The World: Latest Stories

The largest regatta in the world takes place this weekend in the waters of the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts. It will be filled with rowers from all over the world. This year, two athletes will be competing under a banner rarely seen in the rowing world: the Palestinian flag. GBH's Esteban Bustillos has their story.

Ed Maverick started writing songs about heartbreak in his sleepy town of Delicias, in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, when he was 16. The following year, he released his debut album, Mix to Cry in Your Room." The hit Fuentes De Ortiz" reached more than 500 million views on Youtube. But after a major label deal and a move to Mexico City, he was subject to cyberbullying and broke down crying at a concert in New York City. Now at 25, he's about to release his fifth album. Gisele Regatao explains how he became an unlikely cult hero and the voice of Mexican youth.

Members of the Catholic Church around the globe this week are reeling from news that Pope Leo XIV has cancer. The diagnosis came after an operation on the pope's lung. The World's Carolyn Beeler spoke to Massimo Faggioli, a Catholic scholar at Villanova University.

US President Donald Trump added more confusion to US-Ukrainian relations over the last few days, announcing he'd drop sanctions on Russian diesel in order to import it, calling for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to leave office and declaring an "energy ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine that came as a surprise to Kyiv. But perhaps the most dangerous development has been the uncertainty over whether the US will continue to share intelligence with Kyiv that allows advance notice of ballistic missile strikes by Moscow. Teri Schultz was at the Warsaw Security Forum to take the temperature of this diplomatic disarray.

For more than a decade, Nicolas Maduro ruled Venezuela, supported by powerful allies, including his vice president, Delcy Rodriguez. Today, Maduro is in a Brooklyn jail, fighting charges that could keep him behind bars for the rest of his life. Rodriguez, meanwhile, is running the country and working with the very government that captured him. His courtroom battle is only beginning, but Venezuela's political future is already being negotiated without him.

Bones discovered at the famed Shanidar Cave in northern Iraq suggest the individual was killed with a spear. This could be the first evidence of murder, or just an accident. Host Carolyn Beeler has more.

Costa Rica, once a haven of stability in a troubled region, is facing rising homicides and drug trafficking. This week, its leaders unveiled a new prison for 5,000 inmates. The facility is designed to emulate El Salvador's approach to fighting crime and project an iron fist." But Steven Dudley, co-director of the investigative outlet InSight Crime tells The World's Carolyn Beeler that the new prison and the thinking behind it carries many risks.

Six months after Viktor Orban's 16-year rule came to an end in Hungary, his successor Peter Magyar is facing a major test: turning campaign promises into reality. He pledged to tackle corruption, rebuild ties with the European Union and reform state media accused of serving the former regime. But political observers say there's a long road ahead. The World's Europe correspondent Orla Barry reports.

The film is called "La Bola Negra," and it just hit US theaters. Alvaro Lafuente plays the lead as a closeted gay soldier during the Spanish Civil War who falls in love with an enemy officer. Lafuente also wrote the movie's main song and could earn a double nomination come Oscar time. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Barcelona.

This week, Ukraine faced restrictions on Pentagon-funded Starshield access and US intelligence sharing, hindering its ability to intercept drones and strike Russian targets. The service has reportedly been restored. But retired Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, who directs The Foundation for Defense of Democracies Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation tells The World's Carolyn Beeler the incident brought home to Kyiv how vulnerable it is to decisions by a wavering ally.

Archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be the oldest known shipwreck in the world. Estimated to be up to 4,700 years old, the ship's structure has long since decayed. But its cargo of ceramic pots, as well as three stone anchors, remains. And they shed light on the trade routes across the Mediterranean Sea in the ancient world. Carolyn Beeler has more details.

Families are returning to southern Lebanon, but the fighting isn't over. Israeli strikes continue, and parts of the south remain under Israeli military control. Some villages have been reduced to rubble, leaving residents with nowhere to return. For those who have made it home, fear and uncertainty are part of everyday life. The World's Shirin Jaafari visits a mobile medical clinic, where healthcare workers are helping people cope with the physical and emotional toll of war.

