The World: Latest Stories

Cheikh Ibra Fam], a musician from Senegal, has a new album out called "Adouna." Ibra Fam's family moved around a lot, so he lived all over Senegal as a child, joining choirs wherever he went. Those gatherings, he says, were his classrooms. Host Carolyn Beeler has the details.

Hope is mandatory. Pretend to be human. Go. That's how author Rachel Goldberg-Polin says she made it through the 328 days her Israeli American son Hersh Goldberg-Polin was held in Hamas captivity after the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. Rachel talks with The World's Host Marco Werman about her book, "When We See You Again." It chronicles her son's abduction and murder, and why she says she still feels blessed, lucky, grateful and in pain.

Soccer fans are anxiously awaiting the June 11 start of the North America World Cup. But scandalously high prices have dampened some spirits. This World Cup isn't just record-breakingly expensive. It's also bigger than ever, with 48 teams competing instead of 32. The larger pool means more room for surprises. The World's Gerry Hadden covers it all with Host Carolyn Beeler.

Artillery barrages and airstrikes landed across Lebanon Thursday, including the coastal city of Tyre. Israel claimed it was targeting Hezbollah. The Lebanese health ministry says that at least 16 people have died in the strikes so far, while many others have fled. Founded by the Phoenicians nearly 5,000 years ago, Tyre is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities and a center of Lebanese culture and identity. Ali Badawi is the regional director for southern Lebanon in the country's Ministry of Culture and speaks with Host Carolyn Beeler about the significance of the city and what's at risk.

A public outcry over alleged corruption in Romania's judiciary has put the country's justice system under intense scrutiny. Hundreds of judges and prosecutors called for change, after an explosive TV documentary last December laid bare the scale of the alleged corruption. The film sparked days of protests. But six months later, critics say meaningful reform has yet to happen. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports.

AI-generated LEGO videos have become one of the most unexpected propaganda tools in the current Iran war. The clips use humor, memes and video-game-style animation to mock global leaders like US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while pushing pro-Iran narratives online. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports.

The Cerne Abbas Giant, one of the largest chalk figures carved into a British hillside, is getting a makeover. Some 300 people will spend two weeks "re-chalking" the 180-foot high chalk figure just outside an English town in Dorset. Host Carolyn Beeler explains.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says the government will invest $75 million to pave and improve a highway running through a largely untouched section of the Amazon. That's fueling concerns about landgrabs leading to deforestation. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Philip Fearnside, a scientist at the National Institute for Research in Amazonia, about the concerns.

South African musician Bakithi Kumalo is back on the road again with Paul Simon this summer playing tunes from Simon's vast catalogue. Kumalo is known for his bass playing and can be heard all over Paul Simon's seminal album "Graceland." You might know Kumalo's famous riff on the hit tune "You Can Call Me Al." So, it's a good opportunity for Marco Werman to revisit his conversation last year with Kumalo when the duo was on tour at the time.This story originally aired on July 25, 2025.

The trial of Atef Najib began this month. He's the cousin of deposed President Bashar al-Assad, and former head of political security in the province of Deraa, where it's widely believed Syria's civil war began. Najib is charged with overseeing the arrest and torture of schoolchildren who had scrawled anti-regime slogans on a wall in 2011. From Syria, Deborah Amos reports.

Lack of healthcare infrastructure and distrust of authorities are challenging efforts to confront the latest Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo. New York Times Chief Africa Correspondent Declan Walsh, recently traveled to Mongbwalu, the mining town where the current outbreak was first detected. Walsh tells The World's Host Carolyn Beeler how late detection has dramatically exacerbated the crisis.

NASA, this week, announced an ambitious mission for the US to not only go back to the moon, but to stay there. Artemis III is scheduled to blast off in mid-2027 and begin to lay the groundwork for a permanent presence there. The World's Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler have more.

The heat is on and rising in many parts of the globe. High temperatures have affected players at the French Open in Paris - where conditions are being described as a heat dome. In Asia, at least 16 people have died in southern India. Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler have more details.

