crazy. It's amazing you know. Explain the artist's idea to the Shawn Sumpter. OK Spence for your props I know you know American people you know your guy your process each other a couple writers had ideas about other lines with possible Spanish implications. One guy suggested the L line could be re spelled E L to make the Spanish Article V. Another word about the possible confusion of the rolled r in the r line. A few Spanish speaking school kids said they thought it was cool that their language was getting some recognition.

Which actually means let us in Spanish Yeah. She lives right by the Sunset Park in stop. She's into the end. I love it. I think. It's so cute. I mean it's kind of a nice homage to what the neighbor has been. So I think. The news found a fan in blanket in solids too. It's so cool. She's originally from Mexico and runs an employment agency nearby where the clientele is largely Hispanic. She likes the message although she's a bit worried about the delivery. Is like two sides of the story because first of all I think it's not good to be doing. You know what I'm saying. But. On the other side it's kind of they want to be here. You know what I'm saying. There has to be a message that they want to send by saying Yes hello we exist here and we need to be represented somehow and. You can just deny that we are here. So listen to us. Sunset Park is also home to a big Asian community including Jon Lee who works right around the corner. Like any good New Yorker he's skeptical. People don't pay attention. They're too busy in their

world. Right. I'll tell you you pointed out a young couple hugging near an NDA. Look look at these loves little children and I think it would be a lot Hello to you know to kids. For The World I'm Bruce Wallace reading the NEA line in New York City. We have more on subway line subversion not just in New York in our latest world in words podcast that's at PRR dot org. Next on the program we'll hear from a Syrian immigrant about his first days in America. Back in 1984. It's part of our ongoing series inspired by Philadelphia's South Asian American digital archive. My name is Kareem Sheldon Seba. I am a photojournalist and a writer. I grew up in Damascus Syria. In school I would watch the government officials kids get A's for not even showing up. I would stand in the bread line for an hour and the official's driver would just walk straight and get the bread and walk straight. Just unfairness injustice. You know

those may not be a huge deal to some people but they were to me. My dad was a poet and a writer and he encouraged me to leave when I was 18. The University of Tennessee accepted me so I came to Knoxville. It was a very easy decision to make because I know they had one thing here that we didn't choose freedom. And I wanted really really bad. Knoxville was very aired out very spacious front yards backyards. We really don't have that in devices. In Damascus you smell the me being cooked you smell Jasmine on the sidewalk the smell herbs and spices and here it was less smelly. It was here and people are more private so they don't advertise what they love vs smell or via anything else really. So when I first came the guy I lived with said Where you from. And I said

Damascus Syria. He said Oh I like the road to Damascus. I didn't know what to say so I just brushed it off and go down to the lobby. The guy had checked. He said Where are you from and where you come from I said Damascus. He said oh isn't the road to Damascus. I'm like What is with these people. And he said no no that's like from the Bible the road to Damascus from the Bible. And I said I'm a Muslim. I don't know what you're talking about. So I go look up the road to devices in the Bible. And after I understood what they were asking about this it was in the Bible I'm like you're associating me with something that is very dear to your heart. I like that. Kareem Chauncey Bashar recalled his first days in America for reporter Ashley Cleek. We've collected many amazing stories like that one. You can record your own first day's memories right on our website. Just look for the orange record button at PR ay dot org slash. First days.

This is the world from PR Public Radio International. The world is brought to you by PR with help from Medtronic plan through the developers of the Save a life simulator an interactive online experience designed to teach the public lifesaving responses to sudden cardiac arrest. Each day thousands die from cardiac arrest learn how to respond. At Heart rescue now dot com and by us with Independent Lens exploring the issues in education today through the eyes of six Latino and Latino

students from across the United States the graduates premiering Monday night at 10:00 Central only on PBS. Marco Werman this is the world. Coke as the ad says is the pause that

refreshes in the eyes of gay rights activists need to take a pause themselves and think seriously about the Winter Olympics in Sochi Russia now just three months away. Andre Banks is executive director of the gay rights organization. He joins us from New York so the Russian government's got this anti-gay propaganda law also cracking down on gay rights marches in several Russian cities. You've organized an online petition to address this to put pressure on especially coke. Tell us what this petition asks of the sponsors. Absolutely I would ask them to speak out so I simply asked for coke to call on the Russian government to remove the anti-gay propaganda laws before the Olympics in Sochi to support LGBT organizations in Russia. We're pushing back against this crackdown and to encourage the IOC to change the rules to make sure that we don't end up in this position again that we don't end up. But an Olympics in a country that treats gay and lesbian athletes bad like right is there an ultimatum if you don't get the satisfaction you want from this petition.