The driest non-polar place on earth, the Atacama Desert, is currently covered with carpets of colorful blossoms. This natural spectacle only happens once or twice every ten years, and three years ago it prompted the Chilean government to name this region a national park. Here, researchers are finding clues to deal with climate change and extremely dry conditions. The World's Tibisay Zea first reported on this phenomenon in 2022, from the Atacama Desert.This story originally aired on Oct. 17, 2022.

National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek is on a decades-long project to walk from East Africa to South America. In his 13 years on the road so far, he's been stopped by law enforcement 120 times. Those encounters range from friendly stops to detentions, and everything in between. He has even been logging those stops on an online map. He joined Host Carolyn Beeler to talk about that map, and share stories about his walk-ins with the law.This story first aired on January 22, 2026.

You might have come across a slightly odd and curiously funny video from Norway recently. In it, Death personied - cloaked and scythe in hand - helps a character called the Enshi**icator to shorten the lives of everyday products like clothes and electric toothbrushes. Funny, perhaps, but the message behind it is serious - who is really to blame for our over-consumption? DW reporter Lars Bevanger went to Oslo to meet the people behind the campaign.

An international group of scientists, diplomats and timekeepers today changed the way the world keeps time. The World's Carolyn Beeler speaks with analyst Steve Allen from UC Santa Cruz Observatories about the elimination of the leap second.

At least seven students from the Autonomous University of Morelos have been murdered since 2025, including five young women. The killings have sparked protests and renewed demands for better protection. Across Mexico, female university students face sexual harassment, fear of disappearing and obstacles to reporting abuse. As universities introduce new security measures and complaint procedures, students and researchers question whether enough is being done to prevent violence and hold perpetrators accountable. The World's Tibisay Zea reports.

Houthi fighters are escalating their attacks on Saudi infrastructure and civilians, leaving Riyadh with few easy options. Michael Ratney, former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the Biden administration and now a non-resident senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discusses the implications of rising Houthi clout with The World's Host Marco Werman.

A new musical - with a score by Duncan Sheik and a book by Leah Nanako Winkler, based on a Japanese graphic novel - is opening off-Broadway this week. It's the first Japanese manga to be developed into an American musical, about a woman who feels trapped within her life. Sheik, a Tony Winner for his score to Spring Awakening, died before the dress rehearsals were done. Jeff Lunden reports from New York.

Climate change is reshaping nearly every part of society. And that includes our relationships. Researchers are increasingly understanding how climate change both amplifies loneliness and can build stronger bonds. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with psychologist Samia Ahkter-Khan for The Loneliness Diagnosis, our special series on solutions to loneliness around the world.

Springtime is normally dry and sunny in Santiago, Chile. But the city has recorded its wettest October on record in the first week of the month when around two inches of rain fell in just a single day. Heavy rainfall high up in the Andes mountains rushed down into Santiago's Mapocho River, turning it from a sedate flow into a torrent. And among all the chaos, there was one rescue that kept the public riveted for hours, and later became an unlikely global hero as Jane Chambers reports.

In the 1970s and '80s, Teresa Teng was the big pop star in Asia. The Taiwanese singer released hit after hit, recording in several languages including Mandarin and Japanese. Her untimely death in 1995 at the age of 42, hasn't stopped her fan base from wanting more of her music. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks to Xianda Huang, a superfan and scholar in Chinese pop culture.

Students have marched in cities across Brazil against presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro. They're concerned about potential cuts to higher education. Universities were highly impacted by funding freezes and unprecedented budget cuts under former President Jair Bolsonaro, Flavio's father, and the son has promised similar austerity measures. It comes in the wake of the first round of the presidential elections, in which Trump-ally Flavio Bolsonaro won by 2% ahead of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Michael Fox reports from Florianopolis, Brazil.

After nearly 30 years together, one of Norway's biggest musical acts is calling it quits. The hip-hop duo Karpe announced earlier this year that they'll retire in 2028, following one final tour. But for a generation of Norwegians, the duo has been much more than a cultural staple: Karpe also challenged what it means to be Norwegian. The World's Joshua Coe, who spoke to Karpe back in 2022, connected with fans in Norway last week to reflect on their legacy.

