The World: Latest Stories

In the West, we are used to sci-fi written by English-speakers who dream up English-speaking utopias and dystopias. Often in the final reel, humanity is saved by English-speaking heroes. So what should we expect from China's newly-thriving sci-fi scene?

When Mike Pompeo took over at the State Department last year, he said he would bring the "swagger" back to American diplomacy. How do you square that with the Trump administration's call to slash funding at the State Department by almost a quarter?

Adbulkafi Alhamdo fled Aleppo and is now living in Idlib with his two young daughters. Even though the cost was higher than he thought it would be, he doesn't regret standing up for freedom, he says.

Lyudmila Savchuk went undercover at a Russian troll farm in St. Petersburg in 2014. Since she wrote her investigative piece, she's made it her mission to speak out against Kremlin-connected troll farms. But she's no longer convinced that she's winning the battle.

On this anniversary of the invention of the internet, we took a look back at all the changes to the design of our homepage.

Eula Biss used to be a "vaccine hesitant," but after researching anti-vaccination in the US and other parts of the world for her book, she changed her mind.

Take a look around — you might not be able to see them, but they are everywhere. We are surrounded by forests of bacteria and microbes. And it turns out, that might not be such a bad thing. But our obsession with cleanliness could be.

Women from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries are increasingly risking their lives to flee. Some plan their escapes for years, and even with so much planning, there are times when things go wrong.

It's been 60 years since the Tibetan uprising in Lhasa prompted the Dalai Lama to flee his palace.

Musician Islam Elbeiti is part of the face of the monthslong protests that have become the biggest threat to President Omar al-Bashir since he took over in a coup almost 30 years ago.

The timing of this anti-kafir push is hardly accidental. Indonesia's conservative Muslim clerics are gaining influence through social media with hard-line messages. Nahdlatul Ulama, or NU, with more than 90 million followers, wants to disseminate the “message of Islam as a source of universal love.”

Aatish Taseer talks with The World's Marco Werman about his experiences with caste in modern-day India and describes one of the most revealing moments from his new book, "The Twice Born: Life and Death on the Ganges."

An alien named Micropixie and her human counterpart, Single Beige Female, use music to understand humanity.

Brandeis University has moved to ban caste-based discrimination in its own campus policy. Other universities may be following suit.

Many Dalits say the kind of caste-based discrimination and violence that erupts in India also exist in the US.

On Thursday, the Canadian government apologized for the mistreatment of families like Anawak's in the mid-20th century.

Why Heidi Schreck loves the “weird” and “poetic” 9th Amendment.

Kids on the spectrum — and their families — let it go at a special performance of “Frozen.”

Having the chutzpah to join the family business.

How a brother and sister turned their late grandma’s house full of junk into a surreal and beautifully poignant film, “306 Hollywood.”

Author David Kertzer tells host Marco Werman that historians hope to learn how much the Vatican knew about the persecution and mass murder of European Jews.

The World's Carolyn Beeler has her latest dispatch from a research trip to Antarctica. Climate change researchers aboard the icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer sent a robotic submarine for the first look ever at the seafloor under the massive Thwaites Glacier.

The writer's parents defied Hindu conventions by marrying in India outside their caste, but decades later, members of her father's upper caste promote sticking with tradition in America.

Suraj Yengde, part of the Dalit or "Untouchable" caste in Hinduism, rose from a segregated slum in India to a fellowship at Harvard, collecting advanced degrees along the way.

What’s keeping the federal government from identifying undocumented people who respond to a citizenship question on the census?

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro was once known for efforts to build cooperation in Latin America. His former chief of staff Temir Porras describes how and why Maduro changed tack.

As China and the US negotiate a trade deal, it's a strategy — not intellectual property theft — that is boosting China's innovation, argues an economics professor.

Kenyan musician J.S. Ondara left his home in Nairobi, Kenya, for Minneapolis five years ago — to pursue a music career. He's about to tour for his debut album, "Tales of America."

