The World: Latest Stories

Afghanistan's forests have been decimated over the past few decades by wars and illegal logging. Now, the Taliban says it wants to preserve them by combatting illegal logging. The group has started a "Green Force," which it says will confiscate smuggled timber and arrest offenders. But experts are skeptical about the Taliban's motivation and the efficacy of the force, as The World's Shirin Jaafari reports.

In 1932, as the Nazis were securing power in Germany through the ballot box, a young German man by the name of Raimund Pretzel wrote the draft of a novel centered on a young couple worried about their country changing for the worse. Now known by his pen name, Sebastian Haffner went on to flee Germany and became an outspoken critic of Hitler and the Nazis and that early novel, "Abschied," or "Parting," was published in German earlier this year. It's now flying off the shelves in Germany. The World's Host Marco Werman spoke with Oliver Pretzel, who is currently translating the book into English. He's Haffner's son and is based in the UK.

Most people know of the few main blood types: A, B, O, AB - plus or negative - but scientists have identified dozens of others. Most recently, a team of French researchers discovered a 48th blood type. A woman from Guadeloupe is the only known person with Gwada-Negative, making it not only the newest, but also the rarest, blood group in the world. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler spoke to Martin Olsson. He's a professor of transfusion medicine at Lund University in Sweden.

A small farm town in southeast Spain has seen three nights of rioting over the last few days. It started after a group of young Moroccans allegedly assaulted an elderly man on his morning walk. News of the attack spread quickly on online extremist platforms, and hundreds of protestors descended on Torre Pacheco, to "hunt immigrants." The World's Gerry Hadden reports.

Kenyan runner Ruth Chepng'etich has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned diuretic on March 14, the Athletics Integrity Unit announced today. Chepng'etich shattered the marathon world record last October by running a 2:09:56 at the Chicago Marathon. Now, her case is likely headed to a Disciplinary Tribunal and she could face a two-year ban. Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman have more.

It was called a Marshall Plan" to stop the spread of HIV in Africa. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief - or PEPFAR - was launched by a Republican, President George W. Bush, in 2003. Now, although some funding remains for the program, many of PEPFAR's prevention and support services have stalled, as Dr. Atul Gawande, who led global health at USAID, explains to The World's Host Marco Werman.

A fire at a newly opened mall in Kut, Iraq, killed more than 60 people, including women and children, Iraqi officials said Thursday. As Host Carolyn Beeler explains, the five-story building had just opened a week earlier.

Fauja Singh, known as the world's oldest marathoner, died in his hometown in India recently in a hit-and-run incident. The Londoner had been a beloved figure in the city's running community, becoming an Olympic torchbearer in 2012 and founding the running club Sikhs in the City. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Harmander Singh, his coach and friend, about his memory.

Britain's government says if 16- and 17-year-olds are mature enough to work and pay taxes, they're old enough to vote. So, the UK is lowering its voting age to 16 in time for the next general election. Other countries that have made the move haven't seen dramatic changes in voting patterns. The University of Edinburgh's Jan Eichhorn has looked at global trends and discusses his findings with The World's Host Marco Werman.

Affirmative action is often viewed negatively today in the United States. But Brazil is still moving full speed ahead. Those involved say it has been a huge success. Brazil implemented affirmative action policies at federal universities in 2012. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva increased quotas for jobs in the public sector to 30% for Black and Indigenous peoples. Mike Fox has this report from Rio de Janeiro.

New Zealand implemented new rules in April that effectively make it easier than ever for wealthy foreigners to gain permanent residency in the country through what's known as "golden visas." Some people view this as a crucial tool for the small county to bring in more capital, while others remain skeptical that the plan will work. The World's Bianca Hillier reports.

More than 100 people have been evacuated from Grindavik, Iceland, including the Blue Lagoon, due to a new volcanic eruption in the area. This is the ninth eruption since 2023, which prior to that point, had been dormant for centuries. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler spoke with volcanologist David McGarvie from Lancaster University about what's happening.

Here are some stories that you may not have seen, including why Australian teens are giving up their vapes, a man in England sentenced to jail for cutting down a famous Sycamore tree and why a woman and her daughters were living in a cave in India. Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler have the details.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Beijing, China, this week to reset relations after years of tension with the regional power. The World's Host Marco Werman speaks to William Yang, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, about the strategy and wider implications.

Hungry bread beetles have infested about a quarter of a 400,000-volume collection significant to the history of Hungary. Established in 996 AD, the Archabbey of Pannonhalma in Western Hungary is one of the oldest historic places in the country and its library hosts documents of historic significance to the country dating just as far back. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler spoke to Mate Vincze, Hungary's deputy state secretary for public collections and cultural development, who has been monitoring the situation.

Sweden was the first country in Europe to print paper money over 350 years ago. But for the past decade or more, it's been leading the charge to get rid of cash altogether. Not everyone is on board though. Critics say going digital leaves the vulnerable behind, and with cyberattacks surging, even Swedish lawmakers are now having second thoughts. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports.

