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In South Africa, thousands of mineworkers have embarked on industrial action that began with a deadly pay strike by platinum workers. They've agreed a wage deal with their management, this week, but the labor unrest is spreading to other platinum and gold mines in an industry that's the engine of South Africa's economy. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton discusses the repercussions with host Scott Simon.

Drug- and gang-related shootouts have killed 20 people so far this year in France's second largest city. The crime wave has prompted one Marseille politician to call for the army to be sent in. The city's isolated housing projects breed despair and are home to a parallel economy based on drugs.

Surprisingly, some analysts are putting Hawaii's Senate race in the tossup column this year. Hawaii hasn't elected a Republican to the Senate since 1970. But with former Gov. Linda Lingle running, Republicans believe they have a chance. And whoever wins, the state will have its first female senator.

Bill Kurtis reads three news-related limericks: A building with an inseam; A black belt in Shhh; Results of the 2012 Yacht Poll.

Fundraising reports filed Thursday night by the presidential campaigns look a lot like recent public opinion polls. They show President Obama with a slight advantage in monthly fundraising last month — while Republican Mitt Romney has the edge by some other measures.

Tokyo's flamboyant and ultraconservative governor, Shintaro Ishihara, said last spring that his city would buy some islands in the East China Sea. Today, China and Japan are caught in a war of words over who controls those islands. Some observers call Ishihara's move a power play that has sparked a crisis.

Women with HIV have a high risk of getting cervical cancer, but the traditional screening method for the disease — a pap smear — isn't available in many poor countries. Now doctors have developed a cheap, simple alternative way to detect cervical cancer, and it's saving lives in Africa and Asia.

Renee Montagne talks to Zanny Minton Beddoes, of The Economist magazine, about the economy in the United Kingdom, and the debate over whether austerity measures are working.

In races from U.S. Senate to state attorney general, candidates know their fortunes are largely tied to the respective fates of Mitt Romney and President Obama. Many acknowledge that a strong partisan wave threatens to wipe them away, so they're pushing to run ahead of their ticket.

The Obama campaign is trying to link Republican Mitt Romney to controversial moves by the New Hampshire state Legislature on women's health. But Romney has a strong advocate in Sen. Kelly Ayotte in a state that could potentially have a female governor and an all-female congressional delegation next year.