The World: Latest Stories

Sequencing the human genome enables scientists to study human biology in a granular fashion and use that information to create treatments for things like cancer. Yet, of the human genomes studied so far, only 2% have been those of Africans. Yemaachi Biotech company in Ghana is addressing that through its Africa Cancer Atlas, partnering with groups across Africa to collect and study the human genomes of cancer patients across the continent. Host Marco Werman speaks to Yaw Bediako, the co-founder and CEO of Yemaachi Biotech, from his office in Accra, Ghana.

Pranks, hoaxes and deepfakes - there's a long and very human history of bending reality and catching the gullible off guard. April Fools' Day, one of the most-famous, prank-laden international traditions, goes back centuries, but its origins are unclear. Folklorist Angus Gillespie has some ideas. Gillespie teaches at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and speaks with host Carolyn Beeler.

The rural minority community of Gagauzia, which makes up only 4% of Moldova's population, has previously made a big splash for its pro-Russia inclination. Many Moldovans have worried that Russia would try and peel off this autonomous Turkic-speaking territory. Because of this, Gagauzians are torn between Russia and the West - so, they're being wooed by Western-leaning Moldovan politicians. Katie Toth reports from the Gagauzian capital Comrat.

After the 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar, aid organizations that are allowed to operate in the civil war-stricken country are bringing in support. Despite broken infrastructure, they're working to meet the needs of what's estimated to be hundreds of thousands of people now sleeping outside. Elinor Raikes is the International Rescue Committee's vice president of program delivery and talks with host Carolyn Beeler about the specific difficulties aid groups face and the daunting road ahead.

Since the end of the Korean War in the 1950s, South Korea provided an estimated 200,000 children for international adoptions. That's believed to be more than any other country. But the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Korea now says the system was plagued with abuse and falsified information, and that it was driven by profits. The new report has been a long time coming for adoptees who have been pushing for more transparency. The World's Matthew Bell has the story.

Spaniards are celebrating one of the wettest months on record: 22 days of rainfall in March. After three years of virtually no precipitation, reservoirs were running dry. Now, they're topping up quickly, bringing relief to government officials trying to control water use, and to farmers who depend on the rain for their crops. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Barcelona.

The Bahai faith hasn't attracted many followers in Africa. But there is one Bahai temple on the continent, located in the Ugandan capital of Kampala. It's one of the few green spaces in the city, and one of the quietest, too. For The World's Sacred Spaces series, reporter Anita Elash takes us there to experience - and understand - the meditative appeal.

When artist Noah Angell heard rumors that the British Museum in London was full of ghosts, he set about documenting ghost stories that were circulating among the museum's staff. In his book, "Ghosts of the British Museum: A True Story of Colonial Loot and Restless Objects," Angell posits that the ghosts are there because of the way many of the objects in the museum were acquired by colonial powers. Reporter Brenna Daldorph visited the museum with Angell to see for herself.

Crowds in Boston were treated to a spectacular show over the weekend as the world's top figure skaters fought not only for the title of World Champion, but also for a ticket to the 2026 Winter Olympics. Host Carolyn Beeler has the results.

On Monday, in France, a court convicted the far-right leader Marine Le Pen of embezzling European Union funds. The sentencing will include a ban on holding political office, likely sinking her chances at a run for the French presidency in 2027. The conviction leaves the populist National Rally party without a leader at a time of heightened popularity, raising questions about how the party will proceed. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks to Kevin Arceneaux, head of the Center for Political Research at Sciences Po in Paris.

The 54th Juno Awards took place in Vancouver on Sunday night, with more than 40 awards given out to people in the Canadian music industry. Host Carolyn Beeler shares the big winners, including the winner of the inaugural South Asian music recording of the Year award.

Moreton Bay, on Australia's eastern coast near Brisbane, has lost over 95% of its oyster reefs over the past few centuries. These reefs, one of the world's most-degraded marine ecosystems, are not just the source of a culinary delicacy, but help to filter seawater and protect shorelines from the effects of storms, sea level rise and increasing temperatures. Leila Goldstein visited a research facility to report on how scientists are studying oysters' resilience in the face of climate change.

A massive search has been underway since last Tuesday in Lithuania, near the border of Belarus, where four soldiers went missing after a training exercise. The US Army confirmed on Monday that the bodies of three of those soldiers have been recovered. Host Carolyn Beeler explains.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says lack of coordination between police and intelligence agencies is partly to blame for a rise in the number of migrants attempting to cross the English Channel this year. As host Carolyn Beeler explains, Starmer hosted a summit of 40 countries on Monday to examine the problems of human smuggling and illegal migration.

Sugary soft drinks, candy and highly processed foods are no longer welcome in Mexico's elementary, middle and high schools. It's part of an effort to battle one of the world's worst obesity and diabetes epidemics. Host Carolyn Beeler gets more from Dr. Simon Barquera, director of the Nutrition and Health Research Center at the National Institute of Public Health, Mexico.

Massive flooding on the island of Paros has led to school closings and a ban on traffic. Host Carolyn Beeler has the details.

The Darwin's Rhea bird is native to the Patagonia region, across both Argentina and Chile. But the population on the Chilean side of the border has struggled to survive, while the Argentinian population has thrived. Now, a first of its kind rewilding project is trying to support the Chilean birds by transporting 15 Darwin's Rhea birds across the border. The World's Host Carol Hills spoke with Cristian Saucedo, the wildlife director of Rewilding Chile, about the role ranches played in isolating the Chilean birds, the process of relocating wild birds from Argentina and the role they play in the Patagonian ecosystem.

Israel on Friday leveled a building in a southern suburb of Beirut that it claims was a Hezbollah drone storage facility. Israel's prime minister says the strike was in retaliation for an attack earlier today by Hezbollah on northern Israel that would mark the second set of rockets fired into Israeli towns within a week. Hezbollah has denied the claim. Host Carol Hills explains.

The stakes are high in Boston this week for figure skaters hoping to earn a ticket to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy. The World's Bianca Hillier is backstage speaking with the athletes moments after they step off the ice.

The world is a dramatically different place than it was just a few months ago, when Nicholas Burns was the US ambassador to China. Burns speaks with The World's Host Marco Werman about what he's learned in the first months of the Trump administration and what happens to US foreign policy when the White House acts as though "the allies don't matter to us anymore."

Urban warfare in the Iraqi city of Fallujah back in 2004 was some of the most intense the US military experienced this century. A decade later, the city saw further fighting and bombardment during the conflict with ISIS. This week, a study published by Brown University's Costs of War project shows that the fighting witnessed by Fallujah over the past 20 years lives on in the bones of residents today. The World's Host Carol Hills spoke to Kali Rubaii, the lead author of the study. She said the research team detected high levels of uranium and lead in the bones of study participants.

What's in a name? Well, it often depends on who you're asking - and what language you're speaking - especially in a place like Scotland, which has been home to numerous cultures. We get a "Postcard from the Wind" from Fil Corbitt.

The Oxford English Dictionary released a list of new additions to the lexicon. All of them are words borrowed from other languages due to a lack of a direct equivalent in English. Today, we look at "gigil." It's a word from Tagalog that describes a feeling so intense you can't help but have a physical reaction to it, particularly when something is cute or frustrating. Host Carol Hills has more.

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.