The World: Latest Stories

A sandstorm in central and southern Iraq has sent more than 1,800 people to hospitals with respiratory problems. In a typical spring, Iraq would see up to three storms per month, but this year at least nine major storms have descended on the country in April alone. Carolyn Beeler speaks with Nick Middleton, a physical geographer and fellow at St. Anne's College at Oxford, about the natural and human-caused reasons for sandstorms and why they're on the rise.

Antoni Gaudi was a Spanish architect most famous for the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. A church so beautiful, it is said to inspire many visitors to convert to Catholicism. There has long been a movement to canonize him as a saint. Gaudi's devotees may see their wish granted someday, as Pope Francis has just declared Gaudi to be venerable, a step toward canonization.

Times are tough in Argentina, while the new president attempts to tame inflation, poverty is on the rise. But there's one sport, and one very special place, that brings people together. As part of our "Sacred Spaces" series, reporter Lautaro Grinspan takes us to the the 80-year-old soccer stadium La Bonbonera in Buenos Aires, Argentina. La Bonbonera was home to the late soccer great Diego Maradona, and has become a kind of holy site for Argentina's soccer fanatics.

Bhutan's plans to develop Gelephu as a financial hub are a pivotal step in the country's efforts to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on external aid. Located near the Indian border, Gelephu is strategically positioned to serve as a gateway for trade and investment, fostering stronger economic ties with neighboring countries. Sushmita Pathak has the story.

Nearly half of the first round draft picks at Monday night's 2025 WNBA Draft are international players. The World's Bianca Hillier reports on the new names joining the league, and how the league itself is going global.

Unknown assailants launched seven attacks overnight in France, burning cars in prison parking lots, defacing facades and in one case opening fire with an assault rifle. Authorities have promised a swift investigation and to boost protection for prison workers. But they still don't know who was behind the attacks. The World's Gerry Hadden reports.

Since the Trump administration shut down the asylum system, many fewer migrants have been crossing the US-Mexico border. A few have resorted to more dangerous routes, swimming or taking boats around the border wall, which extends into the ocean between San Diego and Tijuana. KPBS border reporter Gustavo Solis talks to The World's host Carolyn Beeler about what's changed in San Diego since the Trump administration took office.

Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman list a few headlines in the news you may have missed.

Wera Hothouse arrived at the Hong Kong airport on Thursday, only to be turned away from the Chinese territory - without explanation. Hothouse, a member of British parliament, interprets the move as an attempt to intimidate her from speaking out about human rights in China. Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman have more.

Every year, the Boston Marathon attracts some of the biggest names in distance running. One of the professionals in next week's race is Mary Ngugi from Kenya. Not only is she a professional runner, but she's the founder of Nala Track Club. Ngugi founded the Club in 2022 to provide a safe place for young girls to train amid Kenya's history of gender-based violence. The World's Bianca Hillier reports.

As the San Diego-Tijuana region continues to grow, so does its decades-old sewage problem. Industry in the region has long outpaced Tijuana's construction of wastewater infrastructure. Now, residents of an east Tijuana neighborhood tucked between multinational factories are saying they think it's more than sewage and rain that's running down their streets and into the river. inewsource investigative reporter Philip Salata has more.

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele was in the White House on Monday to meet with President Donald Trump. The focus of the meeting was the deportation of hundreds of migrants that the Trump administration accuses of being criminals. Bukele said he cannot return a Maryland man who was wrongly deported because he is a Salvadoran citizen.

A new law banning Hungary's Pride parade comes into effect on April 15. The government of Viktor Orban said its aim is to protect children from being exposed to messages that "conflict with traditional family values." The move has already led to several protests in the country's capital in recent weeks. Orban's critics say the ban is about much more than just cancelling the Budapest parade. The World's Europe correspondent Orla Barry reports.

On Monday, Ukraine's security service held a press conference with two Chinese prisoners of war who answered questions from the media through an interpreter. President Zelenskyy says that a few hundred more Chinese nationals are likely fighting on Russia's behalf against Ukraine. The World's Carolyn Beeler spoke to Ukrainian journalist Volodymyr Solohub who was at the press conference in Kyiv.

Mario Vargas Llosa, a giant of Latin American literature, died on Sunday at the age of 89. The Peruvian writer's work explored the power and politics of Latin America, often critiquing authoritarians from a leftist point of view. But his own politics veered to the right over time, becoming a supporter of neoliberal policies. The World's Marco Werman spoke with Ignacio Lopez Calvo, Professor of Latin American Literature and Culture at University of California-Merced, about Vargas Llosa's literary and political legacy.

The United States and Iran have agreed to meet again next Saturday to discuss Iran's nuclear program. The meeting is reportedly taking place in Rome. This follows the much-anticipated meeting that took place over the weekend in the Gulf country of Oman. That was seen as a positive first step in reaching a deal which curbs Iran's nuclear program.

