The World: Latest Stories

Every year, Muslims across the globe mark the start and end of Ramadan by gathering to see the crescent moon in the sky. Ensuring a view of the moon can be complicated, but the sightings also bring communities together. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports.

This week, South Korea is fighting the largest forest fires in the country's history. Emergency crews and volunteers in the dry and windy southeast region are working around the clock to put down the flames and help evacuate residents. Today, Host Marco Werman spoke to journalist Ifang Bremer, who just visited the city of Andong, where officials ordered residents to evacuate as crews struggled to keep the fires from spreading.

In the three years since Russia's full-scale invasion of their country, parents in Ukraine are increasingly signing their children up for the patriotic education, outdoor activities and summer camps offered by the 112-year-old scouting organization Plast. Think Boy Scouts, but with a mission to preserve Ukrainian identity and language. Emily Johnson reports from Lviv.

The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, likes to needle Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum about the high levels of violence in her country compared to his. But Bukele had a Snow White moment on Wednesday when he asked and tweeted the response of the chatbot Grok: "Hey Grok, who is the most popular president in the world?" The answer: "Sheinbaum." The World's Host Marco Werman speaks with Veronica Ortiz-Ortega, a columnist and podcast host at El Heraldo de Mexico and former head of the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations.

Forecasts for international tourism in the US are down sharply amid souring international opinions and ramped up immigration enforcement. Canadian airlines say passengers are choosing other destinations, and border crossings are down, too. In Europe, several countries have updated their travel guidance, warning their citizens about the risks of entering the United States. As The World's Transportation Correspondent Jeremy Siegel reports, Trump Administration policies have travelers on high alert.

Singer and storyteller Kaito Winse was born in a small village in the Sourou region of northern Burkina Faso. He was born into a family of griots, a keeper of oral traditions that are steeped in his ancestor's history. As a modern griot, Kaito is sharing some of these stories and proverbs with listeners far from his village on his new EP, "Reele Bumbou."

From the trial of actor Gerard Depardieu for sexual assault to a man who shared his drugged wife with strangers to a doctor who's admitted molesting hundreds of children, this has been a year of reckoning in France. And it's made some women realize that while these trials are a sign of a trend toward speaking out, a lot of work still needs to be done to rid France of sexual predators. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Montpelier, France.

The UK climate activist group known as Just Stop Oil is ceasing its disruptive protests. In the past, activists with the group have thrown soup at a Van Gogh painting in a museum while also interrupting sports and theater events. Host Marco Werman speaks with Oscar Berglund, a senior lecturer at the University of Bristol's School for Policy Studies, about the group's goals and where it goes from here.

Riyad Mansour has been the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations since 2005. In a conversation with The World's Host Marco Werman, he discusses where talks for a second ceasefire stand, addresses questions about the Palestinian Authority's efficacy as a governing power and the healing he believes peace can achieve.

The JUNO Awards are Canada's biggest night in music. This weekend, the ceremony will feature a new category for the South Asian Music Recording of the Year. The World's Bianca Hillier reports on what led to this addition and how some South Asian musicians are reacting to it.

McDonald's has had the most fast food chain outlets around the world - but not anymore. It is now being surpassed by Mixue Bingcheng. That's Chinese for Honey Snow Ice City." This chain is exploding across Asia. It became a public company this month, joining Hong Kong's stock exchange to great fanfare. Mixue's growth shows no signs of stopping and there is now speculation it will be coming to North America. What's the secret to Mixue's domination? The World's Patrick Winn reports.

Lisa Hamilton's book "The Hungry Season: A Journey of War, Love and Survival" recounts the story of a Hmong immigrant, Ia Moua. After experiencing political violence in Laos and then 15 years in a refugee camp in Thailand, Ia Moua is resettled in California in the early 1990s with her eight children. Author Lisa Hamilton realized that the subject of her book would never able to read it, so she set about producing a Hmong audio book. Marco Werman speaks with author Lisa Hamilton and Hmong translator Bee Vang-Moua about the process of making the book available to their most important audience.