Nepal's government is ending its active search for the more than 5,000 people still missing from August's catastrophic flooding. The country is now moving into a "rehabilitation" phase, though any remains discovered in that process will be recovered. Dharam Uprety, head of Nepal's disaster management agency, tells The World's Host Carolyn Beeler that while the government is resettling victims, it will not rebuild where towns were destroyed.

Formula One has announced a 10-year deal to hold the Africa Grand Prix in Rwanda. The initial event would be the continent's first F1 race since 1993. F1 says a purpose-built circuit could be completed early in the next decade," about 25 miles from the capital, Kigali. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler has the story.

Conservationists in Indonesia who have spent years replanting the country's forests are now watching that work burn. Wildfires have surged for months, spreading smoke across the region. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Nur Febriani, with the reforestation group ASRI, about what's been lost.

A trial is beginning for a Ukrainian national charged with sabotaging the Nord Stream pipeline. Prosecutors allege the Ukrainian, named during the trial only as Serhii K., acted on behalf of "state agencies of Ukraine." The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with The Wall Street Journal's Bojan Pancevski, the author of "The Nord Stream Conspiracy: The Inside Story of the Explosions That Shook the World," about the implications of the trial.

In her new book, "The Best Kind of American," Lebanese journalist Kim Ghattas investigates the 1984 murder of Malcolm Kerr, president of the American University of Beirut, and explores how his assassination connects Lebanon's turbulent past to the Middle East's current crises. Ghattas and The World's Host Carolyn Beeler consider key junctures in 1980s Lebanon and discuss how the small country became an arena for so many competing forces.

Fires have been blazing across vast stretches of forest throughout Indonesia. This is causing hazardous emissions to surge, particularly in the hardest-hit provinces on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. This year's wildfire season is the most intense in 11 years as super-El Nino" weather conditions drive up temperatures and cause punishing droughts. Naina Rao reports from Jakarta.

On June 11, 1922, American filmmaker Robert Flaherty premiered Nanook of the North: A Story of Life and Love in the Actual Arctic" in New York City. Set in Inukjuak on the Hudson Bay in northern Quebec, the silent film documented the daily struggles of an Inuk man and his family. It was the first significant nonfiction film ever released and led to a new category of film: the documentary. A century later, another American filmmaker returned to Inukjuak to examine what has happened to the community over the past 100 years. Host Marco Werman speaks to Inukjuak town manager Shoamik Inukpuk and Kirk French, a filmmaker and anthropologist at Penn State.This story originally aired on June 8, 2022.

An arms race is escalating above us, as military powers vie for control of space. The satellites we rely on are vulnerable to attack and space debris is increasingly filling a crowded orbit. The PBS documentary "Space Wars" explores the dangers of militarizing space. Jonathan McDowell is an astrophysicist and contributed to the documentary. He recently spoke to Host Carolyn Beeler.

Allegations of a horrific sexual assault at Cornell University in New York State have reignited questions about how colleges protect students and hold perpetrators to account. But the problem extends far beyond US campuses. In England, a survey of more than 50,000 final-year students last year found that 14% had been sexually assaulted since starting university. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports.

Thousands of people marched through New Delhi Monday toward India's Supreme Court, where opposition leaders sought to challenge a sweeping revision of the country's voter registration lists. More than 130 million names have been removed from those voter lists, which opposition politicians and civil society leaders have called into question as tampering by the ruling party's government. The World's Host Marco Werman speaks with Mukulika Banerjee, a social anthropologist at the London School of Economics who researches India's democracy.

Hezbollah has been a powerful force in Lebanon for decades. But after yet another devastating war with Israel, the group is facing calls to give up its weapons, and there are growing doubts among some of its supporters. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports from Lebanon.

We take a couple of minutes to listen to a talented 12-year-old busking on the famous Grafton Street in Dublin. Riordan Hopwood has covered "Dreams" by The Cranberries and "Anna" by The Beatles. Host Marco Werman has the details.

A small population of desert lions in Namibia have become the only maritime lions in the world. They've moved to the country's Atlantic coast in search of food, as climate change and extreme weather force a shift in their hunting patterns. Griet Van Malderen is a wildlife photographer who has spent years following the pride. She spoke with The World's Host Carolyn Beeler about what she's seen.

As Syria tries to recover from civil war, it's working to create a constitution, and enact the rule of law. But a devastating problem persists: so-called honor crimes," where women and girls are killed in the name of family honor." Today, we hear the story of Nour - whose life was cut short by such an honor killing. Lina Chawaf reports from Syria.

Czechs went to the polls today. It's the first of two days of voting to elect local representatives and fill one-third of senate seats. More than 8 million Czechs are eligible to vote. So are 237,000 non-Czech EU citizens living in the country, though many of them don't know it. But, as Deutsche Welle, DW's, Rob Cameron reports, three foreign-born residents have been trying to change that.

Workers building a vast new US consulate in Milan, Italy, got a big pay day this week. More than 60 laborers, mostly from India, got around $50,000 each for alleged labor abuses. It was part of a nearly $35-million settlement agreed to last month with Alabama-based Caddell Construction.

Mexico is bringing back the bison - also elk and prairie dogs. It's part of an effort to re-wild a massive swath of land in the state of Sonora, along the US-Mexico border. A binational nonprofit is helping to make it happen. From KJZZ, Nina Kravinsky has the story.

Musician El Leon Pardo pronounces himself king of Cumbia Espacial, or Space Cumbia. It's here that he's created a tropical, psychedelic-like world where the coral is constantly changing color and the trees have a language all their own. And because El Leon Pardo is king ,when he gives the signal, we all have to get up and dance. We'll hear the music of El Leon Pardo.

The Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in 2021, after the hasty conclusion to a 20-year US military occupation. Since then, music has been officially banned in the country. Musicians are driven underground, instruments are destroyed and recordings are contraband. In the East Bay, across from San Francisco, one Afghan American is working hard to preserve what he can. He's digitizing tapes he's sourced from back home and posting them in an online database he started calling the Afghan Cassette Archive. But getting those tapes out of Afghanistan is not as simple as an online order ... it's an illegal, expensive and dangerous odyssey. Reporter Christopher Alam met up with Omid J, aka OMJVinyls, at his Oakland studio to check out his rare collection.

Former International Criminal Court judge Navi Pillay is the recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Iva Vukui, assistant professor of international history at Utrecht University in the Netherlands who specializes in international courts, about Pillay's work and legacy.

The Canadian government is preparing to destroy the testimonies given by tens of thousands of First Nations people about the abuse they endured as children at residential schools. The government promised survivors of these schools that their testimony would remain confidential. About 10 years ago, the Supreme Court ordered those records destroyed. But that plan has been controversial. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with journalist Connie Walker about what is happening with that process.

Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman give quick updates on stories we've been following: Ethiopia's government retakes control of the northern city of Mekelle; Maria del Carmen Abascal, the face of Spain's housing reform movement, has died; NASA releases new photos taken by the Curiosity rover on Mars.

Germany has a new roadmap for its transition away from fossil fuels. It sets a deadline of 2045 and moves up the target to eliminate the use of coal. But the plan is being presented against a domestic political backdrop of significant disagreement over energy policy. The World's Host Marco Werman speaks with Miranda Schreurs, professor of climate policy at the Technical University of Munich, about what's going on.

Acclaimed poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature today. The work of the genre-bending writer includes prose and essays that lean heavily into classical myths. Classicist Natalie Haynes tells The World's Host Marco Werman how Carson plays with the strange and joyous in classics works.

One of the Guinea-Bissau's most important songwriters was Jose Carlos Schwarz. His politically-charged songs helped the country win its 11-year independence war against Portugal in 1974. A group of musicians from the West African country is now celebrating his legacy. From Lisbon, Ricci Shryock reports.

For the first time in history, the World Bank has completely rejected the findings of its internal watchdog, prompting the head of the monitor to resign. The watchdog found that the bank had violated its own policies and failed to do proper due diligence before investing $400 million into Cambodian microfinance firms. Those firms harmed impoverished borrowers, pushing them to sell land and make their children work to repay loans, the watchdog determined. Leila Goldstein reports from Ratanakiri, Cambodia.