The World: Latest Stories

Nothing like a little light-hearted pop music to shift the mood. Co-hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler give a listen to an indie-pop quartet from Stuttgart, Germany, called Rikas.

Elections are supposed to give people a say in who governs their country, but nature can have an impact on elections. A report out today from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance found nearly 100 cases of disaster-disrupted" elections between 2006 and 2025. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler spoke to Erik Asplund, a co-author of the study.

A gunman opened fire on tourists at Mexico's Teotihuacan pyramids, killing one Canadian and injuring more than a dozen others. The attack at a UNESCO World Heritage site shows ongoing security challenges in one of the country's most visited destinations, just as Mexico prepares to host matches for the World Cup. The World's Tibisay Zea reports.

For almost two months, the survival of "Timmy," a whale stranded in shallows off Germany's Baltic coast, has captured the country's attention and gone viral globally. With official efforts to rescue Timmy called off, privately funded campaigns to save him have polarized Germany and raised ethical concerns about prolonging the whale's suffering. The World's Host Marco Werman learned more from Fabian Ritter, a marine biologist and member of MEER, a Berlin-based marine mammal conservation group.

A new wave of investors is eyeing Venezuela, drawn by the promise of massive natural resources, cheap assets and a potential economic rebound after years of crisis. The government is opening key sectors and restoring ties with the US - but major risks remain. While some early movers are taking a chance, many companies are still holding back, waiting to see how new rules play out in a country where politics, instability and uncertainty still remain. The World's Tibisay Zea reports.

Japan rolled back restrictions today on its sale of weapons abroad, reinterpreting its pacifist post-World War II constitution. Yuki Tatsumi, senior director at the Institute for Indo-Pacific Security tells The World's Host Carolyn Beeler that the timing of the announcement reaches back to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and is motivated in part by the security threats Japan faces from China.

Host Marco Werman spins sounds from the innovator of the Hindustani slide guitar, Debashish Bhattacharya, a track titled, "The Sound of the Soul."This story originally aired on March 21, 2023.

"Fika" is the very Swedish ritual of meeting people for coffee, sweets and some reflection on life. The World's Joshua Coe learned the fine line between a regular brunch date and "pure fika" at a coffee shop in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Brazilian cinema has received strong global attention recently, with films like "I'm Still Here" and "The Secret Agent" earning a slew of Oscar nods. But many filmmakers say these films reflect a limited group of voices. Reporter Julia Franca explores issues of funding, gender and access in the Brazilian film industry.

Every five years, the United Nations looks for a new secretary-general. Job interviews began today in the assembly chamber to start the search for the next one. There are four candidates, less than half the number when there was an opening 10 years ago. As The World's Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler explain, the UN's first secretary-general called it "the most impossible job on earth."

The European Union's top court has ruled that Hungary's anti-LGBTQ+ law breaks the bloc's core values. The decision targets a 2021 law that bans content about LGBTQ+ people from schools and primetime TV. Supporters in Hungary said the law was about protecting children. But judges at the European Court of Justice say it goes much further than that.

The war in Lebanon displaced roughly 1 million people from their homes in the south of the country. The Israeli military ordered them to leave, and it has since occupied some parts of the country. But last Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Five days into that ceasefire, some have moved back to the south - to what is left of their homes. Others say they have no choice but to stay in Beirut. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports.

How long is the English coast? Or, for that matter, the coast of Portugal, Brazil or Kenya? Turns out, experts are not in agreement, thanks to a phenomenon of measurement called the coastal paradox. The World's Host Marco Werman speaks with independent geographer Katherine Sammler about what these disagreements mean for geopolitical relationships.

On Sunday, a robot called Lightning, made by Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, won a half marathon in Beijing in just 50 min, 26 sec. That's several minutes faster than the human world record-holder, Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in 57 min, 20 sec, earlier this year in Lisbon. Several other robots in the race outran humans for the first time. Host Marco Werman has the details.

