The World: Latest Stories

Last week, Irish police received a call from a man who saw what he believed to be a lion roaming through the woodlands of County Clare. That prompted an investigation by police, who discovered that the "lion" was actually just a friendly dog with a fresh haircut. Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman have the story.

The UK's former top expert on bird flu, Ian Brown, is warning farmers to "prepare for the worst" as cases of the virus increase among the country's livestock, including chickens. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler learns more from Brown, who is now a virologist at the Pirbright Institute in Surrey.

The nexus of populism and extremist politics is a trend The World has reported on in many countries, but the connection is especially vivid in Germany with the rise of the far-right extremist party, the Alternative for Deutschland. The AfD's success over the past few years is told in the new documentary, "The Rise of Germany's New Right," from our GBH colleagues at FRONTLINE. Host Marco Werman talks with filmmaker Evan Williams.

US President Donald Trump has said that "nothing is going to jeopardize the truce" in Gaza. But both Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the terms of the US brokered cease-fire. And so far, there's no real progress on the next phase of Trump's 20-point peace plan. If you talk with Palestinians, the longer term goal of achieving statehood - which is mentioned in the Trump plan - seems as far off as ever. The World's Matthew Bell reports.

As plastic waste accumulates just about everywhere - in nature and in our bodies - a couple of research teams in Spain are working on breakthroughs aimed at reducing its impact. Some environmental groups are skeptical, though, cautioning that it's too early to think science can fix the world's plastics problem. The World's Gerry Hadden traveled to Valencia, Spain, to learn more.

Superstitions vary from culture to culture and can, at times, be puzzling. Steph Dalwin was fascinated by her mom's Vietnamese superstition of keeping a knife under her pillow at night to keep away ghosts. So, she started doing the same thing. Dalwin is a research analyst and stand-up comedian and shared the superstition with GBH's Stories From The Stage.

Vir Das is incredibly popular in India. Now, he's making a bigger and bigger name for himself outside the country, too. He has a memoir that came out this week, and he'll be doing a residency at the Lincoln Center in New York. Reporter Sushmita Pathak has the story.

Not very long ago, in the galaxy we live in, someone invented a sport that combines fencing with our fantasy pals from "Star Wars." All you need is one of those glow-in-the-dark swords every kid, and adult, secretly wanted as a birthday present from Obi-Wan Kenobi, and you're ready to rock. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Barcelona on the fun of this rising trend.

A glacier in Antarctica has broken a melt record. Last year, the Hektoria glacier lost five miles of ice in two months - more than 10 times the previous record. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with study author Ted Scambos about the finding.

Pope Leo XIV fielded questions from reporters outside the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo last night. Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman share a few take-aways.

The surprising rise of Zohran Mamdani to become mayor-elect of New York City has captured global attention. Mamdani, a Muslim, was born in Uganda to parents of South Asian descent, and people from across both continents have been reacting to his win. Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler have more.

Every year, thousands risk the perilous journey across the Mediterranean, aiming for Italy and a chance at a new life in Europe. Many land off the island of Lampedusa, abandoning their boats offshore. Now, in a prison workshop in Milan, those boats are being given a second life. Inmates at Opera prison, one of Italy's largest jails, are turning the abandoned vessels into musical instruments, which have been played at the country's most famous opera house. The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is not on board with the project though. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports from Milan.

Three Chinese astronauts are stuck on the Tiangong space station after it was damaged from space debris. They were supposed to return to Earth today, but will remain up in space indefinitely. The World's Host Marco Werman learns more about the threat of junk orbiting the planet from Nilton Renno. He's a professor of Climate and Space Engineering at the University of Michigan.

From the late 1990s through the early 2000s, US oil giant Exxon spent tens of thousands of dollars funding think tanks across Latin America to promote climate skepticism. That's according to a new investigation by the climate journalism organization DeSmog. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks to the author of the investigation, Geoff Dembicki. He's the global managing editor of DeSmog, which co-published the findings with The Guardian.

Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman survey global headlines flying just under the radar.

Thirty years ago today, a far-right Israeli extremist shot and killed Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The World's Host Marco Werman speaks with author Robert Malley about Rabin's legacy, and why the former general's hopes for peace in the region faltered. Malley's new book with co-author Hussein Agha is called, "Tomorrow Is Yesterday: Life, Death, and the Pursuit of Peace in Israel/Palestine."

Sir David Beckham was knighted by the UK's King Charles today. The ceremony took place at Windsor Castle and the former soccer pro knelt before the monarch, who touched his shoulders with a sword to make it official. But the honor acknowledges more than just the soccer player's work on the field. Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman have the details.

Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney, who died on Monday at the age of 84, became an influential figure in Washington on matters of foreign policy starting in the 1970s. Cheney believed in the robust use of America power - including military force - to shape the world to serve US national security interests. He was a strong advocate for the first Gulf War, the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and a central player in the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. Cheney was also one of the architects of the so-called "War on Terror," which has had a profound impact on US influence around the globe. The World's Matthew Bell reports.

Paris has launched a lottery to restore some of the spectacular funerary monuments within the overcrowded cemeteries of Pere-Lachaise, Montparnasse and Montmartre. Gravestones and monuments in Parisian cemeteries are maintained by families, not the city, and some graves can become abandoned and decrepit over time. So, Paris officials would like residents to come in, fix up monuments and be buried alongside the likes of Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf and Oscar Wilde. Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler explain.

Turkey welcomed not one but two major European leaders to its capital last week. First, the UK's Keir Starmer, then Germany's Friedrich Merz. For more than a decade, Turkey's backsliding on democracy has lead to distance from Europe. But the growing threat from Russia, and Turkey's potential role in Europe's defense, seem to be ushering in a new era of cooperation, ironically, at the same time that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan's crackdown on domestic opposition figures reaches a new peak. Deutsche Welle, DW's Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.

No longer just QR codes on doorways, China's surveillance of Uyghurs is now hidden in Cloud services and software updates. Dina Temple-Raston of the "Click Here" podcast looks at how digital tools meant to protect identity are being used to erase it. Her story focuses on a cyberattack against members of the World Uyghur Congress.

Today in a ceremony hidden from public view Tanzania swore in Samia Hassan for a second term as president. She won with a landslide 98% of the vote in an election that has sparked nationwide protests, and that many international observers are concerned was rigged. Host Marco Werman learns more from Daniel Paget, a specialist in Tanzania's elections and an assistant professor at the University of Sussex in the UK.

When Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, it tore through the country's agricultural center, demolishing crops and killing livestock. Now, as aid flows into the country, concerns are rising about the country's food security moving forward. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Linda Roth from World Central Kitchen about what she's hearing from farmers.

Game 7 of the World Series stretched past midnight into Sunday in Toronto, and has passed into baseball lore as one of the greatest endings of one of the greatest World Series ever.

One year after a deadly railway station disaster in Serbia that killed 16 people, families of the victims are still waiting for accountability. Tens of thousands took to the streets of the city of Novi Sad on Saturday, where the tragedy happened, to mark the anniversary. The disaster sparked the country's largest student protest movement in decades. Students say protests will not stop until early elections are held. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports.

Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman highlight some global headlines you might have missed.

The Maldives becomes the only country to adopt a law banning tobacco sales to people born after a specific date. The measure went into effect over the weekend, and means that anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007, will never be able to buy tobacco in the Maldives. Host Carolyn Beeler has more.

The Trump administration has decided to cap refugee admissions to a record low

Northern parts of Afghanistan were hit with a strong earthquake overnight Monday. At least 20 people were killed and many injured, according to local officials. This is the second time since August that the country has been hit with a strong earthquake. The World's Shirin Jaafari speaks with Host Marco Werman.

India has a long tradition of stories involving well-known ghosts and monsters. In this favorite Halloween interview from Halloweens past, Kolkata-based reporter Sandip Roy talked to Rakesh Khanna about the illustrated guide he'd just written - back in 2021- to help people understand the cast of ghostly, ghoulish and monstrous characters.

Before it was destroyed in 2018, the Yarmouk camp near Damascus was home to Palestinians displaced during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. During the Syrian civil war that started in 2011, government forces laid siege to the camp, creating dire humanitarian conditions inside. Today, the camp is slowly starting to come back to life, as residents return and rebuild. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports.

A few thousand people have arrived at the Tawila refugee camp in Sudan, after escaping harrowing violence in the RSF-controlled city of el-Fasher. Many of those reaching the camp are unaccompanied children. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler gets the latest from Shashwat Saraf. He's the country lead on Sudan for the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Timor-Leste, once a UN-administered post-conflict state, has been accepted into ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It's a diplomatic coming-of-age moment for the tiny nation. It means the country will help shape consensus on trade, security and diplomacy in the region. Naina Rao explains what took so long, and why it matters.

Letters written on Aug. 15, 1916, by two Australian soldiers serving in France during World War I have been discovered more than a century later. One of the letter-writers survived the war; the other died a year later. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler has the story.

The West African nation of Mali, one of the countries comprising the Sahel region to the south of the Sahara Desert, has been fighting extremists for years. But a coalition of al-Qaeda and ISIS fighters, known as JNIM, have begun blowing up oil-tankers en route by road from Senegal, the Ivory Coast and other countries. This could spell disaster for landlocked Mali, which depends on such imports. Similar fighting, political instability and a rejection of Western military assistance across the Sahel has people worried for the region. The World's Gerry Hadden reports.