Well I think what we've heard from those who know now more than 100 20000 people have signed this in just a couple of days. I think a lot of people are looking at Coke and asking the question will they speak up and will they take a stronger stance. And we continue to take this question to them for the next few months. I mean it did come out with a statement in August it said as one of the world's most inclusive brands we value and celebrate diversity we do not condone intolerance or discrimination of any kind anywhere in the world. What more do you want from them. Exactly what we want to do is just to live up to their values you know if you're a Coke employee in the U.S. The company does have great values for lesbian and gays. Well we're saying is that shouldn't stop when you cross the Atlantic and go to Russia and go to Sochi. People in Russia want the same things that people in the U.S. want. And Coach you do everything in their power to make sure that the Olympics stays a place where athletes and sport and fairness is the goal and not discrimination. Andre How do you respond to the notion that sports and the Olympics especially should not be complicated by politics but should focus on the athletics.

I absolutely agree but the IOC makes it the International Olympic Committee. Makes it very difficult to focus on the athletics when you put the Olympics in a country that says that you can't say that you're gay without facing fines or possibly being taken to jail. It's hard to keep the politics off of the rink when you're being put in that situation and I think that's the choice of the International Olympic Committee and the sponsors who have allowed the Olympics to go forward in Sochi with three months to go before Sochi why not just put all the chips on the table and call for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics or for moving the games somewhere else. You know first of all we've been working closely with our human rights offenders in Russia and they say they don't want to boycott they want the world to come to Russia for these games and to use it as an opportunity to speak out and not to walk out. I think they want to see these powerful voices governments in sport athletes sponsors to take a strong stance against these anti-gay laws and show the Russian government that you know there are many voices who are on the other side who want to see a change. You know there is a real precedent for

this before the Olympics in Beijing. The Chinese government change a number of laws to come into support from this international community and sponsors in London in 2012. The IOC forced the Saudi Arabian government to include women in their elliptic delegation so you know there is a precedent for these kind of changes and I think what we're hoping to see people really step up and make it happen before February. Have you heard from coke at all about your online petition. We have not heard from them directly about the about the online petition we do know that they are in active conversations about. This and I believe they're taking it quite seriously. We're hoping that you know even as soon as this week that we'll get to hear back from them in Iran a strong response. Well the Olympics get underway in February are you going Andre and what do you want your role to be if you do go. You know I think my role is to help amplify the voice of human rights offenders in the country. And you know the hundreds of thousands of people that have joined all out's campaign. I would love to go to Sochi where you know it's actually become quite a challenge for people to get visas especially if you

are an outspoken gay rights activist not surprisingly Andre Banks with the gay rights campaigners all out in New York Andrea good to speak with you thanks a lot. Thank you so much. We contacted Coca-Cola for response today but so far we haven't heard back. You can read cokes full statement from August at PR org. The next Winter Olympics after Sochi takes place in South Korea but the drink in question there right now isn't coke. It's coffee. Koreans have had a love affair with coffee in recent years but that seems to be cooling off. We often turn to reporter Jason Strother in Seoul to explain all things Korean for us. So I asked him why coffee sales are down. Marco there are a few reasons behind this latest trend here. One Koreans just don't have that much money anymore household debt is super high. There's youth unemployment that's double the national average people just don't have the money to go out and spend six dollars on a latte anymore. That's what it cost $6 for a small latte.