Italians looking to avoid "egg-flation" have been flocking to a farm in northern Italy for classes in how to raise hens. Reporter Dany Mitzman, from our partner Deutsche Welle (DW), reports from Forli, Italy.

Unmet expectations can be a terrible thing. But sometimes, the unexpected can actually be better than what you'd hoped for. That's a lesson learned by producer Fil Corbitt, who met a new group of old friends on a journey to Curitiba, Brazil.

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred knocked out power for more than 300,000 residents, injured 13 soldiers and killed a 61-year-old man. But aside from the devastating impacts on people along the east coast of Australia, local wildlife have also been injured and displaced, including koalas, kangaroos and an albatross. Many species were already under threat because of climate change. Leila Goldstein reports from Brisbane, Australia, on people who are helping the animals that are most impacted by weather events and climate change.

Hundreds of Palestinians in Northern Gaza held spontaneous protests against Hamas. Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and protests against the group are rare and quickly stifled. Host Marco Werman speaks with Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of political science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, to understand what happens when people in Gaza protest against Hamas rule.

The holy month of Ramadan ends this coming weekend. It's a month when many Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from just before sunrise to sunset. Most Muslims in Ukraine are Crimean Tatars, natives of the Crimean Peninsula. In Ukraine, this is the fourth Ramadan since Russia's full-scale invasion. The World's Daniel Ofman reports from Kyiv.

"If Europe wants to avoid war, Europe must get ready for war." That was the warning from European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen this month as she unveiled a multibillion-dollar plan to strengthen the continent's defenses. For decades, Europe has leaned on the US for security, but since the start of US President Donald Trump's second term, Von der Leyen has been calling for the bloc to become more militarily self-sufficient. It's an ambitious goal though and one that not all EU leaders agree on. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports.

Chile's Indigenous Mapuche people have long fought the government over land claims. They've faced discrimination and assimilation in Chilean society. But some Mapuche communities are now turning the page. And they're using an ancestral sport to help protect and revive their culture, customs and language. Michael Fox has the story from Chile's capital, Santiago.This story originally aired on Dec 24, 2024.

As Chinese automakers like BYD announce record sales for their electric vehicles, Americans might be left wondering what these cars are all about. Production and sales have skyrocketed in many global regions, but tariffs have kept Chinese EVs off the roads in the US. Journalist Jane Perlez examines the rapid ascent of Chinese auto manufacturing in the past four years in this excerpt from her podcast, "Face-Off: The US vs. China."

Hamdan Ballal, the co-director of the Oscar-winning film, "No Other Land," was reportedly beaten and detained by settlers and Israel Defense Forces troops. He was released earlier today. Nadav Weiman is the CEO of Breaking the Silence, a collective of former Israeli security personnel and soldiers seeking to disclose wrongdoing in the military.

Lately, the US government has placed mounting pressure on Denmark to give up its claims to Greenland. President Donald Trump even questioned Denmark's territorial right to the world's biggest island. But as Danish journalist Steen Jorgenssen showed, the US officially recognized Denmark's possession of the island over a century ago in order to purchase another Danish territory: the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. Jorgenssen, a reporter for the newspaper Jyllands-Posten, told the World's Host Marco Werman about his investigation leading to the original treaty signed by the US and Denmark in the Scandinavian country's National Archive.

"Mar i Cel" is a musical set in 17th-century Spain. It translates as "Sea and Sky", as a metaphor for a forbidden love between a Muslim and a Christian. Generations have grown up with the musical - which debuted in 1988 - but the show's handling of religious hatred, exclusion, deportation and generational trauma was ahead of its time. As Alan Ruiz Terol reports from Barcelona, "Mar i Cel's" current run in Barcelona could be its last.

A court in Tokyo has ordered the once-powerful Unification Church in Japan to be dissolved. The case against the religious group goes back to the 2022 assassination of Japan's former prime minister, Shinzo Abe. The church is accused of violating the human rights of its followers, by demanding that they hand over their material wealth to the group. But church leaders deny any wrongdoing and say they will appeal the decision. The World's Matthew Bell has our story.

