The World: Latest Stories

Last week, the African Union voiced support for the adoption of a map that more accurately displays Africa's true size. Host Marco Werman speaks to one of the creators of that map - the 2018 Equal Earth projection - Bojan avri. He joined the show from the International Cartographic Conference in Vancouver, Canada.

A mysterious object, believed to be billions of years old, is hurtling through our solar system. Thought to be only the third known interstellar visitor ever observed, it has astronomers racing to study it while it's still visible. Michele Bannister, a lecturer at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, tells Host Marco Werman why this rare traveler from the depths of interstellar space is capturing scientists' attention.

A group of Hong Kong filmmakers released an anthology of five short films in 2015. That was right after large scale pro-democracy protests, called the Umbrella Movement, took place in 2014. At the time, pictures of protestors holding up umbrellas to deflect tear gas canisters made headlines around the world. Each director was to envision what the city would be like in the year 2025. As Alan Yu reports from WHYY, the film - called "Ten Years" - painted a dystopian picture of Hong Kong's future.

DW's Paris Correspondent John Laurenson has been testing out one of three new bathing sites that have been opened in the French capital - a key part of the city's Olympic legacy. It's a major milestone for the Seine river, which was closed to swimmers for over a hundred years due to pollution.

Hundreds of people are confirmed dead following flash floods that left devastation in dozens of villages in northern Pakistan. Some government authorities have blamed a cloudburst, which is almost impossible to predict; but other agencies say that may not be the case, because there is a lack of data in the region. Host Marco Werman speaks with climate and disaster resiliency expert Fatima Yamin about why the distinction matters and what worries her about the rest of the monsoon season.

During the harshest days of Soviet censorship, it was nearly impossible and highly risky to get your hands on Western music. But Soviet people became experts at finding creative, sometimes extraordinary, ways to reprint and share forbidden sounds - using material like old X-ray tapes. Stephen Coates is a London-based audiophile and author of the book, "Bone Music: The History of the X-Ray Underground." He tells Host Marco Werman about the long lost art of making "ribs."

The FDA is advising Walmart customers to throw out certain Great Value brand shrimp products due to possible radioactive contamination. Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist in marine radiochemistry at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and a leading voice on radiation levels in seafood, talks with Host Marco Werman about his concerns.

Three physicians from the Dallas, Texas, area are in Gaza, providing medical care to the wounded and ill. Speaking from the Al-Aqsa Hospital compound in Deir al-Balah, Dr. Mohammed Adeel Khaleel, director of orthopedic spine surgery at Medical City Frisco, and Dr. Umar Burney, an orthopedic surgeon practicing in Dallas, tell Host Marco Werman many of the patients they're treating were injured at food distribution sites.

Israeli troops have reached the outskirts of Gaza City, preparing for its takeover. Israel's offensive comes at a time when a potential 60-day ceasefire is on the table, which families of the remaining hostages are pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept. Also today, there was an uncharacteristic rebuke from the German government of Israel. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports.

Go to any poetry reading, and you'll probably encounter "poet voice" - that monotone way of reading with pauses where pauses should not be. A version of poet voice exists in all aesthetic traditions, all schools and all cultures. Sarah Birnbaum reports.

US President Donald Trump said he arranged a meeting between the two bitter enemies, Russia and Ukraine. But it's not clear if a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a realistic possibility anytime soon. The Kremlin is downplaying the idea that a bilateral meeting could take place. Putin has long described Zelenskyy as an illegitimate leader and a puppet of the Western world. In fact, Putin rarely even refers to Zelenskyy by name. Host Marco Werman has more.

Since 1972, a brotherhood of monks who have left the Greek Orthodox Church have retained control of the Esphigmenou Monastery on Mt. Athos. "Rebel monks" have effectively been squatting in a monastery in the self-governed territory of the church, defying the orders of the Patriarch in Istanbul. Police efforts to evict them have been met with stones and Molotov cocktails. Durrie Bouscaren reports from Istanbul.

Fima Chupakhin is a jazz pianist from Ukraine. For the past 10 years, though, he's been living in New York City. Chupakhin hasn't been back in Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion, however, he's been a staunch advocate for his home country. In fact, if you're a Ukrainian musician visiting New York for a fundraising concert or any other advocacy event, you've probably met or even performed with Fima Chupakhin. The World's Daniel Ofman reports.

Apiwe Nxasani-Mawela launched her craft brewery Tolokazi Beer in 2021 - making her South Africa's first Black female brewery owner. Now, she's teaching the next generation of female brewers how to make their own craft beers, as she tells Host Marco Werman.

China and India are beginning to view each other as possible allies - instead of historic adversaries. It's one of the side-effects of new US trade policy, which includes imposing significant tariffs on both countries. Host Marco Werman speaks with political scientist Sumit Ganguly about the significance of this change.