Hidden for centuries, music by women composers of the Renaissance has largely remained outside the public canon. Musica Secreta is a British ensemble dedicated to researching and performing this repertoire, combining historical scholarship with an all-female sound world. Deutsche Welle, DW, arts journalist Breandain O'Shea guides us through the pure loveliness.

Hatshepsut is likely a name many people have never heard. Even though she was pharaoh of Egypt for 22 years and one of the most powerful women in antiquity. That's because two decades after her reign she was purposely, and methodically, erased from history. Reporter Sarah Birnbaum has the story.

Six months after a ceasefire was announced in Gaza, conditions remain dire. And serious reconstruction has yet to begin. The cost of rebuilding the enclave's infrastructure alone is estimated at more than $71 billion. That's according to a new report released today by the United Nations and the European Union. The World's Host Marco Werman discusses the implications with Sean Carroll, president of American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA), a relief organization with deep roots in Gaza.

When a music festival becomes a history lesson: New York City stalwart rockers The Strokes made headlines with their second set of the final weekend at Coachella. They ended with a song they rarely play, "Oblivius," and its chorus "What side you standing on?" as a video montage of US and CIA involvement in overseas assassinations and regime change efforts played on screens behind them with captions. Reaction has been mixed, says Host Marco Werman.

Over the weekend, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hosted a first-ever summit of progressive leaders. He used the event to condemn the US-Israeli war on Iran and called on the European Union to sever diplomatic and trade ties with Israel. Though it's unlikely to happen, there are signs that Europe is developing a more unified stance against Israeli military action in Gaza, Lebanon and beyond. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Barcelona.

Copenhagen once had a Human Library, where you could go on a weekend and borrow a person - for a conversation. The nonprofit's mission to "unjudge" people has caught on globally in over 85 countries. The library in Copenhagen is now only online, but The World's Joshua Coe went in October last year, just before the physical library shut down.This story originally aired on Oct. 24, 2025.

Mid-April marks the start of the annual "Great Moose Migration," a beloved televised event in Sweden that offers audiences a nonstop livestream of the four-legged creatures on their three-week journey. There's no narrator, no background music, just moose and the sounds of nature. This "slow TV" programming is the kind of mediative experience that has taken off in Scandinavia, as Johan Erhag explained last year to The World's Host Marco Werman. Erhag is the program's project manager and joined the show from the city of Umea in northern Sweden.This story originally aired on April 17, 2025.

Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal in 2025, making it the deadliest year on record in South and Southeast Asia, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR on Friday. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler learned more from Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organization UK, and Matthew Smith, the CEO and founder of Fortify Rights, a human rights group monitoring conditions for the Rohingya.

India's historic trains are perhaps the most famous in the world among travelers. Huge, clunking night trains crossing massive distances, while in the carriages, cross-sections of Indian society come together over chai. But the train narrative in the country is changing. India has rolled out gleaming new "semi-high speed" express trains across the country. Reporter Jamie Fullerton takes a journey on this new generation of night trains.

There is an unexpected Muslim community in Cape Town, South Africa. It is the oldest neighborhood of Muslims in the country. They are known as the Cape Malay. And while they are staunch followers of Islam, their traditions are not what most Muslims would recognize. Aina Khan from the "More Muslim" podcast explains.

It's rare in Turkey to have US-style school shootings, but just this week, there have been two of them. At least nine people have been killed. While the attacks happened in two cities in southeastern Turkey, parents around the country are afraid to send their children to school. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with reporter Fariba Nawa in Istanbul.

New England, and much of the country, is experiencing a sharp drop in the number of traditional college-age students. But one population is still growing: Latino students, especially kids who would be the first in their families to attend college. As GBH's Kirk Carapezza reports, the question for colleges across the nation is whether they're truly ready to recruit, retain and graduate those students.