Increasingly brazen armed gangs have taken control of most of the roads leading into and out of Haiti's capital. Haitian police and Kenyan-led multinational forces are pushing back, using new weapons, including explosive drones. But Widlore Merancourt, editor-in-chief of Haiti's AyiboPost, tells The World's Host Marco Werman that the authorities' control is slipping away.

Talks are ongoing to broker an end to the war in Ukraine. Today's development: The US says there's an agreement to ensure safe navigation of the Black Sea. US officials have been meeting with Ukrainian and Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia for the past three days, as Host Marco Werman explains.

Oleg Gordievsky was a top Russian KGB officer who had a growing disillusionment with the Soviet Union after the Prague Spring in 1968. Eventually, he was recruited by the British spy agency, MI6, where Gordievsky became one of the West's most important double agents. Ben Macintyre is an author who interviewed Gordievsky extensively, and explains what made him an exception in the history of intelligence and spycraft.

As fighting escalates in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's biggest battles may be within his own country. Last week, he announced the firing of the Shin Bet security head. Now, he's attempting to remove the attorney general. The World's Host Marco Werman speaks with former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas to learn more about the state of democracy in Israel, and how the political dynamics impact the war.

Dan Dan Noodles, forbidden rice, and beggar's chicken. These are just some of the names of Chinese dishes that beg us to know their backstories. The new cookbook, "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and Other Curiously Named Classic Chinese Dishes," tells us the stories behind these names. It illustrates them, comic-book style, while also teaching us how to make the recipes. Food writer Ying Chang Compestine speaks to host Carolyn Beeler about her new cookbook, illustrated by Vivian Truong.

Elon Musk recently seemed to threaten to shut down Ukraine's use of his Starlink satellite communications system. Musk quickly issued a statement saying he would never" do this but, given the uncertainty surrounding US policy towards Ukraine since President Donald Trump took office, Europe is examining its options and believes it has an alternative. John Laurenson reports from Paris via our partner DW, Deutsche Welle.

For a few days starting this weekend, Saturn's iconic rings will vanish from the Earth's point of view. The phenomenon occurs every 15 years. Host Marco Werman speaks with Larry Esposito, a professor of astrophysical and planetary sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, about how this cosmic illusion works.

A presidential primary organized by the party of jailed Istanbul mayor, Ekrem mamolu, galvanized millions of voters across the country. If convicted of corruption charges, Imamolu will be disqualified from Turkey's next elections in 2028. mamolu has emerged as a formidable rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in recent years, and his supporters say the case against him is a political effort to remove him. The World reports.

Canada's new prime minister announced a snap election over the weekend as the country faces a trade war and annexation threats from the US. The incumbent Prime Minister Mark Carney of the Liberal Party faces off against the Conservative Party's Pierre Poilivre, who previously earned endorsements from US President Donald Trump's inner circle. The World's Host Marco Werman speaks with Kevin Quigley, a public policy scholar at Dalhousie University. He joined the show from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Costa Rica is a major producer of coffee. But this year's harvest is off to a slow start. Plenty of coffee is growing, but there's no one to pick it, as Nicaraguan migrant farmers who often fill these jobs are staying home due to the risks involved in crossing the border right now. A big campaign is underway to get Costa Ricans to do those jobs, but experts say it's not enough to compensate for the loss of labor. Manuel Rueda brings us the story from Costa Rica.

City life is loud, and the cacophony of noises in urban areas can be bad for human health. Noise pollution pumps up stress levels and damages our hearing, and it can even increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease. The nonprofit Quiet Parks International is on a mission to preserve quiet areas and their health benefits. The World's Host Marco Werman spoke to Ulf Bohman, the group's executive director, who joined the show from the town of Are in central West Sweden.

How does a country rebuild a democracy? It's a question the Polish government under Donald Tusk has been trying to tackle for over a year now. For eight years, the previous administration filled the country's democratic institutions with party loyalists, turning public media into a government mouthpiece and stacking the judiciary with its allies. As The World's Europe correspondent tells us, new Prime Minister Donald Tusk is finding that restoring democracy is not that easy.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, who tried to take over Sudan in a surprise attack on Khartoum almost two years ago, made the presidential palace one of their first objectives. During the back-and-forth fighting in Khartoum, the RSF took it and held it, until recently when the Sudanese Armed Forces grabbed it back. It's symbolic of the story of the grinding civil war that has laid waste to most of the country. Declan Walsh, a reporter for The New York Times, explains what the recent military developments mean and what it's like in Khartoum right now.