Founded in 2004, the Amawtay Wasi University is the only Indigenous university in Ecuador, and one of only a handful of Indigenous universities across South America. Roughly 2,000 students study there today. It's goal is not only to help educate Indigenous peoples in Ecuador, but also promote their ancestral knowledge and languages. Michael Fox reports from the capital Quito.

The Kiruna Church and its famed belfry are being moved this week along a three-mile route to a new city center. The move is part of Kiruna's relocation, because the world's largest underground iron-ore mine is threatening to swallow the town. Kiruna is Sweden's northernmost town, at 124 miles above the Arctic Circle. Host Marco Werman has the details.

Chicago has so many ethnic enclaves - it has Greektown, it has Chinatown. But what happened to the Lake View Japanese American community, and where did it go? The answer is directly tied to a Chicago immigrant experience like no other. Japanese Americans didn't end up in Chicago of their own accord: The US government forcibly resettled 20,000 of them to the city from World War II incarceration camps. And, as part of that effort, the government pressured them to shed their Japanese identities and assimilate into white society. Katherine Nagasawa reports from WBEZ in Chicago.

Host Marco Werman remembers composer and musician Jamshied Sharifi. He created a sound that echoed his family's roots in Iran, making it a part of his own work, whether it was for his own ensemble, for Broadway or film.

Thousands of ancient texts returned to Timbuktu, a historical center of learning in West Africa. The manuscripts were smuggled out of the city over a decade ago as al-Qaeda affiliates took over and destroyed much of the city's UNESCO World Heritage site. Host Marco Werman speaks with analyst Ulf Laessing of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's Sahel program, which is based in the Malian capital Bamako.

Globally, plastic producers make more than 400 million tons of plastic each year. But less than 10% is ever recycled. So what happens to the rest? In Indonesia, some of it is burned during the tofu production process. Host Marco Werman speaks with anthropologist Gauri Pathak about why plastic is burned, what it does to human health and how Indonesia and other countries are dealing with plastic imports from countries in the Global North.

Journalist Fatih Atayli is a household name in Turkey - known for his straight-down-the-aisle commentary on his popular YouTube channel. On June 21, he was taken into custody on charges of insulting the Turkish president, and remains one of 17 Turkish journalists currently behind bars. But as Durrie Bouscaren reports from Istanbul, Atayli refuses to be silenced.

Canada's labor relations board said today that the Air Canada strike is illegal and ordered the 10,000 flight attendants back to work. Host Marco Werman has more.

Ukraine is Russia, and the invasion of Ukraine simply represents the return to an older, fundamental reality. That's the worldview of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The World's Marco Werman speaks with Nina Khrushcheva, a professor of international affairs at the New School in New York and the great granddaughter of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, about the mistrust on both sides of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Latin Grammy winner and Brazilian soul icon Liniker has been a musical trailblazer since 2015. Her latest album is Caju. It's a ground-breaking album for the artist, not just musically, but also personally. Liniker speaks to host Carolyn Beeler.

Chappell Roan has name-dropped Los Angeles and Tennessee in hit songs of albums past. But on "The Subway," out this month, the pop star mentions a Canadian province. Now, that province is getting a bit of a boost from the singer's fans. The World's Bianca Hillier has the story.

Bolivia has had one ruling party for more than two decades, and that is coming to an end. Yesterday, Bolivian voters gave an unprecedented rebuke to the Movement Toward Socialism party, or MAS, in a presidential vote. Host Marco Werman has more.

Over 8 million people were lifted out of poverty in Mexico in recent years, according to new government statistics. The roughly 18% reduction has been credited, in part, to the policies of the country's previous administration under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Viri Rios of Mexico Decoded joined Host Marco Werman to discuss the findings.

In the south of Thailand, the dialect is faster, the sun is hotter and the food is not just spicy... it's atomic. Reporter Patrick Winn visited a small-town cook who makes a curry soup that people travel from afar to taste. It's got a special ingredient - big, gooey eggs from giant catfish. This story originally aired in the wintertime, but the soup is a delicacy for every season.

Ahead of today's Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rolled up to the conference wearing a sweatshirt plastered with the letters "C-C-C-P." That's "U-S-S-R," written in the Cyrillic alphabet. It was Lavrov's cheeky way of reminding people that Ukraine was once a Soviet state. Coincidentally last week, two other former Soviet states in longstanding conflict just signed a peace declaration: Armenia and Azerbaijan. As Dorian Jones reports for our partners at Deutsche Welle, that agreement has big implications for Russia and for Turkey.

Crate diggers are a passionate bunch, and with websites like Discogs and eBay, they've got 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.

Negotiations for a global treaty to regulate plastic have stalled out in Geneva. So where does that leave us on a global effort to reduce the amount of plastic in our environment and even our bodies? Host Marco Werman discusses the state of the world's plastic problem and the inadequacy of current interventions with Amy Youngman, legal and policy analyst for the Environmental Investigations Agency.

For almost two years, Palestinians in Gaza have been recording everything - some as trained journalists, others as citizen journalists. They're documenting what's happening all around them, recording as much as possible in case their version of events is called into question. But it's more than that, too: they're also making sure the world knows they existed. The World's Shirin Jaafari explains.

