The World: Latest Stories

A gas leak at a dockyard in southern Bangladesh last week is believed to be responsible for the deaths of eight people while they were dismantling a ship. The breaking down and recycling of a ship's components for scrap has long been a major industry in the country. But the leak highlights dangers and costs for both people and the local environment. Salman Saeed is a Bangladeshi journalist based in Dhaka who joined The World to discuss.

Catrin Finch is a world-renowned harpist from Wales and is known for her collaborations with Irish fiddlers and with Senegalese kora players. But in her latest recording, she performs solo. It features recent works that Finch, now in her 40s, composed and dedicated to her 13-year-old self. Host Carolyn Beeler offers soothing sounds from Finch's album "Note to Self."This story originally aired on March 5, 2026.

Britain will hold its first "National Day Recognizing Victims and Survivors of Terrorism." On Friday, more than 300 survivors are expected to attend an event in central London. The day comes as the UK's terror threat level remains at severe. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports.

Loneliness is killing people. The World Health Organization reports more than 800,000 people die each year from causes linked to loneliness; social isolation has been shown to increase the risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes, among other illnesses. To try and tackle this problem, in 2018 the UK launched a national loneliness strategy, becoming the first nation to do so. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Alex Smith, one of the architects of that strategy, for our new solutions series, The Loneliness Diagnosis.

The Friedrich August Refuge, a hotel and restaurant 7,500 feet up in the Italian Dolomites, is being overrun with tourists. That might sound like a good thing, but locals are frustrated because most people are coming just for krapfen, the donut-like pastries, that are being promoted by influencers on social media. Host Carolyn Beeler explains.

An anti-corruption investigation reaching into the highest ranks of Ukraine's government and a former defense minister's call for elections are adding to political tensions in Kyiv. Financial Times Chief Ukraine Correspondent Christopher Miller speaks with The World's Host Carolyn Beeler about the anti-graft probe, the ousted defense minister's challenge and whether or not Ukrainians are ready for wartime elections.

A Chinese cargo company just launched the first regularly scheduled shipping route through the Arctic. The Northern sea route from China to Europe is more passable than ever before due to melting ice in the Arctic, which allows vessels to bypass choke points in the Middle East. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler learned more from Gubjorg Rikey Hauksdottir, program manager for the Center for Arctic Studies at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik.

Terada Honke Sake brewery is like a shrine to the microorganisms that brewers must cooperate with to make sake. The workers there sing traditional songs as they pound steamed rice to make a fermentation starter with ambient yeast. Last fall, reporter Hannah Kirshner captured these rare sounds in an audio postcard and she tells the story of why the owner brought back the old songs.

When Theresa Okokon was a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador, she decided to go on a whitewater rafting trip. It broke all the rules of the Corps and didn't end up well. She shared her experience with GBH's Stories From The Stage.

AI is changing the way information about conflicts gets out, not just by creating fake images, but by making it harder to know what's real. In places like Iran and Gaza, people who have lived through violence are finding themselves having to prove that their stories, and even their suffering, are real. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports.

\While conflicts rage across the globe, Turkey may just stand on the brink of ending a struggle that has lasted nearly half a century. The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, launched an insurgency against Turkey in 1984 with the aim of creating an independent state. But in February last year, a turning point came when imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called on the group to disarm and dissolve. And this week, hope took tangible form as the Turkish parliament passed a law paving the way for rebels to return and reintegrate into society. Dorian Jones reports.

Mexico's largest university is in an admissions crisis after its first fully online entrance exam produced unusually high scores and allegations of cheating. Now, tens of thousands of applicants are being asked to take the test again - including students who may have earned their spots fairly. The scandal is also exposing a deeper problem: fierce competition for a limited number of places at Mexico's most prestigious public universities. The World's Tibisay Zea reports.

Florence Pouya is studying aerospace engineering at MIT, and is currently on a summer internship with NASA. As an adolescent, Pouya was a member of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team (the Afghan Dreamers"), which became famous worldwide when they participated in the first Robot Olympics" in Washington, DC, in 2017, and then when an MTV documentary and a feature film were made about them. Amy Bracken has her story.

