The World: Latest Stories

Closed borders during the coronavirus pandemic have taken long-distance relationships to a whole new level. Now, some countries are providing sweet relief for cross-border couples. Norway's new rules took effect July 15.

Siberia hit a record-high temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit on June 20 in the town of Verkhoyansk, north of the Arctic Circle. Scientists say it is an ominous sign of things to come. “I was shocked at the magnitude of it ..." says Susan Natali, Arctic program director at Woods Hole Research Center.

Researchers discovered that a special type of antibody found in llamas could be vital in fighting the coronavirus infection in humans. The World speaks to professor James Naismith, the director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute in the UK, and lead researcher in a new study on llama antibodies.

It’s a demand that Indigenous activists have been demanding for years. But it may be too early to call it a victory. “...Until we actually see what that replacement is, I think it’s probably too early to celebrate," said Tristan Ahtone, president of the Native American Journalists Association. "The team still could come back with native-themed imagery."

His latest work, titled “If you don't mask - you don't get,” is set in London's Underground and features spray-painted rats sneezing, wearing masks and using hand sanitizer.

If one thing is clear about this teeny tiny new coronavirus, it’s that it has changed the world. Its mark is massive. But SARS-CoV-2 is still clouded in mystery, and front and center in this puzzle is understanding immunity.

After spending almost his entire adult life in a cell, Chanthon Bun was released from prison July 1 and expected to be put in ICE custody for potential deportation. But ICE agents never showed up — and it may be due to a public campaign to keep immigrants out of ICE detention during the coronavirus pandemic.

In recent years, Mali has experienced a combination of security challenges, including growing violence from armed militias and terrorist groups that has displaced more than a million people in the Sahel region, and killed thousands, including Malian and foreign troops.

Tianna Spears says she faced racial discrimination as a US consular officer abroad. "America loses, first of all, when we're not an inclusive society and when we're not welcoming to others," she told The World. "But secondly, when we're overseas at our embassies and consulates abroad, we have a great opportunity to advance diplomacy and show what America truly represents."

Students in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq saw their education come to a stop when ISIS took over their city. In 2017, Iraqi and American forces liberated the city but reconstruction has been painfully slow and online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has proven difficult.

Parkour star Alireza Japalaghy's video landed him in hot water with Iranian authorities for violating public decency codes, forcing him to escape to Turkey. The possibility of extradition back to Iran has human rights activists concerned.

For more than a month, four mothers of the Sanöma tribe were looking for the bodies of their children in the Roraima state capital. Officials eventually said they'd been buried under suspicion of having COVID-19, according to protocol — but the mothers said they weren't notified.

In 1990, Bosnian Serb forces killed about 8,000 Muslim men and boys during the Balkan conflict in what’s now known as the Srebrenica massacre. It was the worst atrocity on European soil since World War II. But 25 years on, war crimes and crimes against humanity are rarely prosecuted. David Scheffer, who was the US ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues from 1997 to 2001, explains why.

South Koreans are mourning the death of Park Won-soon, a prominent liberal politician and presidential hopeful. But the Seoul mayor’s apparent suicide coincides with reports that he was under investigation for sexual harassment.

Brayan Guevara's mother and grandparents were teachers. Now, he's on the same path, and he wants to serve as a model for his students — especially those who are Black, Latino and Afro Latino — so that they, too, see a future for themselves in education.

After getting a taste of some version of normalcy, Melbourne went into another lockdown this week. Five million residents will be barred from leaving their homes except for essential reasons and orders between Victoria closed between neighboring states are shut down.

Latvia and Lithuania have banned Kremlin-tied RT television channels over links to Dmitry Kiselev, who is sanctioned by the EU for spreading propaganda about Ukraine. "The problem is that RT is a part of this infrastructure of propaganda," media expert Solvita Denisa-Liepniece told The World's Carol Hills.

Formosa Plastics, a Taiwanese plastics company, intends to build a complex in St. James Parish, Louisiana, a region already known as "Cancer Alley." Environmental activist Anne Rolfes faces criminal charges for a protest action she took to call attention to the company's history of harm.

According to reports, senior White House officials were aware as early as the beginning of 2019 of classified intelligence indicating that Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for killing US troops. The World spoke with Mark Galeotti, a senior associate fellow at the British-based Royal United Services Institute, to get his take.

A new survey shows nearly one in six Britons say they'll refuse to get a coronavirus vaccine once it's available — and an even higher portion of US respondents say the same. The survey found differences between those who get their news from social media and those who rely on more traditional forms of media.

Bill Browder is a British American financier who has been seeking justice for Sergei Magnitsky, his former attorney, for years. He spoke to The World's host Carol Hills on the UK's rollout of sanctions that mirror the US' 2013 Magnitsky Act.

As the global movement for police accountability grows, activists are looking for ways to build lasting transnational connections to sustain the fight. But solidarity across nations can get really complicated.

Nantucket summers are usually packed with tourists and foreign seasonal workers who help out during the high season. But this year, J-1 visa suspensions means no seasonal workers — and Nantucket businesses are struggling to get by.