Turkish American musician Mehmet Ali Sanlikol is a virtuoso on the oud. But up until now, most his albums have featured the acoustic oud. For his latest release, "The Electric Oud Man Speaks ... And You Listen," Sanlikol had an electric oud custom built. He recently came to The World's studios to talk about it.

Europe's far-right movement has lost one of its most important figures with the defeat of Viktor Orban in Hungary's elections this week. Orban has been a transnational symbol for the populist right. During his 16 years in office, the Hungarian leader and his allies took control of state media, redrew electoral boundaries and installed loyalists across key institutions. His loss now raises questions about whether a broader shift is underway for Europe's populist right. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports.

Today the Trump administration announced a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel. The temporary truce will offer welcome relief after six weeks of war between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group, Hezbollah. But as The World's Shirin Jaafari tells Host Carolyn Beeler, many questions remain, including whether Israel will continue to occupy southern Lebanon, and what it would take to disarm Hezbollah.

Long-time foes in Libya took part in joint US-led military exercises this week. The bitter adversaries who head Libya's eastern and western-based factions have taken other small steps toward reconciliation, like agreeing on a single national spending plan. But Jalel Harchaoui, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, tells The World's Host Carolyn Beeler that graft, corruption and other deeply-rooted problems still present major obstacles to reunification.

With prices soaring at the pump around the globe, drivers are increasingly considering getting rid of gas-powered vehicles entirely. New data shared with The World reveals that electric car sales - especially cheaper, used EVs - are surging in several countries. Transportation Correspondent Jeremy Siegel has the story.

National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek has been walking across continents for his project, the Out of Eden Walk. In that time, his perception of the flow of time has changed drastically from his former sedentary life. He joins Host Marco Werman to explain what he means by that, and shares his discovery of what he calls "walking time."

On Christmas Day last year, the US launched a missile strike in northern Nigeria to counter what some have called a Christian genocide." That military action, and a newly proposed bill in the United States House of Representatives calling for possible sanctions against some leaders, including a prominent governor, have raised questions in Nigeria about what US involvement would mean. Ricci Shryock reports from Kano about how some in Nigeria are pushing back against this narrative.

A law in Japan requires that couples officially have the same last name. But dating companies and even whole towns are helping make it easier to "hack" the law. Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler explain.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said today that he received assurances from China that it is not supplying Iran with weapons. This follows a CNN report last week that US intelligence found evidence of China planning to send Iran defense system transfers. To understand the strategic ties between Iran and China, Host Marco Werman speaks to Ahmed Aboudouh, an associate fellow at Chatham House in London.

Ukraine is showcasing its rapid advances in high-tech warfare. This week, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced his country's robot soldiers to the world, in a video that's now gone viral. He described how his troops captured a Russian position relying only on ground robotic systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. Arthur Holland Michel, a writer and researcher covering AI and other emerging technologies, discusses the implications with The World's Host Marco Werman.

Today marks three years since the start of Sudan's civil war. Thousands are believed to have died [NOTE: 20,000 up to 150,000 according to estimates] and millions have been forced to flee [14 million from UN estimates]. The United Nations has called the conflict the world's worst health and humanitarian crisis." The aid group Doctors Without Borders warned last month that sexual violence has become not only a weapon of war, but an everyday occurrence. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler learned more from the group's project coordinator Stephanie Hoffman in Khartoum.

For Allison Yang, the founder of the video game studio Reality Reload, the H-1B visa process has all the basic elements of a game. Time, skill, strategy and a lot of rules. Players have a certain degree of control, but other aspects are pure luck - similar to the roll of dice. From KQED in San Francisco, Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman reports on a new video game designed to help people get an H-1B visa to work in the US.

Today marks three years since the start of Sudan's civil war. Thousands are believed to have died and as many as 14 million have been forced to flee. In Berlin Wednesday, an international conference hoped to encourage peace talks - though neither side had representatives present. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler learned more from Alex de Waal, the executive director of the World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Spain has pulled no punches in its opposition to the Israeli-US war in Iran. And it has earned a lot of praise around the world especially as much of the rest of Europe waffles. Turkey is particularly pleased, as it has no interest in more instability on its own doorstep. Turkish leaders have been lauding Spain for its courage in standing up to US President Donald Trump. And, as The World's Gerry Hadden reports, one of Turkey's leading industries is offering Spaniards a gift in return: hair transplants.