Mexicans are celebrating "Dia de Muertos," an annual holiday where families honor deceased ancestors. One popular character always shows up: La Catrina, a fancy skeleton lady wearing an elegant dress and a flowered hat. Last year, The World's Tibisay Zea went to a big parade in Mexico City, to get the story behind La Catrina's starring role in the seasonal festivities.

Some Halloween costumes transform ordinary people into fantasy characters. But a social media trend in Japan has people trying instead to capture mundane situations from everyday life. So, instead of "princess" or "two-headed monster" you could be "person standing in line at the security checkpoint of an airport" or "man who keeps getting mistaken for a store employee." The World's Host Carolyn Beeler has more.

In many ways, Koichi Kitabatake is just like any other runner preparing for Sunday's New York City Marathon: He's nervous for the big race but plans to draw energy from crowds of spectators to keep pace. At 91 years old, though, the Japanese runner is the oldest of all 55,000 runners registered for this year's race. The World's Bianca Hillier has his story.

The announcement came yesterday: Prince Andrew will no longer be "prince." He's now Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. The decision came in response to mounting allegations of sexual predation, and ties to American sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry speaks with Host Carolyn Beeler about the significance of this moment, for the Royal family, as well as for survivors and their families.

Exit polls show a center-left party gaining ground in the Netherlands' national elections. That's a setback for the far-right party of Geert Wilders, who expected a decisive win. But Sarah de Lange, a professor of Dutch politics at the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University, tells The World's Host Carolyn Beeler that Dutch voters who support the extreme right have not returned to the mainstream.

Weather balloons carrying boxes of smuggled cigarettes have been disrupting flights in Lithuania. The situation has escalated dramatically over the past week, and the government in Vilnius has announced plans to close Lithuania's border with Belarus. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry has more.

US military forces operating in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific have carried out more than a dozen strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats. The strikes, which began in September, have killed nearly 60 people so far. Trump administration officials have offered scant legal justification for these attacks. The World's Matthew Bell reports.

Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler catch you up on news headlines you might have missed.

The Blue Jays lead the LA Dodgers 3-2 in this year's World Series. The baseball games themselves are spectacular, but they also gain momentum from world politics, as the Jays play against the backdrop of rising tensions between Canada and the US. Lee-Anne Goodman is an editor at The Conversation, and also a Blue Jays fan. She joined The World's Host Marco Werman to talk about the significance of the series for Canadians.

In Rio de Janeiro, residents of the favelas of Penha and Alemao are reeling after Brazil's deadliest police raid in decades left more than 130 people dead. The operation, aimed at leaders of the Red Command gang, turned the neighborhoods into a war zone. Governor Claudio Castro defended the raid as a hard blow against crime," but human rights groups call it a massacre - and residents say it shows how little has changed in Rio's security policy. The World's Tibisay Zea reports.

US President Donald Trump met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, today. Both leaders sounded optimistic about cooling trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. Trump called the meeting a "12 out of 10." Nothing has been set in stone, but Trump said tariffs will go down, and China will sell the US rare earth mineralsand buy US soybeans. The World's Jeremy Siegel reports from Hong Kong.

The independent news network Radio Free Asia will begin closing down its operations on Friday. It's one of several US government-funded international broadcasters that the Trump administration wants to dismantle. The winners in this scenario are authoritarian leaders in Asia who don't tolerate a free press or freedom of expression.

The nation currently known as Turkey sits where Europe meets Asia. That land was once known to Europeans as part of the Levant. National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek walked across Turkey on foot in 2014. He looks back on the experience of traversing that ground, in conversation with Host Carolyn Beeler.

Sea monsters like the Kraken, serpents or the Loch Ness monster may be just in our imagination, but across history, these stories have roots in reality. Today, we still like to exaggerate and tell stories about the very real creatures that live in the deep sea, beyond the reach of sunlight. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler toured an exhibit at the Harvard Museum of Natural History with marine scientist Peter Girguis, to understand this spectrum of imagination and reality.

Israeli forces carried out attacks inside Gaza on Tuesday night, killing at least a hundred people, according to Gaza health officials. The strikes came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a powerful response" to what he called a breach of the ceasefire agreement by Hamas. Netanyahu said the group killed an Israeli soldier and is deliberately delaying handing over the remains of Israeli hostages. Hamas denied the accusations, saying that the attackers are not under its control and that the remains are difficult and time consuming to collect given the conditions on the ground in Gaza. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports.