Weekend Edition Sunday on NPR & Classical Music

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The up and down Iran nuclear talks appear to be in a down cycle as negotiators prepare to meet tomorrow in Moscow. Difficult talks in Baghdad last month were followed by contentious comments on both sides. And all this as new oil sanctions against Iran are due to take effect July 1st. NPR's Peter Kenyon has more from Moscow.

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Rachel Martin. Now, to the war in Afghanistan. NPR's Tom Bowman is just back from a month-long reporting trip in Afghanistan. He was out with U.S. troops and Afghan security forces trying to get a sense of how those Afghan forces are doing, since the U.S. is going to be bringing home more than 20,000 troops at the end of the summer. So, the question is: Will security gains last after the Americans leave? Tom is here in the studio to talk about what he saw. Good morning.

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Rachel Martin.

The eyes of Europe and global financial markets are on Greece today, where voters go to the polls in a re-run of the May elections that created a political stalemate. The vote could affect whether the debt-burdened country stays in the eurozone, or if it becomes the first member state to leave it.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli joins us on the line from Athens. Good morning, Sylvia. You have been out at polling stations today, what are Greek voters saying?

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

There is another important vote taking place in Europe today. The French go to the polls and they're expected to give a clear parliamentary majority to the new socialist president, Francois Hollande. There are high expectations for Hollande in both France and throughout Europe. And he may soon have carte blanche to implement his policies.

But as NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports, it won't be easy.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHILDREN TALKING)

Oregon and California are locked in a dispute over something that happened 433 years ago, when Sir Francis Drake became the first British explorer to make contact with Native Americans.

It happened on what is now the American West Coast. The question is where? Oregon or California? The National Park Service is now poised to officially recognize one state's claim.

It's an election year, and that may be good news for those of us who like our summer reading: Laura Miller of Salon.com says a lot of publishing companies don't want to release all their best books in the fall because they'll have to compete with all that presidential campaign news. And that means more great books to choose from when the weather is hot.

The European soccer championship is taking place for the first time in former East Bloc countries Ukraine and Poland. The tournament is supposed to highlight Europe's post-Cold War unity, but the age-old plagues of racism and nationalism persist.

Ukraine is home to a small number of Africans and Asians, many of whom came during the Soviet period. One prominent expatriate in Kiev is Charles Assante-Yeboa, president of the local Africa center.

Assante-Yeboa says four years ago, a group of Ukrainians wielding knives and clubs attacked him.