That's not unusual especially in the more trendy posh cafes of let's say Congo. Coffee is a really new thing here. Ten years ago when I first came to Korea what you got basically was coffee flavored water. There was a lot of mix coffees with you know powdered milk or sugar additives put in but it was really within the past several years that this coffee culture took place and it's become a real status symbol sitting in a trendy cafe in Congo sipping your latte or your Americano. It's as much of a status symbol as it is carrying a louie of Aton bag for many Koreans. They want to be seen they want to take the window seat. It's a place to be it's a place to socialize expression and for young women. But like most trends you know things fade after time. You're saying that it's just going from trend to kind of reality now. Enough of this expensive trend. Sure. I think that the Korean coffee franchises here cafe

been a for instance. They've put a lot of money into upping its brand value by signing on with celebrity spokes persons really advertising themselves as this posh you know high class you know sort of establishment to hang out and get your coffee that worked in the you know years before but now I think it is the economic reality has set in. So what culture does the youth lose when they can't go into the coffee shops anymore because they can't afford it. Because many young Koreans live with their families they try to spend as much time out of the house as possible and cafes provided that type of outlet for them. It's not a place where you have to pound alcohol which was one of the main ways to get it. The main one of the main places where you spent time out of the house in the past it was a place where you could sit down you could have a coffee. You could check your email you could read you could chat with your friends. This type of environment wasn't here before. I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon but at least the

amount of money the Koreans will be spending inside these cafes will probably decrease. So both Reporter Jason Strother thanks so much. Thank you Marco. Thank you. The world is not just on the radio by the way there's our digital home at PR org and another great way to find us is with the Flipboard app. Imagine your radio becomes a magazine with pages you can flip through. Read the articles and you can still hear all the voices you know from the world runs on your i-Pad iPhone or Android device and you can find it at Flipboard dot com slash the world. You're listening to the world NPR Public Radio International.

Hi I'm Marco Werman Coming up on the world when an Egypt an American filmmaker decides to do the documentary about the protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Even her own family and friends have tough questions for what else is there to fight for them Vikas stepdown it's time for the country to move forward. So what are they still doing there.

BBC News with Jerry Smit the German chancellor Angela Merkel has said that spying among friends is not done. She was speaking as she arrived at a European summit which is likely to be overshadowed by allegations that U.S. intelligence agencies have been intercepting her mobile phone calls a confidential memo published in Britain's Guardian newspaper has revealed that the US National Security Agency monitored the telephones of 35 world leaders. They were reportedly given the numbers by an official in another American government agency. The United States says it is concerned about the rise in piracy off the coast of western Africa after two American citizens were kidnapped from an oil supply ship. A spokeswoman for the State Department said the incident was being investigated. The Bulgarian government has confirmed that two people have been questioned and DNA samples taken in the inquiry into the identity of a young blonde girl named Maria he was found

with a Roma family in Greece last week. He said they could be the parents of the girl. The U.S. Navy has confirmed that a gunman has opened fire near one of its bases in Tennessee wounding two service members. A suspect is in custody after the shooting. New genetic research suggests the thousands of small segments of DNA determine how one person's face can look so different from another's. The study said small amounts of genetic material influence how the shape of the human face alters as it develops. Scientists have shown that finding a cure for the millions of people around the world who have AIDS is likely to be even more difficult than they faired a three year study has found that the size of the dormant reservoir of HIV the virus that can lead to AIDS is up to 60 times larger than previously thought. Experts say the findings published in the journal Cell explain why HIV usually makes a rapid comeback if an infected person stops taking drugs.

Support for PR eyes of the world comes from Medtronic philanthropy developers of the Save a life simulator and interactive online experience designed to teach the public lifesaving responses to sudden cardiac arrest. Each day thousands die from cardiac arrest learn how to respond. At Heart rescue now dot com. And by ITV Yes with Independent Lens exploring the issues in education today through the eyes of six Latino and Latino students from across the United States the graduates premiering Monday night at 10:00 9:00 Central only on PBS. I'm Marco Werman and this is The World a co-production of the BBC World Service. And WGBH in Boston. Germany is paraphrasing Ricky Ricardo today. America's got some splain and to do. The German Foreign Ministry summoned the American ambassador today and told him Germany wants an honest and full explanation of U.S. surveillance operations in Europe and Chancellor Angela Merkel repeated her concerns that her own