For well over a century, most of the world's brie and camembert producers have been sourcing a key ingredient, the fungus Penecillium Camemberti, from the same strain, leaving the cheeses vulnerable to disease and other threats. This, according to French researchers who are sounding the alarm: either we "re-wild" the cheese or risk losing it, at least in its creamy white current form. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Paris.

Diplomats at the United Nations have agreed on a new plan to charge shipping companies a carbon tax. The global economy relies on shipping, but the industry is powered almost entirely by fossil fuels. The new carbon tax would correspond to the tons of CO2 a ship produces. Alice Larkin, who researches shipping decarbonization at University of Manchester in the UK, joined host Carol Hills to explain how it would work.

Security is the main issue on the minds of Ecuadorians as they go to the polls in the presidential runoff election on Sunday. Leftist Luisa Gonzalez is facing off against conservative president Daniel Noboa. Michael Fox reports from Quito that it's a tight race with major implications for Ecuador's future.

Anoush Froundjian grew up attending Armenian school on weekends, in the 1990s. But at her American school, on weekdays, she worried that her cultural heritage was a social liability. That all changed when she learned the words to a song.

As Jews around the world prepare for feasts known as seders commemorating the biblical exodus from slavery, there's a whole list of provisions people are busy gathering to bring the traditions to life. For Persian Jews, green onions - and lots of them - top the list. The ropelike spring greens come out during a particular song, and they're not used for cooking, but for mayhem. The World's Sarah Birnbaum explains.

The arrival of white storks in Europe has long heralded the beginning of spring. But ornithologists believe human driven climate change is making the birds arrive earlier. And some storks have stopped migrating altogether. The World's Durrie Bouscaren reports.

It's the largest and most-intricate map to date of the neural activity and connections in a mammal's brain. Scientists used AI to track the equivalent of 4,000 kilometers of neural cables packed into a brain segment the size of a grain of sand. To carry out this task by hand would have taken decades, if not longer. The World's Carol Hills spoke with project lead Nuno da Costa of the Allen Institute about the significance of this achievement, and what it might tell us about our own brains.

Pedro Sanchez had planned his state visit to Beijing before the Trump administration's tariffs upended the global economy. But now, there's more on the line than a bilateral trade agreement. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Barcelona.

The cuisine of Nigeria packs in all kinds of global influences and ingredients: curries from India, sauces from China, spices from Lebanon. They all commingle with with a particular repertoire of staple ingredients from Nigeria. Food anthropologist and Nigerian native Ozoz Sokoh is out with a cookbook that's being hailed as the first comprehensive guide to home cooking in all six regions of the country. She joins host Carol Hills for a conversation about the flavors, ingredients, and recipes in her book - as well as the culture around eating in Nigeria.

According to a watchdog nonprofit called Statewatch, the UK Ministry of Justice's "Homicide Prevention Project" has used AI and government databases to determine whether convicted criminals are likely to commit murder in the future. Chris Jones, the director of Statewatch, told The World's Carolyn Beeler that the project sounds serious alarm bells from a human rights and civil liberties standpoint - in addition to sounding a lot like a famous science fiction plot.

Journalist Sarah Allely was knocked off her bike by a wrong-way driver in 2015. The experience left her with a traumatic brain injury - but also gave her insight into nature's role in recovery. Neil King looks into the relationship between nature and neurology in this excerpt from the Deutsche Welle podcast, "Living Planet."

In February, the US deported nearly 300 asylum seekers to Panama. Most of the deportees had come to the US not from Panama, but from Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia, in many cases fleeing civil wars and religious persecution. Manuel Rueda spoke with those who ended up in Panama rather than their home countries, now living in limbo - as well as the religious institutions that have taken them in.

Today, a Turkish court ruled in favor of the release of more than 100 young people who were arrested for participating in pro-democracy protests. About 150 of their fellow protesters remain behind bars. Every morning, parents gather outside a high security prison to wait for their kids to come out. The World has the story.

Pokemon trading cards have been popular worldwide since the mid-'90s. Now, in an effort to help young people connect with older generations, a town in Japan's Fukuoka Prefecture has created trading cards depicting real, local heroes instead of fictional ones. Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler have the details.

Pearl divers in Kuwait used to make music with a complex rhythmic pattern, but when Kuwait banned pearl diving in 1955, the music stopped with it. That captured the imagination of Ghazi Faisal Al-Mulaifi, an ethnomusicologist who teamed up with Grammy Award-winning bandleader Arturo O'Farrill to bring those rhythms back to life. The World's Host Marco Werman has the story.

The US and Russia carried out a prisoner swap earlier today, resulting in the release of US citizen Ksenia Karelina. This is the second prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington in less than two months. The World's Daniel Ofman shares insights into the geopolitical backdrop for this development with Host Marco Werman.