Israeli airstrikes hit a military compound and targets near the Syrian presidential palace this morning. Israeli officials called it an effort to protect Syria's minority Druze community. Ruth Michaelson, an Istanbul-based journalist, tells The World's Host Marco Werman that the strikes have created a crisis for Syria's transitional government, which had pledged to support the rights of ethnic and religious minorities.

Thousands of Cuban doctors work abroad under state-run medical missions. While Cuba calls it solidarity, critics call it forced labor. As the OAS investigates and the US imposes visa bans, The World hears from doctors who left the program, and others who are still in it.

Carlos Hernandez, a Honduran school teacher, and Kurt Ver Beek, an American sociologist, moved with their families to one of the toughest neighborhoods in Tegucigalpa. When the two decided to take on the barrio's violent street gangs, the men found themselves wading into ethical dilemmas. Journalist Ross Halperin joins The World's Host Marco Werman to discuss their story and the new book, "Bear Witness: The Pursuit of Justice in a Violent Land."

US President Trump has threatened "very severe tariffs" on Russia if a peace deal with Ukraine isn't reached within 50 days. He's also agreed to a plan to funnel military aid to Ukraine through NATO. These moves don't appear to worry the Kremlin, though, as Yaroslav Trofimov of The Wall Street Journal explains to The World's Host Marco Werman.

The Sultanate of Oman will institute a personal income tax beginning in 2028. It's part of a government effort to diversify the country's economy and reduce its reliance on fossil fuel revenues. The World's Host Marco Werman spoke with Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial bank, about the significance of the move and what it could mean for the region.

King Charles III is, among many of his royal titles, the Seigneur of the Swans. He has the right to claim ownership of any unmarked mute swan in the country. But with great power comes great responsibility - that of keeping track of them. That's why the King's Swan Marker, David Barber, is charged with counting all of the swans on the River Thames every summer. That census is underway this week. Host Marco Werman explains the history behind this tradition, and why it's also known as "swan upping."

A mosaic panel on travertine stone slabs, depicting an erotic theme from the Roman era, was returned to the archaeological park of Pompeii in Italy on Tuesday. It was originally stolen by a Nazi German captain during World War II. The artwork was repatriated from Germany through diplomatic channels. The World's Host Marco Werman has more.

A preliminary probe into last month's deadly Air India crash points to the plane's fuel switches as a possible reason the Boeing 737 plunged into a nearby medical school less than a minute after take off. As The World's Transportation Correspondent Jeremy Siegel reports, Indian authorities are now calling for airlines to inspect Boeing jets for any fuel switch issues.

Nowadays, the Netherlands is seen as one of the most secular countries in the world, with about 6 in 10 people there identifying as non-religious. That number has only increased in recent years and church attendance among Christian denominations has long been in decline. But as the World's Joshua Coe found out, young Christians in the low country are finding a higher power online - and outside some of the traditional notions of church community.

Customs agents at the Cologne Bonn Airport in Germany revealed today that what appeared to be a shipment of chocolate cake mix, was in fact a package containing 1,500 tarantulas being smuggled from Vietnam. The young spiders were in plastic vials, and many did not survive the trip. Host Carolyn Beeler has more.

Astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary left the International Space Station on their SpaceX capsule today. It was the first time in more than 40 years any of the three countries sent astronauts of their own into orbit. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler has the story.

From tennis to soccer and beyond, athletes around the world won big this weekend. Host Carolyn Beeler gets all the latest from The World's Bianca Hillier.

In Italy right now, flocks of flamingoes are messing with fields, where the rice used for risotto is grown. The flamingos use their webbed feet to dig up algae, insects and other tasty treats.

US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte today made a much-anticipated announcement, saying the United States would not give weapons to Ukraine; it would sell Ukraine US made arms. This is a reversal from Trump's former statements, which suggested he would not transfer any weapons to Ukraine. Host Carolyn Beeler explains.

Protests are a hallmark of university life - but on campuses across England, student activism and academic freedom are facing mounting pressure. Demonstrations against the war in Gaza are increasingly being shut down, and some academics say they fear repercussions for voicing controversial views. Now, England's higher education regulator is stepping in, introducing new guidelines aimed at protecting freedom of speech on campus. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports.

Countries that share a border with Russia are turning their backs on the international treaty that bans landmines. Kyiv's decision to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, which bans the use of the munitions, follows similar moves by Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Host Marco Werman speaks with retired Maj. Gen. James Cowan, the CEO of HALO Trust, the world's largest NGO dedicated to clearing landmines.

July 14 is Bastille Day in France - the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, which kicked off the French Revolution in 1789. Families and friends gather across the country to party and watch fireworks. Paris has a huge military parade. Host Carolyn Beeler has more.

This week marks three decades since the massacre in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica where more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were systematically killed by Serb forces. It was the worst atrocity on European soil since World War II. Although two UN courts later ruled it a genocide, some survivors and victims' families say they are still looking for justice, while peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains fragile. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports.

