The World: Latest Stories

Before password protection or message encryption — or even envelopes — there was something known as “letterlocking" to secure letters from prying eyes.

Treasures of Colombia breeds tiny amphibians, native to Colombian forests, for export to Europe and the US.

The world has gotten really clean during the pandemic and our hypersanitized lives may pose health risks.

Amid massive, ongoing farmer protests, the Indian government has cracked down on climate activists, including Disha Ravi, who founded Fridays for Future India.

Pope Francis’ upcoming three-day tour of the country will include meetings with political and religious leaders plus visits to historical sites.

The ruling effectively ends a decadeslong debate over citizenship status in the largest tribe in the country.

The multibillion-dollar Danish company Velux is pledging to address its legacy emissions dating back to 1941 through forest conservation projects in places like Myanmar.

During the pandemic, many have reconnected with new hobbies, from sourdough to houseplants. In Turkey, and elsewhere, the ancient practice of raising pigeons is also seeing a revival.

French Ivorian director Philippe Lacôte wanted to send a political message with his film that "poetry can come from everywhere, telling stories can come from everywhere — even from prison."

Although some Serbians see it as a big win for the country — and a rare victory at that — others are critical of what they see as the politicization of vaccines.

Ghanaian Australian artist Genesis Owusu speaks with Marco Werman about his experience growing up in Australia and how Prince inspired him to be true to himself.

For Russia, the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is an opportunity to appeal to faraway governments and citizens.

Prominent groups are calling on the Biden administration to lift Trump-era sanctions on ICC members. But Israel, one of America's closest allies, is asking the new president to keep them in place.

Vaccine workers in Pakistan have faced threats for a long time. The reasons behind anti-vaccination sentiments and hostility toward workers vary, but misinformation and a CIA operation have played an outsized role.

Aspern Seestadt — home to various industries, researchers and small businesses — demonstrates the possibilities for building an entirely green mini-city.

Up to 200 undocumented migrants, including teenagers, have occupied St. John the Baptist in Brussels since the end of January. They're calling on the government to grant them legal status.

Regarding the Constitution as divine amounts to “constitutional fundamentalism,” according to one law professor.

In Germany, the pandemic has ushered in a new crop of vocabulary words like impfneid, the feeling of resentment that other people are getting vaccinated before you.

The company wants to hire an archivist to examine its collection of 3,000 insurance relics to suss out connections to the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

To boost the public’s confidence, the French government is putting power in the hands of everyday citizens in the form of a 35-person collective — selected at random — to help oversee the country’s vaccine rollout.

Ship strikes and entanglement in fishing nets threaten the survival of the North Atlantic right whale, one of the world’s most endangered species. Conservation groups have now filed a lawsuit to compel the US to expand protections for the whales.

The Chinese government hasn’t actually forbidden travel this year, but they’re strongly discouraging it.

With the pandemic mostly behind them now, along with a lack of data around the efficacy of Chinese vaccines, many citizens are taking the “wait-and-see” approach to getting vaccinated.

Over the past week, thousands of protesters rallied in rapper Pablo Hasél’s defense while hundreds of artists — including Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar and actor Javier Bardem — signed petitions calling for his release.

Mexico's vaccine rollout has been slow and cumbersome. Mexican residents with US citizenship, permanent residency or valid visas are starting to take matters into their own hands.

Experts say that as the US rejoins the UN Human Rights Council, it should hold allies — and itself — accountable for human rights violations.

During the day, dozens of guests of all backgrounds crowd around long tables at Yemen Kings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to share traditional Yemeni dishes like fahsa, a stew made out of beef or lamb.

​​​​​​​Over the weekend, the country’s electoral council announced the top two candidates who will be headed to a runoff on April 11. But there have been accusations of fraud by the third-place candidate.

Ecologist Carl Safina’s latest book, “Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty and Achieve Peace," explores how animals live their lives within definitive cultures and customs.

The coronavirus death toll is higher in minority communities as many are working front-line jobs. Health inequalities, housing conditions and structural racism are also key factors.

Host Carol Hills speaks to NASA aerospace engineer Diana Trujillo, who worked both on the robotic arm of the Perseverance rover and hosted the broadcast.

Houthi militias have renewed their military campaign to take over Marib, Yemen. Nadwa al-Dawsari, a scholar at the Middle East Institute, tells The World what’s at stake with this new push to take control of Marib.

A Social Security benefit for the nation’s neediest kids would virtually eradicate poverty for children, says one leading economist.

As part of "Movement,” an ongoing series from The World about the lives and work of immigrant musicians, Ethiopian American musician Meklit Hadero recounts conversations with fellow musicians in Ethiopia about the unifying role of music and culture amid the conflict in Tigray.

Several high-profile cases of sexual assault and child rape have bubbled to the surface in recent months. Each story has exposed a common denominator: a culture of silence and complicity in France that has let this kind of abuse continue for years — even decades.

Lebanon’s security forces used French-made rubber bullets, tear gas canisters and other anti-riot equipment to crush protests, according to an Amnesty International report.

“His name will be remembered not just as a failure of US foreign policy, but to remind people that it's not just him," says Mohammad Soltan, founder of the Freedom Initiative.

Leydy Pech, a Mayan beekeeper, launched a legal battle to protect the environment and the Indigenous Mayan community’s ancient practice of beekeeping. Now she is a 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize winner.

As France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen attempts to distance her party from extremism, she appears to be performing well in the polls.

The generals, most of whom are ethnically Burmese, have immense power but little public support. Their coup has enraged much of the population, from the mountains to the sea.

Since Jan. 1, when Britain formally left the European Union, musicians and crews can no longer travel freely through Europe while touring.

Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline, which would carry tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada, to Wisconsin, if completed, is facing strong opposition from Native American tribes and environmental activists.

As part of a 2019 agreement with the US, Brazil is looking to expand its space base, but it could mean evicting hundreds of Black families from their ancestral lands.

Nektaria Anastasiadou’s “A Recipe for Daphne” passes as a light, escapist novel with a love story. But at its core, it’s a meditation on Rum identity and the scars of history.

In a movement called #ActOut, actors are advocating for LGBTQ representation on-screen and behind-the-scenes in Germany’s media productions.

In many cities across Latin America, including Mexico City, patients with the coronavirus are struggling to receive vital medical oxygen to stay alive. Many who couldn’t find space in overflowing emergency rooms are dying at home.

The government has secured 9 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine instead, which researchers have said is effective against moderate and severe forms of the coronavirus new variants. They have also secured millions more from the global COVAX and Pfizer.

For years, Afghans have moved to Iran and Pakistan to escape conflict, insecurity and lack of economic opportunities. Since last March, the pandemic, economic woes and deportations have forced many back to home.

On Feb. 11, a new US postage stamp was issued honoring Chien-Shiung Wu, a groundbreaking Chinese American scientist who was unfairly overlooked for years, likely because of her gender.

An Olympic medalist’s sexual assault allegations against a former coach have opened up a conversation about gender roles, discrimination, power dynamics and everyday sexism in Greek society.