Tuareg rebels eat a meal last month near the Malian city of Timbuktu, which they recently captured. The rebels have taken control of northern Mali, raising concerns about stability in the broader region.
Credit Luc Gnago / Reuters/Landov
The leader of Mali's military junta, army Capt. Amadou Sanogo, speaks at a news conference outside the capital Bamako on Saturday. He says he wants to hold a consultative conference on Mali's future, but has not offered detailed plans.
Rebels from the Tuareg ethnic group now control most of northern Mali, a territory as big as France on the edge of the Sahara desert.
A column of trucks loaded with Tuareg fighters rolled into the ancient desert town of Timbuktu on Sunday, taking over the positions abandoned by fleeing government soldiers.
They include an Islamist faction that wants to impose Shariah law throughout Mali and are believed to include elements with links to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.
Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawwa and founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, listens to a reporter during his interview with the Associated Press in Islamabad, Pakistan on Tuesday.
During a debate over the Violence Against Women Act last week, the Wisconsin Democrat told her own history of surviving sexual assault and violence. Rep. Moore speaks with host Michel Martin about her story and why she thinks the Violence Against Women Act deserves bipartisan support. (Advisory: This segment may not be suitable for all audiences.)
I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, the latest installment in our celebration of National Poetry Month that we call Muses and Metaphor. It's our series where we hear your poetic tweets.
But, first, we turn to our Wisdom Watch conversation. That's the part of the program where we speak with those who've made a difference through their work.
As part of Tell Me More's series celebrating National Poetry Month, host Michel Martin shares a poetic tweet from freelance photographer and administrative assistant Renea Hanna of Bandera, Texas. Listeners are invited to tweet original poems of 140 characters and less to #TMMPoetry.
The Beauty Shop ladies discuss Mitt Romney's three decisive primary wins, and Rick Santorum's vow to "kick off the second half" of the campaign in his home state of Pennsylvania. Host Michel Martin checks in with blogger Viviana Hurtado, reporter Mary Spicuzza, sports commentator Tandaleya Wilder, and policy analyst Michelle Bernard.
Host Michel Martin continues the conversation with the Beauty Shop ladies by taking a look at the Baylor Lady Bears' big win in Tuesday night's NCAA women's basketball championship. Martin speaks with blogger Viviana Hurtado, reporter Mary Spicuzza, sports commentator Tandaleya Wilder, and policy analyst Michelle Bernard.
Coming off his three-state sweep in Tuesday's primaries, GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney this noon renewed his charge that President Obama has displayed an "appalling lack of leadership."
Romney said that if elected president he could provide the kind of experience and guidance to give the economy a lift, get the government on the path toward deficit reduction and ensure the USA continues to play a leading role around the world.
Incumbent presidents generally try to cast their re-election contest as a choice between the imperfect but well-meaning and effective occupant of the White House and the far worse alternative offered by the rival party.
Challengers, on the other hand, try to frame a presidential race as a referendum on the sitting president whose record nearly always contains missteps, or who can be blamed for trouble in the economy or elsewhere.
In short, whether it's the president or the challenger, the way the game is played requires each to define the opposition as well as himself.