Today marks 80 year since Japan surrendered to allied forces - including China - at the end of World War II. Decades later, China-Japan relations are as complex as ever. Competition between the US and China has grown, and now Japan is caught in the middle. Daisuke Kawai offered a perspective on those dynamics, in conversation with Host Marco Werman. Kawai is Director of the Economic Security and Policy Innovation Program at the University of Tokyo.

It's the final day of talks in Geneva to to nail down a global treaty governing the lifecycle of plastic. But negotiations have hit an impasse. One of the main disagreements pertains to plastic production. Many countries want to set a universal target for reducing the amount of plastic being produced, but others worry about potential economic impacts. Chris Dixon, an observer with the Environment Investigations Agency, joined The World's Host Marco Werman from Geneva.

Fiona Hill advised US President Donald Trump on Russia during his first term and is now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. She's also one of the few people to have been in a room with Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. She's watched their dynamics up close. As the high-stakes Alaska summit approaches, she shares concerns and predictions with The World's Host Marco Werman.

Historically, for athletes, playing for the Canadian Hockey League has meant giving up a big opportunity: playing NCAA hockey in the US. This season, though, that all changes. The World's Bianca Hillier reports.

A children's song both loved and reviled for its stuck-in-your-head catchiness has been at the center of a legal dispute since 2019, when an American composer filed a lawsuit in Seoul alleging that the Korean band Pinkfong copied his song. The World's Host Marco Werman has the latest on today's ruling.

Flight attendants for Canada's largest airline are planning to walk off the job at midnight Saturday. The move could ground all Air Canada flights for more than a week, leaving 130,000 travelers a day stranded, or scrambling for alternate routes. Wages are at the center of the dispute. But as The World's Transportation Correspondent Jeremy Siegel reports, one of the key sticking points is whether - and how much - flight attendants should be paid when planes aren't moving.

Experts say extremist groups are using artificial intelligence to produce propaganda and appeal to new audiences. Far-right groups as well as ISIS and others are relying on AI tools more and more. The World's Shirin Jaafari explains.

In Peru, an amnesty bill has been signed into law, protecting members of the military and law enforcement from being held accountable for alleged human rights abuses during the 1980s and 1990s. That's when civil war brought torture, forced disappearances and the killing of civilians to the country. Host Marco Werman has more.

Vanna Howard was just 11 years old when she came to the US from Cambodia. She didn't speak any English. Apart from fleeing the large-scale violence that plagued Cambodia, Howard also experienced violence in her personal life. But instead of hiding that part of her past, she decided to use her pain to advocate for change. Vanna Howard shared her experiences with GBH's Stories From The Stage.

A recent World Health Organization report finds that nearly a quarter of people across Africa are feeling lonely. That's the highest among the global regions covered in the findings. The World's Host Marco Werman learned more from Lateefat Odunuga, a clinical psychologist and advisor to the African Network of Youth Policy Experts.

A deadly heat wave is scorching southern Europe with record-breaking temperatures this month. In Italy, a 4-year-old boy died from heatstroke on Monday, while 16 Italian cities, including Rome and Milan, are now on a red heat alert. Environmentalists say lawmakers there are doing far too little to respond. In Milan, some residents are taking matters into their own hands. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports from the Italian city.

US President Donald Trump joined a summit online today, hosted by Germany's chancellor. Other European leaders took part and so did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump said the call went well and was "very friendly." Trump plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin face-to-face on Friday in Alaska. The US president also said today that Russia will face "severe consequences" if Putin doesn't agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine at this week's meeting.

A 2024 study by the University of Manchester found that more than two-thirds of women surveyed experienced harassment while running, including threats, verbal abuse and having objects thrown at them. Now, the Surrey Police Department is trying an unconventional plan to tackle the issue. The World's Host Marco Werman has the details.

US officials have unsealed an indictment against Haitian gang leader Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier and three Haiti-born naturalized US citizens for conspiring to violate US sanctions. The Miami Herald's Jacqueline Charles tells The World's Host Marco Werman that Haitians at home and abroad are skeptical the move will undercut the power of the criminal gangs.

The Spanish town of Jumilla has said that only sports are allowed at its municipal gyms, and no religious celebrations. For Muslims in Jumilla, that means there's nowhere to hold large events. Spain's far-right applauds the move but some locals see it as religious provocation in a place where people usually get along. The World's Gerry Hadden reports.

North Korea has a secret army of workers applying for remote IT jobs around the world. They collect paychecks, sometimes steal company data and answer to a boss who isn't at company headquarters - he's sitting in Pyongyang. What happens when one of these workers makes it past the front door of a US company? Dina Temple-Raston, the host of the Click Here" podcast from Recorded Future News and PRX, has the story.

One of the largest power plants in France, located near the city of Calais, had four reactors shut down automatically on Sunday. The culprit? Lots of jellyfish. The World's Host Marco Werman explains.