National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek has been walking across the globe for his project, Out of Eden Walk. And he marks every 100-mile checkpoint by interviewing the first person he sees. He joins Host Marco Werman to explain how these interviews, which he calls Milestones, are a central part of his global storytelling project.

Rising geopolitical tensions are complicating an already fragile dynamic on the European island of Cyprus - a country that remains militarily divided between the Turkish Cypriot north and the Greek Cypriot south. Turkey has reacted with alarm to the announcement that France is to send soldiers to the island. Meanwhile, Athens and Nicosia are concerned about new Turkish legislation threatening the sovereignty of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. From Istanbul, Dorian Jones, from our partners at DW, Deutsche Welle, reports on the rising tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.

Legendary Cuban American trumpeter Arturo Sandoval has a new album out titled "Sangu," which is both jazzy and reaches into his Afro-Cuban roots. Topping it off is an honor Sandoval received last week: knighted by the king of Spain. We go back to a conversation that Host Marco Werman had with Sandoval almost 10 years ago to get a better sense of why he was knighted for his public service with special acknowledgement for his role in international relations and diplomacy.

In 2024, Isak Andic, the multi-billionaire founder of the clothing chain Mango, fell to his death on a hike near Barcelona. He was hiking with his son Jonathan Andic. Police initially ruled the death an accident. But they've since arrested Jonathan on suspicion of plotting his father's murder. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Collbato, Spain.

Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman run us through some headlines in the news that might have flown under the radar.

Soaring demand for the high-bandwidth memory chips powering AI systems is expected to generate huge profits. Now, workers at Samsung Electronics have struck a deal to share some of that wealth. Under a new labor agreement, some 78,000 semiconductor employees will receive more than 10% of company profit. Rutgers University's Joseph Blasi tells The World's Host Carolyn Beeler that tech firms worldwide will be watching the deal closely.

Protests have gripped Bolivia's capital for weeks, triggered by what voters are seeing as the president's bait and switch. After campaigning as a centrist candidate with a base of working class and Indigenous support, Rodrigo Paz filled his cabinet with conservative business leaders, and enacted policies viewed as more in line with a right-leaning agenda. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Kathryn Ledebur, director of the Andean Information Network in Cochabamba, Bolivia, about what led to this moment.

After a months-long blackout, Iran has begun restoring internet access in the country. Iranians are appearing back online, posting about how the cut-off impacted their lives. The internet monitoring group NetBlocks described the blackout as the longest in modern history. The World's Shirin Jaafari speaks with Host Marco Werman about what people there are saying.

It's being described as Ireland's George Floyd moment." Yves Sakila, a 35-year-old man originally from Democratic Republic of Congo, died in Dublin earlier this month after being restrained by several security guards. A video of the incident has since gone viral and is drawing comparisons to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020. Migrant and Black community groups in Ireland are now calling for an independent investigation into Sakila's death. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry has more.

In Germany today, a court found guilty a suspected member of one of the country's most notorious militant groups, the Red Army Faction. The 67-year-old Daniela Klette could now face 13 years in prison for a series of robberies she was involved in while on the run. To understand who Klette is and the far-left group she was a part of, Host Marco Werman speaks with Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at The Counter Extremism Project, who's in Berlin.

Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical Monday, outlining his priorities in leading the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. While the focus of "Magnificent Humanity" was heavily on his concerns about AI, the pontiff also apologized for one of the Church's historic wrongs: supporting the slave trade. To learn more, The World's Host Carolyn Beeler spoke with Father Chris Kellerman, a Jesuit priest and the author of All Oppression Shall Cease: A History of Slavery, Abolitionism, and the Catholic Church."

FIFA, the organizer of the soccer World Cup, has a clear policy against political flags or signs during matches. It includes in that ban the Lion and Sun flag that once flew officially in Iran before the 1979 Islamic revolution. But a group linked to the Iranian diaspora in the US says it will sue to reverse that stand. The World's Gerry Hadden reports.

Crate diggers are a passionate bunch, and with websites like Discogs and eBay, they've gotten something of a global network. Jayesh Veralkar is a part of it. He's a record collector in Dubai and co-founder of Vinyl Souk, a grassroots organization for record collectors in the United Arab Emirates. Host Marco Werman chats with Veralkar about what makes the scene unique, and they play some great music while they're at it.This story originally aired on Aug. 15, 2025.

The American Farm Bureau Federation this year called the shortage of a skilled, reliable workforce the single greatest threat to agriculture." As the weather warms on the 7,000 mostly small farms in Massachusetts, GBH News Reporter Liz Neisloss found that strain is easy to see.

Immigration officials in the Dominican Republic are staking out hospitals. When people who are pregnant arrive, they are arrested and deported - sometimes soon after they've given birth, along with their newborns. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Tirana Hassan, the CEO of the US branch of Doctors Without Borders.

The Strait of Hormuz has now been closed for 88 days. And the impact of that closure, along with the US-Israel war with Iran that triggered it, is intensifying rifts among Gulf countries. Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, joins The World's Host Marco Werman to discuss what's behind the growing divisions.

Colombia has faced a dramatic increase in violence in the weeks before its presidential election this weekend. Crime is a central voter concern, and that could be bad news for Ivan Cepeda, the candidate for the nation's ruling party. But there's still has a good chance that Cepeda can pull it off, thanks to progress the party has made in other areas, such as improving economic conditions for blue collar workers. Manuel Rueda reports from Bogota.

Each year, Gloucestershire holds its annual downhill race where contestants chase a wheel of cheese. It's a madcap, slightly terrifying thing to watch but always great fun. Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler explain what it's all about.

This past winter, around 20 monks from a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Texas walked from their home in Fort Worth to Washington, DC. The 2,000-mile walk was to promote peace, and ask for federal recognition of the Buddha's day of birth. WUNC reporter Aaron Sanchez-Guerra checked in on the marchers' progress while they were in North Carolina.This story originally aired on Feb. 4, 2026.

On a long trip away from home, some of the most memorable moments come from the hospitality of strangers. National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek has come to rely on hospitality every day on his Out of Eden Walk, traversing the path of human migration. Host Marco Werman speaks to Salopek about hospitality, starting in Japan with a recent stay in a traditional roadside inn.This story originally aired on June 20, 2025.

Back in 2022, the war in Ukraine, school shootings and racial killings helped inspire Designing Peace," a fresh exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, in New York. The museum selected projects from 25 countries to highlight how design can address the root causes of conflict. Reporter Sarah Birnbaum went to take a look.This story originally aired on Aug. 4, 2022.

In this installment of Movement, a series about migration and music, Meklit Hadero talks with Gino Yevdjevich, lead singer of the gypsy punk band Kultur Shock. They explore the need to create art, especially when the world is at its darkest. Yevdjevich tells the story of how the siege of his native Sarajevo during the Bosnian war turned him from a pop musician to a punk rocker in Seattle.This story originally aired on Aug. 9, 2023.

One in three French university students skips a daily meal regularly, as they struggle with rising housing costs and inflation. Meahwhile, 600,000 live below the poverty line. But volunteers are coming to help, with groceries and more. The World's Gerry Hadden filed this report from Montpelier, France, last fall.This story originally aired on Oct. 24, 2025.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai is the executive producer of "Stranger at the Gate," a short documentary that tells the story of a former US Marine who planned to bomb an Indiana mosque. Yousafzai spoke with The World's Host Marco Werman in 2023, when the documentary was nominated for an Oscar, about how the film forced her to grapple with issues in her past.This story originally aired on Feb. 15, 2023.

Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca and French cellist Vincent Segal had known about each other for years, traveling in similar music circles and concert halls. But they never really had the chance to forge their own connection. Fonseca made the first move, suggesting they start playing music together. The result is both a friendship and an album: "Nuit Parisienne a la Havane." Host Carolyn Beeler has the details.This story originally aired on Feb. 18, 2026.

