The World: Latest Stories

Russian President Vladimir Putin was sworn in to a fourth term in office on Monday, extending his 18-year rule amid promises of continuity in foreign policy and renewed efforts toward building prosperity at home.

With cancer rates increasing more than 10 percent faster in Keralta, India, than in the rest of the country, the urgency to become agriculturally self-sufficient and chemical-free has started to grow.

The country’s tourism council paints an image of a real-life Shangri-La. But Bhutanese identity has been undergoing a seismic shift as it is thrust into a modern age, prompting a mental health crisis in a country that is struggling to keep up.

Konstantin Rykov started his career creating sites like idiot.ru and spreading sexualized photos of women on the internet. He ended up teaching the Kremlin how to move the internet in its favor.

The Italian establishment has failed from the start to understand the appeal of Five Star. First, it ignored the movement’s mass rallies, then dismissed its electoral aspirations, branding it by turns fascist and communist. Instead of trying to understand Five Star’s growing popularity, the main parties labeled its candidates dilettantes lacking the experience and competence to govern.

Large cities like San Francisco and New York, along with smaller cities and counties in California, want the big oil companies to pay for the harm their products have caused in the form of rising seas, floods and drought. Better science and clear evidence of deception give these lawsuits far more traction than in the past.

Most dog owners don’t think to pick up after their pets when out hiking in the backcountry, assuming it’s no big deal. But all that dog poop adds up to potential harm by introducing foreign bacteria and nutrients to forests, fields and streams.

Once a major polluter becomes subject to the most-stringent regulations, it is always subject to the most stringent regulations, in perpetuity. Now, however, the EPA is rolling back the "once in always in" policy, and environmental activists are alarmed.

Khalida Popal did not let the harassment by the Taliban stop her from playing soccer. But daily death threats left her no choice — she fled her homeland and ended up in Denmark. Today she prepares a team of Mexican teenagers who will compete in the upcoming Street Child World Cup.

Search and rescue workers in Syria say civilian lives are at risk after being hit by a freeze in US funding for their organization. The Trump administration says it's part of a broader cut in aid to Syria and is calling on partners and allies to assume a larger role in stabilizing the country.

The Swedish Academy which decides the Nobel Prize for Literature said on Friday it would not make the award this year because of a sexual misconduct scandal that has caused turmoil in its ranks and led to a string of board members stepping down.

Boston artist Bren Bataclan often gives away his paintings with a note asking people to "smile at random people more often."

The role of race in role playing.

How Brendan Baker and Chloe Prasinos created a sound-rich world for Marvel’s “Wolverine: The Long Night.”

It might seem like a historical footnote, but China's Boxer Rebellion is as strange and tragic as anything in fiction.

High Point, North Carolina: The home to the world's largest home furnishings show is drawing a lot of international visitors.

Journalist Ronan Farrow takes a hard look at the decline of American diplomacy in his new book, “War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence.”

For more than a century, North Carolina and southern Virginia were the furniture-making centers of America. Foreign competition from Asia has taken most of that work away over — 60 percent of the jobs have disappeared since 1990. But North Carolina isn’t going down without a fight.

After weeks of travel across Mexico by bus, freight train and foot, more than 150 migrants from Central America — part of a caravan that has gained international attention — await their turn to apply for asylum at the Southern US border. Just how does the process work?

Toast Ale has been making beer out of surplus bread for two years. Now the British beer-maker is trying to get other breweries in on the game.

A new five-year US and British research project hopes to give policy makers a better sense of how much west Antarctica will drive rising seas.

More than 30 Chinese immigrants in New York say they have been the victims of a Chinese robocall scam. A local councilor suspects the number is much higher. The NYPD estimates $3 million has been stolen since December.

Counting crabs in Nantucket Harbor isn't glamorous work, but somebody's got to do it.

Billions of dollars in additional funds for scientific research, including renewable energy research, earth systems observations and sea level monitoring were tucked inside the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending measure that passed on March 23, but the Trump Administration is still working to gut environmental regulations.

Astronomers have an update on the mysterious, heavenly, purple-and-green ribbon of light dubbed “Steve.”

"We didn’t do enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm," Mark Zuckerberg said during a company earnings call

The leaders of the two Koreas just made history. Now, it’s Donald Trump’s turn. The American president, who once dismissed the idea of negotiating with North Korea, is expected to do just that.

Stanford historian Ana Raquel Minan’s “Undocumented Lives” focuses on how policy shifts in both Mexico and the United States have changed the daily lives of Mexican migrants for decades.

The Tony Award winner makes the case for why middle age is the best.

Somewhere between theater and installation art, “Flight” tells a story of child migrants entirely through miniature models.

How the jazz great ditched guitar picks and created a masterpiece.

Salvadoran American poet Yesika Salgado breaks down her love letter to Los Angeles.

Since its publication by Simon & Schuster in 1973, "Our Bodies, Ourselves" has changed the way women view their bodies and how health care professionals view women's health. Here's a look at the impact the book has had globally.

Justices on Wednesday raised a series of questions that led many to suggest they did not see a coalition of enough judges to overturn President Donald Trump’s travel ban.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says we might not recognize the resurgence of fascism worldwide until it's too late.

A federal court ruling gives the government 90 days to explain why it changed the immigration policy — or to begin accepting new DACA applicants.

We’ve been hearing a lot about tariffs and trade wars. To look at how trade disputes can escalate, look at a 17-year-old skirmish between the US and Vietnam, and their fight over catfish.

What's the meaning of all those howls and growls? Is it language? This week on the podcast, NOVA's Ari Daniel explores how three species communicate.

Sen. Bob Menendez says he will support Mike Pompeo if the CIA director wins Senate approval and becomes America's next top diplomat. But the Democratic senator from New Jersey says there are good reasons for him to vote "no" on Pompeo's nomination.

Writer Edmaris Carazo writes about life after Hurricane Maria. "In less than a month and a half, hurricane season — the season that shall not be named — starts yet again."

Open spaces in greater London’s historic core have been protected since Victorian times.

Protests began last week after the government of President Daniel Ortega, a former leftist guerrilla leader whom critics accuse of trying to build a family dictatorship, launched a plan to overhaul the Central American country's welfare system.

It pumps us up when we’re at the gym, we dance to it at weddings and we sing along with it at concerts. But can music surround us with positive memories in our old age?

Distinguished oceanographer and leading climate scientist James J. McCarthy of Harvard University is a co-recipient of this year’s Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt wants to roll back fuel efficiency standards developed under President Obama. The decision would increase carbon emissions and pollution nationwide and also sets the stage for a possible legal battle with California, which wants to keep its more stringent standards.

A three-year study finds that land degradation and rapidly declining biological diversity has profound implications for humanity, putting billions of people at risk of living without adequate food, water and energy.

Pollution from coal plants has been linked to adverse health effects, including increased risk of cardiovascular problems and shortened lifespans. Now a new study suggests a reason why: coal plant emissions can effect telomeres — protective tips at the end of each string of DNA that are linked to aging.

The last people in Mexico who speak a language called Huave live on a remote stretch of the Pacific coast. But an ongoing conflict over clean energy has pitted the Huave against each other. Now some of the last Huave speakers no longer talk to each other.

Bren Bataclan is a Filipino American artist who first came to the US when he was 12 years old. Now, he's a professional artist who shares his immigrant experience through his paintings. He's also gives his paintings away to make people smile.