mobile phone is being monitored. Today she told a European summit that spying among friends is simply not done. The U.S. denies it but the Europeans are not convinced. Journalist Ryan Gallagher has been reporting for Slade on the arguments in Europe over the legality of the surveillance He's also a fellow at the New America Foundation. Tell us what the Europeans are so upset about first of all Ron. Well they're very aggrieved. I think it's mainly the scale of some of the surveillance that's been disclosed that some of the governments over in Europe just claim that they had no idea it was going on. I mean talking about it's of millions of communications and records of people's phone calls being monitored. So there's just a lot of fury about ascent mainly because the leaders don't seem to have you know been briefed on a lot of things or so they claim by the Americans and so they're very angry about it. And now that they do know where do the real legal issues lie. And Europe they will see what's going on as a violation of various treaties for

instance that and National Convention and civil and political rights because that ensuring that the fundamental right to privacy of communications and it's also a likely violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic relations because then it seems to be topping the phones of politicians and diplomats in Europe. But I can't really see that going through any sort of criminal court or anything like that. That would be too politically contentious. And how do those legal issues stand up that you just listed how do they stand up when France and Germany are also spying and there been numerous allegations that France spied on its citizens. Spiegel reported back in July that Germany worked with the NSA to spy on Germans I mean does that matter does that count. Well I think that doesn't matter and definitely there's an element of hypocrisy here however. The scale of the outrage from some of the politicians some of the lawmakers in Europe it's because they're concerned about the US creeping into other countries in a way that they don't really realize is going on so well the French might be

monitoring their own senses and the Germans too. I don't think that the Germans will be tapping into American communications on American territory. Have you heard Europeans bring up the perennial issue of American exceptionalism you know why America thinks it's OK to surveil other countries but not other countries surveil us. I mean I think that that does comment because the argument that's been put forward quite aggressively by spokespeople for the administration for the White House they said well look you know this is what we do. We're trying to protect the world sort of thing. But you know I think. Especially in Germany where they have this legacy of they have a very sort of scarred memory to do with surveillance. They're just they just take offense to any any kind of mass interest of surveillance. So I think that argument doesn't cut it in Europe with some nations. Ryan before I let you go I have to ask you the curiosity question does anybody in Europe really

think angle Americal does serious business over her mobile phone I mean isn't she just like making restaurant reservations or something. Well you know that's an interesting point because working in this field for a few years and the issues of surveillance you would be very surprised to learn of the terrible information security that high level officials in certain governments. You know they don't use encrypted telephones. They sometimes used apparently military and six conduct a special business and things like that. So you know it wouldn't surprise me if Merkel had used such force and normal consumer BlackBerry to do some sort of government business but I don't know that. But it just it wouldn't surprise me. I certainly think that should be changing her behavior is no these weeks of topping of a phone. Yeah. She better be changing it now. Ryan Gallagher journalist and future tense fellow at the New America Foundation. Thank you. Thanks and.

That's a tough one for the White House but perhaps President Obama's biggest high tech headache at the moment is the sloppy health care dot gov rollout. Some might blame Canada. That's because one of the subcontractors facing scrutiny for the website's many failings is CGI Federal A unit of Canada's biggest I.T. company. The Montreal based CGI group whatever its role in the Obamacare controversy we wondered how CGI is model of doing business across borders fits in with Montreal's economy as a whole. Well turns out high tech and exports have been key to the city's recent economic recovery. I asked Richard Shermer a professor of Urban and Regional Development at McGill University what Montreal's secret is I think there's just one secret as a righteous things that need to be taking into account. But maybe the first thing is that this is not just a recent success this is something that has. Building up over a number of years and in fact stretches back quite a long way into Montreal's industrial history. The