March 1 was supposed to be the deadline for the Trump administration to impose higher tariffs on more than 6,000 Chinese goods. But President Donald Trump is delaying that because he says “substantial progress” is being made.

Behind one of the best documentaries ever made about a band — even if the band wasn’t real.

How the myth of a pact with the devil and a phenomenal guitar technique turned Robert Johnson's 1936 song into a hit.

Hugo Award-winning author N.K. Jemisin shares her thoughts on writing, politics and her new book “How Long 'til Black Future Month?”

Stand-up comedy, and public entertainment, in general, has always been very limited in Saudi Arabia, but the kingdom is trying to capitalize on the scene. It's part of a larger plan to move away from oil.

The Nathaniel B. Palmer arrived at Thwaites Glacier on Feb. 26, roughly a month after leaving Punta Arenas, Chile. During its first day in front of the glacier, the Palmer traced a roughly 100-mile path around the edge of Thwaites mapping portions of the sea floor that were previously uncharted.

In Saudi Arabia, women have only been allowed to cycle since 2013. Even with that freedom, they are still restricted to beaches and parks, must have a male guardian on hand and be dressed modestly.

The American Revolution was a war for independence, but many enslaved black people found liberty by joining the British. New research documents the story of one South Carolina teenager who became a hero in the British army.

A medical emergency aboard the Nathaniel B. Palmer sends the ship and reporter Carolyn Beeler back north just as they’re about to reach the Thwaites Glacier.

As President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrive in Hanoi for a second summit, there is a chance that there could be a formal declaration of the end of the Korean War. But that kind of announcement would give North Korea leverage over South Korea, argues a Tufts professor.

Currently, there's a standoff about whether or not international aid should enter the country. The World speaks with Oliver Stuenkel, a professor of international relations at the Vargas Foundation in Brazil who's been closely following the situation in Venezuela, about what's next for the Latin American country, including the possibility of an American military intervention there.

A computer science professor at Georgetown University says people should be more thoughtful about how they use technology. Cal Newport says users should delete random apps and rebuild their digital lives from scratch 'with real intention.'

Alek Sigley, 29, studies at Kim Il-sung University — the alma mater of Kim Jong-un. He opened a Twitter account just a few months ago and it's become a rare keyhole through which to view a fast-changing Pyongyang, North Korea.

In a neighborhood peppered with beauty shops, what makes Shamso Hair Studio and Spa unique is not the silver and black décor — or even the henna body art or the hammam steam spa — it is who is allowed in and who is not.

The Vietnam summit on Feb. 27 and 28 is expected to yield key moves regarding denuclearization, international sanctions against Pyongyang and a possible declaration ending the Korean War. Yet, many South Koreans seem apathetic at best.

Karl reMarks talks about his upcoming book, "And Then God Created the Middle East and Said 'Let There Be Breaking News'" and tells us his views on Western media covering the Middle East.

Vidas Negras Importam echoes America’s “Black Lives Matter” movement in Brazil as protests mount over a recent death and ongoing police brutality.

The Border Community Alliance takes hundreds of Americans each year to see what’s really on the other side of the border. The Arizona-based nonprofit offers multiple travel itineraries, including overnight tours and day-trips, all of them meant to counteract fears about the border region.

President Donald Trump’s push for a wall on the US-Mexico border has stirred up strong feelings on the immigration issue. But the wall would also have an environmental impact, which many experts say would be quite substantial.

The Vatican is in day two of a four-day long conference on sex abuse. One survivor and now advocate says there are some promising signs — but says the summit should be the beginning of many conversations about new regulations.

Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, directors of the Oscar-nominated film "Free Solo" speak about how they look at personal risk for themselves and their film subjects.

Tlaxiaco has been inundated with international attention in recent months because it’s the hometown of Yalitza Aparicio, the star of the movie Roma, who emerged from obscurity to become an Oscar nominee. But Tlaxiaco is already well known in Fresno, California, and other cities throughout the US because of decades of migration from this region of Mexico. Those ties are fortified by La Hora Mixteca, or The Mixtec Hour, a bi-national radio program.