Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

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Today, Barack Obama became the third sitting U.S. President to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Obama for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” The announcement drew both warm praise and sharp criticism. We’ll gauge international reaction to the announcement and the World’s Jeb Sharp puts it into historical perspective. What do you think of Obama’s win? Leave a comment below. Photo: White House

• Obama’s Nobel win: Full citation
• World leaders react to Obama’s win
• Global editorial cartoonists react to Obama’s prize
• Jeb Sharp’s weekly history podcast

Obama win a surprise for bookmaker Ladbrokes

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Obama’s win certainly surprised Britain’s Ladbrokes betting company. They had set the odds for the various Nobel candidates, and Obama was a long shot compared to favorites like Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Colombian senator Piedad Cordoba and Chinese dissident Hu Jia. So what was the pay-out on Obama’s Nobel win? We ask Robin Hutchinson, a spokesman for Ladbrokes.

• Ladbrokes homepage

Conservation Refugees: An interview with Mark Dowie

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The Mountain gorilla (pictured) is one of the endangered species protected in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. But what about the Batwa people native to that protected land? In his new book Conservation Refugees, journalist Mark Dowie explores how land conservation affects the lives of the people on and near the preserves. Photo: Sabine’s Sunshine

• More on Mark Dowie’s book
• More on the Batwa people in Uganda
• More on Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

“Zebra” donkeys in Gaza zoo

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Here’s a strange and sad piece of news out of the Gaza strip. It concerns the Marah Land Zoo in Gaza City. Earlier this year, it seems that the military situation in Gaza contributed to the deaths of some of the zoo’s animals. According to zoo keepers, two zebras starved to death. So now they’ve resorted to artifice to keep ”zebras” on display. We hear from zoo administrator Nidal Barood later today.

• Article and video from London’s Telegraph newspaper
• BBC coverage

Urban beekeeping

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It’s been rough going for honeybees in recent years. A phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder has been killing them off en masse. It’s still not clear what’s causing the bee deaths. Though there are some suspected culprits: pesticides, parasites and lack of biodiversity. Yet bee colonies are thriving in unexpected places like French cities. Genevieve Oger has more from Paris.Download MP3

• Photos
• Wikipedia: Colony Collapse Disorder

Entire program – October 9, 2009

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Today on The World: International reaction to President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize; Also, how city living could help the world’s honeybees make a comeback; And the plight of those people around the globe who are displaced from their land in the name of conservation.