more recent phenomenon that's been happening is that at least for the last 20 years or so there's been a concerted effort by the provincial government and also by the city to promote sort of high tech manufacturing such as the aeronautical industry such as pharmaceuticals but also to promote knowledge intensive services. I mean we've heard of course about CGI exporting its services but do they represent one of many companies right now in Montreal doing the same thing. Yes they do represent one of many companies. There's another very large multi-national engineering services firm and there are many slightly smaller ones who are spanning the globe both in engineering consulting and also consulting related to mining and other industrial type activities. So we're not necessarily talking about the management consultants the financial consultants. Those types of jobs and I have gone to a Toronto that's occurred really in the 1970s but Montreal has picked up on

this industrial consultancy engineering consultants and they now have a number of large multinationals which are very active throughout the globe. And we were really talking a city that for the last decade or more has really been focused on innovation. What about having two languages English and French that helped or hurt innovation in Montreal. I think in the shelter many people would say that is an impediment because there's a lot of arguments between the Francophones on the phones which language should dominate. It also makes it somewhat more difficult to attract a global workforce. I think in the longer term the presence of these two large European cultures at loggerheads creates attention which on the whole is fairly constructive. People here can't be complacent they're always confronted with a different point of view. So because there is this tension I think this doesn't translate not only into the industries in the city but also into the city's culture and social innovation. I mean there's a lot of music is coming out of Montreal right now. And having heard interviews with the musicians and knowing the scene a little bit at least through my

daughters it's clear that the fact that there is a double culture module we always get people coming over from foreign people coming up from the States from the rest of Canada means that it's a meeting place for all the English and French views of the world which I think then does translate into a wider approach to innovation or at least to new ideas which is quite particular to Montreal. Right. But but now with Obamacare and CGI there in Montreal taking a lot of the heat for the health care. Will Montreal pay a price for this. I think obscene Marshall's reputation is going to take a bit of a beating I mean first of all because Montreal was off the radar and now it's on the radar it's not on the radar for a very good reason. I think there's also a downside though to what we've been talking about which is the fact that we do have all this innovation we do have these service companies that are exporting. We do have some high tech manufacturing but nevertheless the actual real incomes or GDP per capita in Montreal remains very low. So I think there's a downside to what we talk about as well. But obviously in terms of Montreal's

image although CGI is maybe not promoting it in a great way right now I think the underlying argument that there are a lot of global consulting come. He's operating from 1 Joule is true and does reflect something fundamental about Montreal. Many cities get a second shot so I was bored. OK Richard Shearer professor of Urban and Regional Development at McGill University thanks for your time. Thank you so much. Egypt's ousted Islamist president is expected to go on trial early next month. Mohamed Morsi supporters are calling for yet another round of protests and there are fears of more bloodshed and street violence between demonstrators counter demonstrators and security forces. The situation in Egypt is chaotic to say the least. And that chaos is the context of a new documentary film by any Gyptian American filmmaker.

The World's Matthew Bell who spent time reporting in Egypt had a chance to speak with her this week January 25th 2011 the day the Egyptian revolution began. John Noujaim had her camera that day but like just about everybody else she wasn't sure if the rumors about big protest would turn out to be true. So she left Egypt to chase some government officials to a conference in Europe. I was on the way to the airport I was thinking to myself I could be making the biggest mistake of my life by leaving on this day. Sure enough something big was happening back in Cairo. As protesters took control of Tahrir Square and called for husband Mubarak to step down John Noujaim made her way back from Switzerland. Her camera was confiscated at the Cairo airport. Then secret police detained her for questioning for a day Noujaim had a moment of panic worried that she was missing out on the story of a lifetime.

It may have been a blessing in the skies actually because it completely removed the temptation of making the film that most people have made which was this 18 day film right up until the removal of Mubarak. And it really forced us to begin the film with the stepping down of Mubarak. So the story in her new film The square sort of begins with the climax Noujaim introduces her main characters. Most of them Egyptian activists of one kind or another spending a lot of time in Tahrir Square. But pretty quickly the sense of triumph vanishes and things get messy. The Egyptian army police violently cleared talker square only several weeks after Mubarak stepped down. One of James characters gets detained and beaten up badly. Another character goes to visit the young man and document his injuries on video at the time when Noujaim posted that footage online. She says people just didn't believe it. Many friends of mine who are intelligent well-read friends of mine in

Egypt said there's absolutely no way that this could have happened there's no way that the army would do this. And you realize that there's a story there that has to be told. Did you ever get real pushback maybe from your family or friends like confronting you and saying Stop this is a problem. There was a lot of that kind of. Attitude of oh you know there's John making her film again but you know what are you really going after in the square you know and you think these like YouTube are kind Twitter people are actually going to make any kind of difference in this country at certain times News James protagonists wonder the very same thing. It's shocking to. Many people and I just think. The whole country was. Misunderstood. 474 enough people to be convinced. To. Action. On. Climate change the future of the country. I mean people are stubborn. To believe.

