The World: Latest Stories

The US is going to increase its military presence in Afghanistan over the next few months. The US Army plans to increase the total force by as many as 1,000. So, what is it like for an Army officer getting ready to deploy? We followed one of them.

“Of course we have echoes of what’s happening in the region, but when you put scientists together, they tend to talk about science.”

Muslim women are using the hashtag #MosqueMeToo to speak out against sexual abuse that takes place during the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump replaced US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo. In his new pick for secretary, Trump someone who agrees with him on major foreign policy issues.

According to UN statistics, about 40 percent of Iraq's population was born after the US invasion. Now, youth are investing in a new Baghdad.

Behind the country’s new military prowess and greater international power is a sleight of hand. This series looks at the “ghost empire” behind the illusions.

Yoo In-sik remembers when other skiers used to shy away from him on the chairlift because of his missing leg. “When I ski now, people cheer me on and clap for me,” he says.

Most Latinos in the US, about 90 percent, support Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. But in Texas and especially in cities that are the closest to the US-Mexico Border, about 24 percent say they would want to end the Obama-era program that provides work permits and deportation protections for undocumented immigrants who were brought the US illegally as children.

Calls to hotlines to assist immigrants are skyrocketing, while employers brace themselves for more inspections.

In a new book, "The End of Epidemics: The Looming Threat to Humanity and How to Stop It", global health expert Dr. Jonathan Quick focuses on the need for a universal flu vaccine and ways to prevent and contain the next pandemic.

In 1984 professional wrestler Dr. "D" David Schultz smacked the TV journalist John Stoessel to the ground backstage at Madison Square Garden. Why? One word: kayfabe. This week on The World in Words we throw on some tights and get into the ring to explore this word you were never supposed to hear.

Lyudmila Pavlichenko, history’s deadliest female sniper, is considered to be a Soviet propaganda myth by some, including some people in Russia. The divorced teenage mother from the tiny Ukrainian town of Bila Tserkva is credited with killing at least 309 Nazis — she simply sounds too good to be true.

Untold numbers of viruses are swept up into the atmosphere along with dust and water vapor, and they can travel for thousands of miles. No need to worry, though: The vast majority of viruses infect only microbes, not humans.

Shannon Mouillesseaux was violently assaulted a decade ago in Sri Lanka while working for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Of course, the attack itself was deeply traumatic, but Mouillesseaux says the way she was treated by UNHCR in the aftermath was even more damaging.

Philip Glass went from taxi driver to star composer overnight.

A spy novel made Maureen Sestito realize it wasn’t too late to achieve her dream.

David Chase launched a golden age in television drama when he created “The Sopranos.” But what he really wanted to make was movies.

A winner of the Nobel Prize, Toni Morrison started writing because she couldn’t find the novels she wanted to read.

As bombing and shelling by the Syrian regime intensifies, families living underground turn to social media in hopes that international attention will save them.

The agency also hopes to build alliances between urban and rural women, since many can face similar challenges no matter where they are in the world.

Watch a Facebook Live or a panel discussion Friday, March 9 at Harvard about the public health and infrastructure problems in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

Exploring Sudan Archives through the Smithsonian Archives.

Air pollution near schools can affect children’s health, intelligence and behavior. A study published in Environmental Research finds more pollution in areas where poor and minority kids live and go to school.

NAFTA has governed the rules of trade between the US, Mexico and Canada since 1994. Today, many progressives who dislike NAFTA say President Trump is giving them the best chance in a generation to rewrite the rules of trade.

Charges against Ramón Esono Ebalé were dropped on February 27th. It wasn't until March 8th that he was released from the infamous Black Beach prison in Equatorial Guinea.

Ten years after Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia, Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo remain deeply divided — even over food.

When the Beatles embarked on their famous discovery of India to study transcendental meditation, the Indian government was far more wary.

The Plastic Bank turns plastic waste collected by poor people into currency they can use to buy goods and services.

In spite of recovery in the Antarctic, the forecast for the ozone is not as rosy near the equator and in the middle latitudes.

Rates of childhood asthma, learning problems and cancer have been on the rise for decades, and toxic chemicals appear to be major culprits. In the US, most chemicals are never tested for safety before they're brought to market. There are some steps parents and others can take to protect children and other loved ones.

An Egyptian court has sentenced one of its country's top singers to six months in prison for a comment she made about the Nile River. Pop singer Sherine made a crack about getting ill from drinking from the river when she was asked by a fan to sing, "Have You Ever Drunk From the Nile."

One woman in Schio, Italy works to maintain the town's acceptance of foreigners.

Since 2014, some Central American youth were given temporary permission to join their parents in the US. The government acknowledged the danger they were in. But now, the Trump administration has canceled the programs that brought them. Meet one family, who waited 15 years to reunite, but whose time is almost up.

Canada has tariffs and quotas on imported cheese, which results in higher prices and limited availability. So some Canadians resort to cheese smuggling.

While it's been unusually cold and snowy in much of Europe, the Arctic has been seeing record warm temperatures and a huge loss of ice. Here's how the two are linked, and what they might have to do with climate change.

A small, family-owned bank in New York City's Chinatown faced nearly 200 counts of mortgage fraud — the only company ever criminally charged in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail” chronicles the legal battle fought by the Sung sisters.

There have been a record 18 deaths and zero births of the species over the past year.

A battle is on over the constitutionality of indefinite immigrant detention.

How Doug Jones turned a fish monster into a romantic lead.

The messy art of political speechifying at the Oscars.

Why are Oscar contenders so mediocre?

The cost of smuggling has gone up in the last year — sharply. But, for the safety of their children, parents get references, take out loans and make the best smuggling decision they can.

The $110 million drone base is slated to open later this year. Residents of the city of Algadez have a lot of conspiracy theories about exactly why US troops are nearby.

Jonathan Erland and the visual effects crew that worked on the original "Star Wars" had to build everything from scratch. And afterward, they threw a lot of it in a dumpster, including the models for the original Death Star.

Audiences often go to movies to see a great actor give a great performance. But often a film gets its life and energy from a stellar company of actors working together as an ensemble.

Nour lives in Eastern Ghouta, a rebel stronghold. Naamat is in government-controlled Damascus. They both wonder if they can forgive an enemy who took the lives of friends and family.

In France, most people retire at around 62 years old. But it wasn’t until he turned 100 that Robert Marchand set his first world record in competitive cycling.