The world's top producer of natural mineral water is struggling to keep its sources clean of contaminants, from pesticides to bacteria to animal fecal matter. If it filters its water it loses its designation as "natural" and most likely a lot of its business. Perrier is not alone; over 15% of Europe's aquifers are dangerously polluted or over-exploited and things are getting worse. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Vergeze, France.

On Friday, Germany's Legislature approved debt reforms in hopes that it will give its sluggish economy a shot in the arm. It's a reversal of nearly two decades of restrictive borrowing policy known as the Schuldenbremse, or "debt brake," which limited the government's annual borrowing to an amount equal to 0.35% of the country's GDP. The World's Carol Hills spoke to Shahin Vallee, who called the reform historic.

Hundreds of people gathered in Srinigar, Indian-administered Kashmir, on Friday, for a leech therapy clinic. Friday is the start of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, and it is traditionally believed that leech treatments are more effective on this day. The World's Carol Hills spoke with reporter Syed Shahriyar about what he saw at the Hazratbal shrine in Srinigar, how leech therapy works and why Nowruz is celebrated like this in Kashmir.

Yemeni coffee shops have been opening up across the US for years. But this past year, they've really taken New York City by storm with shops opening across the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Host Carol Hills reports with help from The World's producer Omar Duwaji.

Lego posted it's yearly profits in March. They achieved record revenue in a year that was hard on the toy industry as a whole. The reason? Adults. Lego is luring adult builders who are willing to shell out upwards of $500 for a set. Now, other toy companies are following suit with Mattel and Hasbro also focusing on the "kidult" segment. The World's Sarah Birnbaum reports.

Heathrow, one of the world's largest airports, shut down after a fire broke out Thursday night at an electric substation, effectively knocking out the airport's power. Host Carol Hills speaks with Paul Cuffe, an assistant professor at University College Dublin, about the potential causes behind the fire at the substation and how vulnerable airports are to these kinds of incidents.

Israeli ground troops have reentered the Gaza Strip, and airstrikes have been ongoing for the past few days. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health officials. Meanwhile, Hamas has responded by firing rockets at Tel Aviv. With all signs of ceasefire having disappeared, host Marco Werman talks with the Khaled El-Gindy about the return to fighting. He's a visiting scholar at Georgetown University.

Ex-Formula 1 team owner and media personality Eddie Jordan has died at age 76. Host Marco Werman tells the story of the Dublin-born banker turned racing car driver who built a winning F1 team in the 1990s and 2000s, became a popular BBC sportscaster, and is remembered today for having launched the careers of many of F1's top drivers.

At 72 years old, Netumbo Ndaitwah is about to become Namibia's fifth president - and the first woman to ascend to the presidential office. Gender didn't play a big part in her campaign messaging, but employment and poverty did. Ndaitwah's promise to address the issue has women in the country feeling hopeful. Vitalio Angula brings us the story from the capital, Windhoek.

Ever since Latvia authorized its border guards to use "physical force" to prevent irregular border crossings from Belarus in 2021, there have been reports about human rights violations against migrants. Journalist Ben Bathke from our partners Deutsche Welle reports from the Latvian-Belarus border on how migrants are treated there.

Aurelio Martinez, a popular Honduran musician and politician, was one of 12 people killed this week when a small plane crashed near Honduras. Host Marco Werman memorializes Martinez as a singer and songwriter who was one of the best-known champions of Garifuna music.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a vast country in Africa with rich mineral deposits that have been fought over for decades. In recent months, the rebel group M23 has expanded its control in the eastern part of the DRC where those rare earth minerals are located and the crisis has come to a head. Marco Werman teases out the origins of the conflict and what's at stake.

The World Happiness Report for 2025 was released on Thursday. Topping the list is Finland - again - with the rest of the Nordic countries dominating the top four spots. The United States fell to its lowest position ever. Host Marco Werman has more details on what makes a country happy.