Dennis Rodman

Dennis Rodman’s controversial relationship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un turned another page this week. The former NBA star was in North Korea this week to select and train a North Korean basketball team that will take part in an exhibition game in honor of Kim’s birthday. Plus Egyptian activists are thrown in jail and elves — yes, elves — halt a highway project in Iceland, in today’s Global Scan.

A gay Sikh man created a social media stir when he posted a photo on Facebook that was taken down by the network. The posting, which Facebook said violated its terms, created a firestorm within the Sikh community and outside. Also, a US presidential commission has made 46 recommendations for reining in the NSA, and we introduce you to a Czech treat likely coming to a bakery near you soon. All that and more, in today’s Global Scan.

North Korea’s young ruler has a singular mission, experts say, preserve the family dynasty. And in that context, Kim Jong Un’s sabre-rattling and his invitation to have Dennis Rodman visit the isolated country all makes sense.

It’s apt timing that The Orphan Master’s Son, a story of love and defection set in North Korea, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction this week.

Behind Rodman’s recent antics in North Korea is the backing of VICE Media, a group with a reputation for stunt journalism. Anchor Marco Werman discusses the controversial Rodman trip and stunt journalism with New York Times reporter Brian Stelter.