An earthquake devastated Myanmar, leaving thousands dead. Nearly two weeks later, rescue operations have concluded, but the need for aid remains overwhelming. As The World's Patrick Winn reports, not enough is getting through as the military government blocks relief.

National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek has traveled - on foot - through 21 countries, in a walk that's taken eleven years so far. Traveling at a human speed has given him glimpses of things people easily miss when traveling by plane, rail, or car. Salopek tells Host Marco Werman about some astonishing places that only a walker would discover.

Uganda is known for bananas. The tropical fruit grows there, and it's also a major culinary staple in the country. But banana growers in Uganda struggle to make a living, because of a bumper crop - there can be so many bananas that their monetary value plunges. That has Ugandan entrepreneurs seeking out uses for bananas beyond the culinary. Anita Elash visited some of the factories and farms trying to make a go of new banana products.

The podcast "Things That Go Boom" tells the tale of one man in Europe who helped gun-rights advocates get around firearms restrictions on their continent by circulating instructions for printing 3D guns. Host Laicie Heely brings us this story, with reporting from British journalist Lizzie Dearen.

Representatives from 60 American businesses are in Iraq this week, courtesy of the US Chamber of Commerce. The war-torn country is hoping this large delegation is a sign that American companies have gotten serious about investing in Iraq. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Abbas Kadhim, who directs the Iraq Initiative at the Atlantic Council, about the likelihood that foreign investors will address Iraqis' greatest needs.

Three officials in Iran have been fired after deploying an emergency helicopter to dry out a soccer field flooded with rain. Their idea DID work, though. The field was dry in time for the game. The World's Marco Werman has the details.

Late last year ,authorities in Jamaica updated the geographical indicator designation for Jamaican rum, barring products that are aged overseas from receiving the label. Now, National Rums of Jamaica - which owns two of the country's six distilleries - is challenging that regulation. The World's Carolyn Beeler spoke with intellectual property expert Enrico Bonadio at City University of London about the benefits of geographical indicators like the ones up for debate, and the role of rum in Jamaican history and culture.

President Donald Trump has ordered a 90-day pause on his sweeping new tariffs, with one exception: the massive levies on goods from China. Beijing has retaliated against the increase, imposing 84% tariffs on US goods beginning Thursday. The World's Carolyn Beeler talks with Evan Medeiros, director of Asian studies at Georgetown University about who will blink first in the high-stakes global game of chicken.

Rescuers in the Dominican Republic are digging through rubble, looking for survivors, after a tragedy at a nightclub. The Jet Set music club in Santo Domingo was packed when the entire roof caved in, shortly before 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning. More than 120 people died. The World's Sarah Birnbaum reports.

Dissent, in the form of activism or journalism, is stifled in Cambodia. But artists there are finding subtle ways to tackle controversial topics, from environmental devastation to rapid urbanization. Reporter Leila Goldstein recently visited a growing new art complex in the city of Siem Riep that's giving artists space to display bold work that conveys their unique visions.

We have some fancy news today that you might have missed. Our stories look at a Belgian prince, queen bees and a Brazilian judge living under an assumed aristocratic name for decades. Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler explain.

The Trump Administration's Africa adviser says the US is working on a deal that would would give American companies more control of critical mineral assets in Democratic Republic of Congo. That would be in exchange for more support to the government in Kinshasa. Host Marco Werman speaks with Jason Stearns, the founder of the Congo Research Group at NYU.

Greenhouse gas emissions hit record highs last year. That's in part because extreme heat drove up demand for electricity to power air conditioning, particularly in China and India. Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman have more.

A recent UK survey found that 72% of teenagers want more relevant and rigorous climate change education. Now, Sussex University is answering that call with a new degree called Climate Justice, Sustainability and Development." The World's Bianca Hillier reports.

In March, the Arctic is typically more frozen over than at any other time of year. But this year, the region had a record low amount of sea ice cover in March. That's according to new data from Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler discusses those findings and what it means for people living in the Arctic with Twila Moon, a scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado.

If you're in Germany, the current season is Spargelzeit, or "asparagus time." That's when the beloved white asparagus is harvested. White asparagus has a taste - and agricultural pedigree - distinct from the more familiar green variety. Michael Bruckmann runs a restaurant at Winkelmanns Spargelhof Klaistdow, a farm in Beelitz, Germany.

Last month, Israeli forces fired on a convoy of ambulances and emergency workers in southern Gaza, killing 15 people. One worker in the convoy remains missing. The Palestinian Red Crescent says the attack constitutes a full-fledged war crime." The health care and social services organization is urging an international investigation into the incident. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports.

Kenyans may be known for their running prowess, but a new sport is on the move there: basketball. The NBA and International Basketball Federation created a top-tier professional league in Africa six years ago, and this is the first season that a Kenyan team has made it into that league. Briana Duggan has the story from Nairobi.