But. That's a revolution in. The square covers two and a half to mulch us years right up through the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi this past summer and the characters spend much of the film wrestling with some of the tough questions forced on Egyptians by the never ending up people. How do people deal with the cycle of violence. Where's the breaking point. And what happens when revolutionaries turn on each other. Noujaim was arrested several times herself. She's seen plenty of death pain and suffering. It was heartbreaking it was completely heartbreaking. But then you see these shining lights and that's what we focus. That's what I like to focus on in the film because you focus on people and ideas that need to be shared with the world. Otherwise why are you making a film so people that say oh this shows that Egypt is a failed state. No this is a founding period of Egypt and I think what this film shows is that even if it's just a dedicated fuse sitting in a square

it's the dedicated few that are able to inspire others to continue to make a difference was. The square opens in New York on Friday and Los Angeles on November 1st. For The World I'm Matthew Bell. And before we take a break a quick heads up for you on a story we're going to have for you tomorrow. It's about a rug. Not just any rug. This one was woven by Armenian orphans sometime in the 1920s and given to President Calvin Coolidge as a gift. It's a beautiful piece. Very colorful. It has on it many images of animals and plants. And there is the the sense by people who know what these images suggest that it represents probably the Garden of Eden. So what happened after President Coolidge got the rug in one thousand twenty five. Well you'll have to tune in tomorrow to find out. The world is brought to you by PR I with help from the dot coms. Daily

workouts are designed to improve memory and attention and dedicated to helping people feel think faster and remember more. It's all at dot com and by Fox Searchlight Pictures presenting 12 Years a Slave. The true story of a man who overcame more than a decade of injustice to reclaim his freedom in theaters now. I'm Marco Werman this is the world. Richard and Linda Thompson where the king and queen of the

British folk music scene that emerged in the 1970s. Their unofficial royal status crumbled after the couple divorced in the early 80s. A lot of water under the bridge since then and now Linda Thompson has just released her first new album in six years. It's called Won't be long now. Let's. See. You got the song never the bride on this album and it's mine I'm down to live a single life never oh never the bride. You have been married before so this isn't an autobiographical ballad are you single now. No I mean part of the reason I wrote that song it's quite ironic is that I've you know I've been married

since I was 16. Not to the same person of course that would be ridiculous but. And I am I so does I sort of envy unmarried people sometimes you know I just I just do. I'm just going to be truthful I envy them the whole time. So why be married. Actually I'm kidding I'm glad my husband is listening to this here in London. He lives in London. No it's just that because I've never you know has spent long periods alone. I just I just think it would be nice. But then my aunt married friends say it's awful So what are you going to do. Let's go back a little bit I mean you and Richard Thompson your ex-husband former Full my musical partner had an album in 1905 called pour down like silver. Can I ask you Who is that on the album cover he looks like a mystic of some sort. Is that the album which is two faces on each side. I believe I mean the face I did I like it like little braids in the beard looks like a holy man.

Yeah I think it's rich and I'm on the other side that was when we were sci fi's. Yeah. Well spotted there he was. He was we were definitely trying to be holy something. Tell me about that chapter in your life with him I mean it's the practice within Islam that's mystical and musical and artistically expressive. I'm just curious you know in the U.S. It never really penetrated the way it did in Europe in the 70s so why was it so embraced by the counterculture in Europe. You know I don't know because it seems that it was very cultish it seems that it would have been perfect for American people as well as English people. But it's the usual kind of culture thing white over educated you know and looking looking for some meaning to life. So. We sort of stumbled upon this and you know it was we lived in a commune and I don't recommend communal living. It's bad enough having next door neighbors never mind having people in the same bloody bathroom as you. But I suppose we gleaned something from it. We made some music and then we stopped doing music for quite a long time.