The album "Inner World" has been in the making for five years. It contains mantras and Buddhist teachings from the Dalai Lama set to soothing music.

Other social media companies are following suit.

A coronavirus outbreak among workers at a Louisiana crawfish processing plant kicked off a legal battle with their employers over dangerous working conditions during the pandemic. Many of them are migrants on seasonal visas.

Hundreds of programmed drones with colorful lights flew over Seoul on Saturday night for a ten-minute, government-organized show containing messages on coronavirus prevention.

But Shanghai Pride didn't include the typical parade filled with people waving rainbow flags. In China, parades are mostly reserved for displays of military strength. So, organizers have to use a little bit of ingenuity to pull off one of the country's longest-running Pride events.

As sex clubs reopen across Europe, sex workers worry about their earnings and also whether they can stay safe. Niki Adams, a spokesperson with English Collective of Prostitutes, says the pandemic and lack of state support shows how far the industry still has to go to gain legal recognition.

Haacaaluu Hundeessaa was a powerful political voice for the Oromo ethnic group. His death is just the latest in nearly a year of troubling developments in Ethiopia, and has become a rallying cry for the opposition to speak out against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Swiss direct air capture company Climeworks is counting on it.

School’s out for summer, but the educational losses caused by the coronavirus are only just beginning to be understood.

The Chinese government has been trying to slash birth rates of the ethnic Uighur population with measures like forced birth control, abortions, and sterilization. Host Marco Werman speaks with University of Michigan professor, Alexandra Stern, about how forced sterilization has been used as a tool of oppression historically.

New music is being recorded and released every day. But for the first time, an album has come from the Republic of Djibouti, which gained independence 43 years ago. The World's Marco Werman spoke to Vik Sohonie, who co-produced the record.

Environmental pollution and exposure to risks from climate change are closely linked with a history of institutional racism in the United States. Heather McTeer Toney, field director for Moms Clean Air Force, says demonstrations for racial justice and police reform must also pay attention to environmental justice for communities of color.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, sees COVID-19 as a formidable, global foe. But, Fauci tells The World’s Marco Werman, he’s cautiously optimistic that there will be more than one safe and effective vaccine available, likely manufactured by more than one country.

Upon opening, the pub attracted mostly curious 20-somethings who were entertained by the idea of drinking with friends in a North Korean-themed space.

In Brazil, the Amazon has been hard hit by the coronavirus. Now, as the dry season begins, people are bracing for a repeat of last year’s Amazon fires. Indigenous communities are especially vulnerable.

A new report found that Chinese surveillance of Uighurs started much earlier and is more comprehensive than previously thought. The World speaks to security researcher Apurva Kumar, one of the report's co-authors.

Protests in South Korea were once characterized by intense, often violent confrontations between protesters and police. Today, those kinds of fierce standoffs in the country seem to be a thing of the past.

Though France is seeing a surge in environmentalist activism, particularly in Sunday's municipal elections, anti-racism and anti-colonial movements should not be separated from the work, says Malcom Ferdinand, a researcher at the French National Scientific Research Center in Paris.

In June, South Africa became the first country in Africa to launch a new COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial.

"Vladimir Putin from this day de jure, belongs to the same league of rogue authoritarian regimes as ... [Hugo] Chavez in Venezuela, [Blaise] Compaoré in Burkina Faso, [Islam] Karimov in Uzbekistan and many, many others," opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza told The World. "And this should be said publicly and clearly from the highest rostrum in the Western world."

LGBTQ activists say an amendment enshrining heterosexual marriage as law would make it virtually impossible for the state to ever recognize same-sex marriages.

Back in April, Izcan Ordaz’s biggest concerns were getting through the coronavirus pandemic, the state of the US economy and finishing high school virtually. Now, the issue of racial justice is also top of mind.

The Byzantines commissioned it as a Greek Orthodox cathedral. The Ottomans conquered it and turned it into an ornate mosque. Then, secular revolutionaries converted it into a monument to two faiths. Its ownership and usage have become a perennial political debate.

South Africa, home to more than 80% of the world’s rhino population and the epicenter of rhino poaching, has seen a major decline in rhino poaching during the COVID-19 pandemic — a trend that conservationists would love to see continue as the country lifts its restrictions.

For years, mainstream environmental movements around the globe have excluded people of color, who are disproportionately impacted by climate change. Today’s global Black Lives Matter protests have amplified calls for institutions of all kinds — including environmental groups — to challenge and dismantle chronic systemic racism.

In early 2017, stories began emerging on how Chechen authorities were persecuting the LGBTQ community. The World speaks to director David French on his new film, "Welcome to Chechnya," which gives an inside look at the abuse and torture faced by the republic's LGBTQ people and those who try to help them escape.

A new Netflix movie starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams may fill the Eurovision-sized hole in 2020's entertainment world. Now, a song from the film is getting a few authentic covers — from Eurovision contestants themselves.