Venezuela has passed a new mining law to attract foreign investment and revive its struggling economy. But in the country's south, much of the sector is already controlled by armed groups, with widespread illegal mining and environmental damage. As the government promises reform, investors remain cautious - raising questions about whether the industry can be formalized, or whether the same risks that shaped it will continue. The World's Latin America Correspondent Tibisay Zea reports.

Austrian musician Manu Delago plays the handpan, while Brooklyn-based musician Max ZT plays the hammered dulcimer. They met almost 10 years ago when Delago was on a US tour with Bjork. They bonded over their love and desire to play lesser-known percussive instruments. Last year, they finally got the chance to record together in a 13th-century monastery in the Austrian Alps. The result is their album "Deuce."

Scientists are zeroing in on wastewater surveillance of airplanes as a critical tool to quickly detect the global spread of emerging pathogens. To learn more about what a monitoring system would look like, The World's Host Carolyn Beeler went to Logan International Airport in Boston to speak with Alessandro Vespignani, a professor at Northeastern University and director of the Network Science Institute.This story originally aired on March 11, 2025.

Today, the induction of Fela Kuti and Sade Adu into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame marks the first time Nigerians are honored by the Hall's voters. If rock 'n' roll came from the blues and the blues came from work songs of enslaved Africans, then today can be seen as the boomerang making a complete circle. Host Marco Werman has more.

It's supposed to be the most joyful time of the year in Thailand. Songkran, or Thai Buddhist New Year, is a time for merrymaking and washing away negativity - literally, by splashing strangers on the street with water guns and pouring water over elders' hands in a show of respect. Lots of tourists fly in to join Thais for giant water fights; Thais flock to their home provinces to seek blessings from parents and grandparents. But, as Patrick Winn reports, the Iran war is throwing a huge damper on this year's celebrations.

Luis Carlos Rua was voted into Colombia's national Congress in March. But throughout the campaign, he wasn't known by his name or real-life identity. He was known for social media videos where he appeared in a white elephant costume, pointing out long-delayed projects receiving government funding. Manuel Rueda has the story from Bogota.

Pope Leo XIV was in Algeria on Tuesday as part of his 10-day visit to African nations. While visiting the Muslim-majority country, the pontiff condemned those who wage war. The pope's criticism of the US-led war with Iran has drawn criticism from President Donald Trump, who called the faith leader "weak." To learn more about the trip and Pope Leo's role in geopolitics, The World's Host Carolyn Beeler spoke to Mathew Schmalz, founding editor of the Journal of Global Catholicism and professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross.

In the US-Israel war on Iran, governments have clamped down on what information gets out. Iran has shut down the internet and the Gulf monarchies have arrested individuals who posted videos of the damage following strikes. In Israel, the military has control over what's reported and in Lebanon, journalists are being targeted and killed. And while all this is taking place, authorities are pushing their own version of events through state media and propaganda to shape how the war is understood. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports.

For the first time in more than 30 years, delegations from Israel and Lebanon are meeting for direct talks in Washington, DC. But Hezbollah - the Iran-backed militia that's embedded in Lebanon and currently fighting with Israel - is not at the table. Maya Yahya, who directs the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, joined Host Carolyn Beeler for a conversation about Lebanon's likely goals and negotiating position.

It was just over a year ago that the Trump administration deported hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Those deportations were part of a deal between US President Donald Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. That deal is the subject of a new documentary by our partners at Frontline: "Trump, Bukele & the Gangs of El Salvador." Director Juan Ravell joins Host Marco Werman for a conversation about what Bukele stands to gain from this arrangement.