The World: Latest Stories

According to the latest polls, 83% of people in Japan think the Games should be postponed or scrapped entirely. But there’s been a lack of clarity about who gets to make that decision.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says a pandemic preparedness plan is being fine-tuned in anticipation of the next one. "We’re working on universal corona vaccine," Fauci told The World's host Carol Hills.

James Lovelock's hypothesis could unlock a whole-systems approach to protecting the amazing life forms on Earth.

Faith is all that separates cash from printer paper

Jonathan Zaragoza-Cristiani follows migration from Morocco at the University of York. He talked with The World’s host Carol Hills about what’s happening between Morocco and Spanish Ceuta.

After a major controversy over a dengue fever vaccine, Filipinos are vaccine-wary when it comes to the COVID-19 jab.

In mainland Ecuador, only 6% of people have been vaccinated so far. But officials are hoping to have all adults on its islands vaccinated by the end of this month.

Adolescent transgressions once confined to yearbooks are becoming immortal.

After six months of forced closure, restaurants, cafes and bars in Paris can open for outdoor dining at 50% capacity.

With little international recognition, Somaliland has nevertheless cultivated a reputation for being more stable and more democratic than its neighbor Somalia.

When Asian Americans face discrimination, it's not always clear how to report it. Esther Lim tries to bridge this gap with booklets on how to report hate crimes in native Asian languages.

President Joe Biden announced on Monday that the US would make 20 million additional vaccines available for other countries by the end of June from its reserves of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shots.

More than 1 in 10 hospitality workers in the UK have left the industry over the past year due to COVID-19. Between Brexit and the pandemic, owners are short-staffed, now that indoor dining is back.

For many inside and outside of Africa, the Benin Bronzes are symbols of colonialism and exploitation, and they’ll stay that way until they’re returned.

Of the estimated 1 million fishermen and women in Brazil, many have struggled to stay afloat financially over the last year. Entire communities have been hit by COVID-19.

A bottleneck continues to build in Mexico near the US-Mexico border, as a public health order invoked by the Trump administration remains in place and shuts out many migrants and asylum-seekers from entering the United States.

Dalya Khaled al-Masoud was in the early months of her pregnancy in April 2017, when Syrian regime forces carried out a chemical attack near her town of Khan Sheikhoun. She experienced difficulty breathing, foaming at the mouth and even fainted. Later, her baby was born without limbs. She believes the chemical attack was the culprit.

Emergency management specialists are bracing for an early — and intense — hurricane season.

Penpa Tsering, the new president-elect of the Central Tibetan Administration, said his first priority is to build trust. The election comes at a critical time for the Tibetan diaspora, as China tightens its grip on the region.

From Native American traditions to Eastern thought to mainstream Catholicism, spiritual teachings call on humanity to live in harmony with nature.

We asked The World’s listeners to share what Eid al-Fitr means to them and their families. Here’s what they told us.

COVID-19 masks have been contributing to plastic pollution around the world. One graphic designer has created a biodegradable mask that blooms when buried in the soil.

Advocates hope the ban on ads glorifying cheap flights and gas-guzzling cars will pave the way for larger, more comprehensive ad bans across the Netherlands and beyond.

Dr. Joanne Liu, a member of the Independent Panel for Pandemic and Preparedness Response, discusses the new pandemic report and recommendations on preparedness.

Sometimes, the most basic services are not available to patients. And it can lead to dire consequences.

Information on vaccines for pregnant women differs, depending on the country. Making the choice to get the shot while pregnant can get complicated, explains Valerie Fernández, who faced the decision herself in Arizona.

A mother of three living in Gaza discussed with The World's host Marco Werman the trauma that her children face while living under airstrikes.

New Zealand has joined other countries in calling out China for its mistreatment of Uyghurs, but falls short of calling it "genocide." Critics say the condemnation has been "watered down" to protect China as an essential trade partner.

In a matter of weeks, some parts of the globe have gone from trying to get enough vaccines to now having them, and trying to convince people to take them.

The Afghan ambassador to the US, Roya Rahmani, spoke to The World's host Marco Werman about the security situation in Afghanistan, and the government's handling of it.

Remote learning has been especially hard on students for whom English is a second language. Educators are now trying to support them and their families.

At least 25 people were killed on Thursday in a police raid on a poor community in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Now, residents and local officials are demanding answers — and accountability.

Mountaineers say COVID-19 is rapidly spreading on Mount Everest. "We could have a very, very bad tragedy this year," said Leo Namen, a climber from Canada.

Global capacity for geothermal energy has nearly doubled over the past two decades.

Last month's violence in Northern Ireland was blamed on anger over Brexit but, upon closer inspection, the issues run much deeper.

The town of Älvdalen is fighting to preserve its local language amid pushback from some members of parliament.

Mustaqeem De Gama, South Africa's representative to the World Trade Organization, tells The World's Marco Werman about the global effort to relax intellectual property restrictions during the pandemic.

The expulsion of Kangana Ranaut from Twitter may put the platform on a path toward confrontation with the Indian government.

In April, French President Emmanuel Macron ordered the closure of L’Ecole Nationale d’Administration, with plans to “to build something better.” But will its replacement be more of the same by a different name?

After a year of travel restrictions, the EU commission has laid out plans that could see the continent open its borders by June. But several COVID-19 rules and restrictions will still apply.

Many of Spain’s 2 million Muslims are celebrating iftar, the traditional dinner at nightfall during Ramadan, alone. But Barcelona's Santa Anna Church has opened its courtyard for the nightly meal to keep the festive tradition alive.

William Taylor, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, joined The World's host Marco Werman to talk about what's at stake with Secretary of State Antony Blinken's strategic visit to Kyiv.

Political heat is rising in the Scottish borderlands as pro-independence parties lean toward getting the majority in Thursday’s Scottish parliamentary elections.

Two medical doctors — a brother and sister — are fighting the pandemic. She's in the US. He's in India.

In her latest record, “Vulture Prince,” Pakistani composer Arooj Aftab uses words from Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib and 11th-century Persian poet Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, alongside electronic samples and touches of jazz trumpet.

​​​​​​​Syria is set to hold presidential elections this month. Syrians in Turkey view the exercise with cynicism and bitterness.

Two months after being designated a terrorist organization in Canada, the group has disbanded, saying that it never posed a threat, as claimed by Ottawa officials.

​​​​​​​South Africa's resumption of COVID-19 vaccinations has coincided with an extra 1.1 million vaccine doses that were produced locally by South African company Aspen Pharmacare.

Leonid Volkov joins The World from Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, to give an update on Alexei Navalny's health status and the future of their political opposition movement in Russia, after being designated as "extremists."

Three-quarters of Brazil’s poor are Black or multiracial. And they have felt the brunt of the pandemic more than any other population in the country.