The World: Latest Stories

2020 has been a challenging year, to put it mildly. A new book by family therapist Rosamund Zander suggests ways we can all overcome stress, fear and danger by acting out of optimism rather than despair.

Only 1,100 legal abortions are officially reported to have been carried out in Poland last year. But women’s rights groups estimate more than 200,000 women in Poland accessed abortion illegally or travelled abroad for the procedure.

The buildup to Election Day has been marred by widespread internet outages and social media going dark.

As part of his environmental policy, US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has pledged to revoke permits for the US portion of the Keystone XL. That would likely bring construction north of the border to an end.

China is fast becoming a global leader in cutting-edge technologies — such as artificial intelligence, facial recognition, surveillance and 5G. But critics say China’s technology enables authoritarian control and increases dependence on an autocratic state.

Ten years ago, sewage from a UN peacekeeping mission's base in Haiti contaminated a major water supply. The resulting cholera epidemic killed over 10,000 Haitians.

Brazil seems to be slowly getting a handle on the coronavirus, with a decreasing number of infections and deaths, but this year, more than a million people in the country have come down with dengue, chikungunya, malaria and Zika.

As France mourns a beloved teacher murdered after showing controversial cartoons in class, a diplomatic rift between Europe and the Muslim world over secularism and religious freedom is widening.

Although the Bavarian government, to the south, has ordered the first widespread lockdowns in districts along the Austrian border amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, schools in most of Germany, generally speaking, are back to normal. At least for the moment.

The US is the largest funder of global health and family planning programs worldwide. Democratic contender Joe Biden is at complete odds with President Donald Trump on this and other policies, and so the outcome of the upcoming election could carry big implications for women around the world.

La Castanyada, or “chestnut feast," is a centuries-old Catalan tradition celebrated on Oct. 31. But for the past two decades — thanks in part to the increasing influence of American cinema and TV — stores have stopped decorating with chestnuts and instead turn to skulls, pumpkins and witches.

The #EndSARS protests against police brutality that have erupted in Nigeria have spilled beyond the country's borders.

I-70 is the only major interstate highway that runs over the continental divide in Colorado. Earlier this summer, it was closed for two weeks following the Grizzly Creek Fire in Glenwood Canyon. It’s just one example of emerging transportation challenges linked to climate disruption.

Even before discovering her Jewish roots, Heba Iskandarani was always fascinated by Judaism. Subconsciously, she says, she always knew there was something there. But her genealogical journey took years before reaching back far enough into the past.

Prior to the pandemic, Venice, Prague and Amsterdam had become so saturated with visitors that locals no longer recognized their hometowns. But with COVID-19 restrictions, residents are breathing a sigh of relief while many businesses face unprecedented losses.

About 100 countries have asked the International Monetary Fund for emergency assistance during the pandemic.

As COVID-19 cases rise in West Bengal state, Durga Puja festival organizers and devotees alike are following strict protocols to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and families are adapting traditional rituals in order to celebrate safely.

A video Dr. Arup Senapati dancing for his patients to the party track “Ghungroo” has gone viral, winning praise even from Bollywood.

While the Trump administration has tried to revive the dying coal industry, the German government set an exit date and made a plan to help coal communities survive.

For two decades, Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has fought for the rights of children, women and minorities in Iran. She has been arrested several times and is currently serving a 38-year prison sentence. “Nasrin” is a new documentary that tells her life story.

Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a conservative who tends to interpret the law narrowly, which could spell trouble for environmental laws intended to address climate change.

Cybersecurity expert tells The World host Marco Werman that "these are hackers who are responsible for an incredible rampage across the internet over the last five years."

The announcement comes after months of behind-the-scenes negotiations between the US and Sudan.

As herd immunity gains new ground as a possible public health strategy, a growing chorus of public health experts is speaking out against it as an extremely dangerous idea.

With a tanking economy and public health woes, Turkey sees a major uptick in the ingestion of methyl alcohol, which can cause severe injury or death.

In his memoir, "Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America's Stolen Land," Noe Álvarez shares how the communal run helped him reclaim a relationship with the land and reconnect with his parents' migration and life of labor in the agricultural fields of the northwest.

A nonpartisan group called Count Every Hero says that calling the election on election night may disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of military voters overseas who vote by mail.

As many as 35,000 people may have been displaced and 200 people killed or injured in the Taliban's latest offensive in the southern Helmand province of Afghanistan.

In July, Nairobi announced that schools across the country would stay closed for the rest of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic. This week's last-minute reopening is a pleasant surprise for many teachers, parents and students.

A company that organizes the colorful, larger-than-life bouts has set up fights to be enjoyed from the socially distant comfort of spectators' own cars.

Sweden and Denmark are only a few miles apart, but the two countries have handled COVID-19 very differently.

Vaccine developers say temporary halts show that the tests are being done properly, and that a difficult timeline comes with the territory. But the skeptical public might view it differently.

Ex-CIA Director John Brennan says the next 100 days leading up to the inauguration may be especially dangerous. Brennan spoke to The World's host, Marco Werman, about the state of affairs.

Under lockdown rules, gatherings are limited to 20 people outdoors and 10 indoors. But on Saturday night, in the Shikun Hahistadrut neighborhood, music and singing rang out from the open windows of a Torah study seminary as celebrants gathered.

Dr. Anthony Fauci tells The World's host Marco Werman that President Donald Trump’s use of his words in a campaign ad was “inappropriate,” but that he has no recourse to undo the misleading appearance. As director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Fauci is also a key member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

As neighboring countries reopen their economies, thousands of Venezuelan migrants are leaving the country again to look for work. But the pandemic is making their route through South America tougher.

An increasing share of the US Black population is foreign-born — and they tend to lean more conservative.

Canada’s Sinixt tribe is officially extinct. But one man aims to regain recognition for his tribe. His case could set a precedent for reconciliation and tribal sovereignty throughout the nation.

As part of its global Belt and Road Initiative, China is investing in the Arctic — setting up research stations, investing in mining and energy, and working with Russia to create a new sea route through the Arctic Ocean. It's also stoked concerns from the US.

A recent Supreme Court ruling recognized Native Americans sovereignty over millions of acres of tribal lands in Oklahoma, partially rectifying decades of ignored rights and disregarded treaties.

It draws us in and riles us up — but we still can’t look away.

In addition to championing women’s rights, late US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg took a strong and sophisticated stand on protecting nature and the climate.

China is on a coal spree, financing and providing technical expertise to roughly 60 new coal-fired power plants outside its borders.

The US has the world’s largest economy, but for how much longer?

La Abuela tortilla bakery on the hilly outskirts of Mexico's capital is providing pupils with a place to study and a complimentary connection to their virtual lessons as the pandemic prevents in-person learning.

Unofficially, the Trump administration has made moves to support an independent Taiwan, angering China. The question now is whether the next president will continue that policy.

Airlines are doing everything from selling in-flight meals to “flights to nowhere” to keep customers amid the coronavirus.

Former US Marine Trevor Reed is sitting in a Russian prison for a crime that his family — and many US lawmakers and diplomats — say he didn't commit. The World's host Marco Werman speaks to Trevor Reed's father, Joey Reed.

Many steps led to German reunification, but perhaps none more dramatic and pivotal than the night the Berlin Wall fell, Nov. 9, 1989. Peter Brinkmann, a West German newspaper journalist based in Hamburg at the time, was there.

With Turkey backing Azerbaijan and the Armenians turning for help to Iran and Russia, the tinderbox in the South Caucasus could ignite into a larger conflagration. Simon Saradzhyan, director of the Russia Matters Project at the Harvard Kennedy School, explains why.