In April 2025, one US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station. Despite heightened geopolitical tensions, cooperation showed it was alive and well in the cosmos. Former International Space Station commander Chris Hadfield told Host Marco Werman how those working there manage to get along even when the nations they represent are in conflict.This story originally aired on April 8, 2025.

This year marks the centennial celebration of Route 66. Arizona's 385-mile stretch of "America's Main Street, has odd origins. Long before all the neon, diners, gas stations and motels dotted the humming highway, the US Army first charted a course along the modern-day path of Route 66, surveying Arizona's high desert terrain for a wagon trail - with unlikely companions. Camels. From KJZZ, Gabriel Pietrorazio reports.

The famous annual Chelsea Flower Show kicked off this week. And for the first time, there's an exhibit devoted to the Greek goddess Aphrodite. There are racy flower displays - and sex toys. Host Marco Werman explains.

Meteorologists expect not only that an El Nino warming pattern will emerge this year, but also that it will be one of the strongest on record. The World's Marco Werman speaks with Kim Cobb, director of Brown University's Institute of Environment and Society, about what that means for people around the world.

Two current artists have taken Cumbia, one of the oldest and most popular rhythms in Latin America, and have given it a modern twist. Instead of playing traditional instruments like the accordion and maracas, they've turned to synthesizers. These sounds can be heard on the new album "Ruido Tovar." It's by Meridian Brothers and Mexican Institute of Sound. Camilo Lara is the brainchild behind M.I.S and speaks to host Marco Werman.

During a legislative session in Jamaica last week, a lawmaker used Jamaican Patois - also known as Jamaican - and caused a stir. Only English is permitted to be spoken in parliament, despite Patois being the native language spoken by most in the country. The World's Marco Werman heard from Joseph Farquharson, a senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica. He joins us from the capital, Kingston.

In mountain communities dependent on glaciers for water, the ongoing disappearance of glaciers due to shorter, warmer winters is an urgent problem. But what if you could make new glaciers every winter, to melt into water every spring? Some villages in Central Asia are doing just that. Researchers are optimistic, but the approach does have limits. Reporter Levi Bridges takes us to Kyrgyzstan for this installment of the Big Fix, profiling ambitious efforts to tackle the climate crisis across the globe.

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spain's Prime Minister from 2004 to 2011, has been charged with influence peddling in the controversial rescue of an airline partly owned by government officials in Venezuela. Investigators say Zapatero received millions of dollars for securing the $62 million bailout for Plus Ultra Airlines. The World's Gerry Hadden reports on the implications of the case.

Hiring professional mourners for a funeral is a common practice in parts of Kenya. Those left behind take great comfort in the professional mourners who bolster attendance at funerals, which are already loud and busy community social affairs in western Kenya. Some have said that the mourners help fill the emptiness and provide comfort. The World's Marco Werman has more.

Taiwan is something of a "David" in its struggle to stay independent from "Goliath" that is mainland China. Support from the US has helped the island maintain that independence - though its commitments are "strategically ambiguous." Yesterday, the US president said he would be open to talking to Taiwan's president - which would be a major departure from the norms of that ambiguity. To learn more about the peculiarities of US-Taiwan relations, Host Marco Werman speaks to Isaac Stone Fish, a visiting fellow with the Atlantic Council and former Beijing correspondent.

The Ebola outbreak centered in the eastern regions of Democratic Republic of Congo is expanding at an alarming rate. The new, rare Ebola variant has spread from DRC's Ituri Province into North Kivu and the capital of neighboring Uganda. The result is more than 600 suspected cases and at least 139 suspected deaths. Armand Sprecher, an epidemiologist with Doctors Without Borders discusses the implications with The World's Host Marco Werman.

With fighting in Iran and Lebanon taking over public consciousness, the crisis in Gaza has fallen somewhat out of focus for much of the world. At a moment of political upheaval in Israel, journalist Noga Tarnopolsky speaks with Host Carolyn Beeler about how Gaza factors into the current political landscape there, and how that relates to the escalating conflict on the border with Lebanon.