Thirty years after the genocide at Srebrenica, mass killings sadly still occur. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks to Martin Shaw, a professor at the University of Sussex in the UK, about the obstacles to preventing genocide.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival is celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend. The annual music festival started out as part of the city's centennial festivities. But founder Mitch Podolak was planning to make it a permanent festival all along. Now, it attracts performers from all over the world and is attended by over 70,000 people every year. Host Carolyn Beeler has more on the festival's history.

"The Salt Path" is a best-selling memoir and major film. And now, an investigation by The Observer has revealed several of the central claims in the story are false, and the reality includes accusations of criminal conduct. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler spoke with the director of the Oxford Center for Life Writing about the expectation of truth in memoir - and when creative license crosses the line.

A new trend in Mexico is transforming flower deliveries into viral social media performances -complete with music, confetti and dramatic flair. What began as one man's creative response to the pandemic has grown into a booming business, blending romance, showmanship and echoes of narco-inspired aesthetics. The World's Tibisay Zea reports from Mexico City.

Last month, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized a new saint: Olga Michael, who lived in the small ton of Kwethluk, Alaska, until her death in 1979. St. Olga is the first Yup'ik to be canonized in the Orthodox Church, whose missionaries brought the religion to Alaska in the 1700s when Alaska was a Russian colony. The World's Host Marco Werman learned more about the past and present of the faith in Alaska from the Very Reverend Father John Jillions, a priest in the Orthodox Church in America.

Israeli jets have stopped flying over Iran's skies - at least for now. Residents of Tehran, who'd fled the city during the war, have returned. Some are burying the dead and assessing the damage to their homes. They tell The World's Shirin Jaafari that nothing feels the same.

After decades of an insurgency against the Turkish government, members of the Kurdistan Worker's Party, known as the PKK, ceremonially laid down their arms at a ceremony in northern Iraq. The group's jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, recently decided to disarm and seek a political solution to the PKK's grievances. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler explains.

The village of Taybeh describes itself as the last entirely Christian town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. But three priests from Taybeh just put out a statement saying that centuries of Christian history "is now at serious risk of erosion due to the systematic targeting of its land, holy sites and people." The clergymen say Jewish settlers are carrying out the attacks. The statement accuses Israeli settlers of lighting fires near a Christian church and a cemetery, grazing their animals on Palestinian land and building illegal settlement outposts in the vicinity. The World's Matthew Bell has our story.

A quick look at our top story today: ice -- specifically, Arctic sea ice and the efforts to build more icebreaking ships. Russia has the largest fleet of around 40 icebreakers. The US goal is to build a fleet of eight or nine of the heavy-duty ships. We hear from Malte Humpert, a fellow at The Arctic Institute Center for Circumpolar Security Studies.

Houthi rebels used small boats and bomb-laden drones to strike a Greek-owned cargo ship passing through the Red Sea on Monday. Just a day earlier, they sank another bulk carrier there. Fatima al Asrar of the Washington Center for Yemeni Studies tells The World's Host Carolyn Beeler that the strikes are designed to send an unmistakable message to global shipping companies.

Europe's first major heat wave of the summer began in late June, and caused an estimated 2,300 heat-related deaths. A new rapid study has concluded that almost two-thirds of those deaths would not have occurred were it not for climate change. Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman have the details about how that study reached those findings, and who is most susceptible to heat-related health complications.

They're shiny metals, can be hard to find and they're essential to building high-tech equipment - from electric cars to fighter jets. Rare earth metals" are dominated by one country: China. Once obscure, rare earth metals shot to prominence when China cut exports to the outside world - a strategy to hurt the US amid the ongoing trade war. What many people overlook is that many so-called Chinese" rare earths aren't from China at all. The World's Patrick Winn reports.

A coalition of farmers, environmentalists and volunteers are coming together to restore the UK's hedgerows. The UK lost about 50% of these historic boundary lines following WWII. There is also national support; the UK government wants to add 45,000 miles of hedgerows by 2050. Will Fitzpatrick, a community engagement officer with The Tree Council, told The World's Hannah Chanatry about why hedgerows play an important role in both climate resilience and cultural heritage.

The EU has awarded Finland more than 90 million euros (around $105 million), in large part to cover the purchase of a new icebreaker ship. It's part of a global race to expand fleets with the capacity to safely move through the Arctic as climate change opens up new pathways through the ice. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler spoke with Malte Humpert, a fellow at The Arctic Institute, about the significance of the funding and shifting geopolitical landscape in the high north.

The Olavide Museum, founded in the late 19th century, contains hundreds of life-sized models of people infected with cutaneous diseases, from ringworm to syphilis. The graphic models helped medical students diagnose illnesses. The wax figures are no longer used as a teaching tool. But the museum still teaches visitors history, and contains the stories of the real patients at a time before modern medicine. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Madrid.

Almost every country on Earth has signed it - the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, widely known as the "NPT." It became effective on March 5, 1970. At the time, US President Richard Nixon called it "a historic occasion" and a "first milestone" on the road toward lasting world peace. The NPT has held for all these years, and today, only nine countries have nuclear weapons. But after Israeli and US airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, there's speculation that Iran might quit the NPT and other nations could follow suit, by pursuing nuclear weapons technology themselves. The World's Matthew Bell reports on where the NPT stands now.