Radio Green Earth on HD2

Violence is increasing in Syria, with activists reporting multiple clashes in cities. The U.N. Security Council is meeting Friday to discuss a resolution on the conflict there. It's also likely to ask President Bashar Assad to step down.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The transport minister in Australia denounced a political opponent. He said the opponent wasn't interested in fixing a problem, only in making people "afraid of it" and telling them "who's to blame for it." Critics note Michael Douglas used that line in Aaron Sorkin's movie The American President.

Egyptian authorities are preventing six Americans, including the son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, from leaving the country. They work for non-governmental agencies that were raided by Egyptian security forces last month.

The crippled cruise ship off the coast of Italy needs to be removed from the area where it ran aground. Joel Farrell, president and founder of Resolve Marine has been salvaging vessels for more than 30 years. Renee Montagne asks him to explain how the half-submerged cruise ship can be salvaged.

After more than a century of providing services for immigrants and the poor, the organization founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams is shutting down. The Jane Addams Hull House Association has struggled financially in recent years.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

In Europe, there's a movement to provide better protections for Web users. The European Union has outlined tough new data privacy recommendations that it wants to become law. Among its targets, the American companies Facebook and Google. Google just announced a new privacy policy that would track all the Web movements of its registered users.

Teri Schultz is in Brussels and reports on EU efforts to strengthen online protections of personal information.

A Los Angeles restaurant famous for its 9 cent cup of coffee is raising the price to 45 cents -– 50 cents with tax. Management at Philippe the Original told the Los Angeles Times they can no longer keep up with the cost of coffee.

Steve Inskeep has business news.