I mean now Islam has this whole other context today. I'm just curious how you see Islam today and how you react when you hear how the religion is so often singled out in the West. Well I understand why it is I understand why it is because of the atrocities you know there's there's been some atrocities committed in the name of Islam that's unconscionable. But I do believe that most Muslims are law abiding citizens you know there but there are fanatics. You know it is just until there's some kind of resolution. And I'm not sure there ever will be. It's a it's going to be hard on Muslims. Do you ever kind of return to kind of the understanding of Sufism you had a couple of decades ago today. That was funny because one of the tenets of Islam as you probably know is no pork and no alcohol well last night I had a couple a lychee my Chinese and I had a bacon sandwich for breakfast. So I've gone about as far away from the tenets of Islam and sophism as you can.

But I still like the music singer and former Sophie Linda Thompson. Her new album just released is called Won't be long. Big. Smile. And finally today we switch our musical focus to pay tribute to a true Bollywood legend. The voice of a day can be heard on hundreds of classic songs from decades of

Bollywood movies. He passed away early this morning in Bangalore India. He was 94. If his name doesn't ring a bell for you the world is here to help us out. She grew up in Lucknow in northern India. How would you describe MY today. My daddy was a classically trained playback singer and he sang thousands of songs for a lot of different actors and could be more than one language for sure because he was born in Bengali and then he sang for Hindi films. Now when you say playback singer What do you mean. And Hindi cinema it's like the actors never really saying it's people who have really good boys who are classically trained they also want to sing the song and the actors just my on screen right basically left thinking yeah pretty. Do you remember listening to the music I'm on a day when you're growing up. He basically was from my parents generation so you know when I was getting ready for school about 20 years ago I remember you know the radio was on and my mom making breakfast and my dad getting ready and then his songs playing on the radio so that's what I remember growing up

you know listening to a song on the radio. What about the younger generation in India today any kind of like retro appreciation of singers like Mana day or any of the older Bollywood playback singers. I paying a lot of those songs song by probably 30 40 years ago still already popular in India and I think that the younger generation still listens to them. Definitely some of the songs are very popular even to late. Do you have a favorite song from on a day. Yeah I think one of his most popular songs is maybe Zod as a bee is basically this guy who's a middle aged guy who's appreciating his wife and he's saying that even the gruelling but I my love for you has not changed over the years and stuff like that it's a beautiful beautiful song it's who already live you ready. It's really good it's one of my favorites. The world's Manju Gupta thanks so much. Thanks Marco. And we leave you with the sounds of Bollywood and the late great playback singer mana day and the man a bill harris studios of WGBH in Boston. I'm Marco Werman. So you know I may be the best to you. Thank you.

It actually occurred a man's job the man would have it would have been him that he'd done the men did. The enmity is afoot that could be put to him on June 19. Do I believe that this man has the arrow meadow in the woods to put a bomb on the medi done the middy was. The end of the world is a co-production of the BBC World Service Public Radio International and WGBH Boston supported in part by the loose foundations Henry R. Luce initiative on religion and international affairs by the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation committed to building a more just verdant and peaceful world. Mack found dot org by the Annenberg Foundation and by the

WGBH fund for environmental reporting whose donors include the Grantham foundation for the protection of the environment supporting a co-operative approach to solving our critical environmental problems. While he still can. And by the PR of Global Reporting fund providing in-depth reporting on a diverse array of important topics including global health donors to the fund include Margaret Steve Hoffman and blights Brendan Mann foundation. Our. Public radio. International. I'm Marco Werman. Stop slurping your soup. Anyone ever tell you that. Well a Los Angeles noodle maker says enjoy when it comes to Japanese soba noodles. The slurp is part of the recipe.

The reason why you slurp is not just to make a loud sound which is kind of fun. It's because your air raiding it and you want to eat noodles quickly perfecting the buckwheat noodle next time on the world.