For years, foreign aid has financed essential health services across Africa. Now, following the dismantling of USAID and the disruption of programs that supported health systems, African governments face a difficult question of whether they can realistically replace the money. But a new survey shows that young people in Africa think this could be a moment of change for the continent. Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman reports from Ghana's capital Accra.

The US military has been conducting deadly strikes on boats it says are carrying drugs off the coast of Latin America. Now, the US Defense Department says it's expanding that maritime campaign to land. Jeremy McDermott, co-director of the Colombia-based investigative organization InSight Crime, speaks with The World's Host Carolyn Beeler about what's driving the new approach.

The death of Jason Arday, a Black professor at the University of Cambridge, has sparked a debate in Britain over the media scrutiny he faced in the weeks leading up to his death. Arday made history in 2023 when he became the youngest Black professor appointed to the prestigious university. But last month, he faced allegations of plagiarism, which he denied, and he resigned from his post in early August. Arday was found dead at his home in London on Friday. Now, his supporters are questioning the role of both the British media and Cambridge University. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports.

In 1993, a new species was discovered in the swampy forests of Africa: the Niger Delta red colobus monkey. Within 20 years, most of the monkeys had been wiped out by hunting and habitat loss. The dire situation prompted one researcher to launch a community-led program to save the primates. Carolyn Beeler explains what happened.

Last month, China instituted the so-called Ethnic Unity Law." The government says the new series of regulations is aimed at promoting unity and patriotism. But for China's more than 50 ethnic minorities, the regulations impose the Chinese language in schools and public life. Eduardo Castillo, China bureau chief with The Associated Press, was given rare access to Tibet in a government-led visit last month. He joins the show from Beijing to discuss.

In August 2021, a GoFundMe post pleaded for help getting the Afghan Girls Robotics Team out of Afghanistan. They had become celebrities in their country, with leaders calling them the future of Afghanistan. Then, they were wanted by the Taliban. All made it out, and many are thriving in the US and Mexico, while still struggling with homesickness and the knowledge of their loved ones' suffering. Reporter Amy Bracken has the story.

Campaigns for this year's presidential election in Brazil began on Sunday. Incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is running against Flavio Bolsonaro, son of his former rival. They are the two leading candidates, but a third politician - US President Donald Trump - may be a large influence on the race. Michael Fox reports.

At least six people have died from heat stroke in Sonora, Mexico, this year, and experts say the city of Hermosillo needs to find ways to cool down. As the climate warms globally, Hermosillo is digging into a relatively simple solution to help solve its urban heat problem: trees. In addition to city and state tree planting initiatives, those led by community volunteers have also taken root in recent years. Nina Kravinsky from KJZZ reports.

The fifth Corgi Race Vilnius drew dogs and their owners to the Lithuanian capital's Vingis Park on Saturday for what organizers said was the biggest edition yet. There were competitors from Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Estonia, Germany, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, the United States and Britain - the country most closely associated with the breed, famously a favorite of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Host Carolyn Beeler explains.

Athens' Panathenaic Stadium is getting its first deep clean in more than a century. It's a U-shaped stadium in Greece made entirely of white marble, and it's being buffed up ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The Athens stadium will serve as the ceremonial send-off point for the Olympic flame. Host Carolyn Beeler has more on the stadium where the first modern Games were held in 1896.

US President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to substantially reduce" joint military exercises with South Korea, given his very good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un." One of the goals of the drills was to assess how North Korea's battlefield experience in Ukraine could impact the threat Seoul faces. Former US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns and The World's Host Carolyn Beeler discuss the implications for the US-South Korea alliance.

Every year, thousands of people risk the perilous journey across the Mediterranean, aiming for Italy and a chance at a new life in Europe. Many end up 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 as The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry found out last year in Milan.This story originally aired on Nov. 5, 2025.

Swiss rivers and lakes are reaching near-record temperatures. This is an irritation for the thousands of people who hop into the country's urban waterways to cool off, and it's a dire warning for the country's future. Warm water risks disrupting the electricity supply by making hydropower less efficient and by making it impossible to cool nuclear plants. The Nuclear Power Plant is already operating at reduced capacity due to the Aare River's high temperature. If the water remains this warm, aquatic ecosystems will collapse, as well. The World's Gabe Bullard reports.

Afghan activist Mahbouba Seraj ran the last remaining safe house and shelter for abused women in Kabul until it was forced to shutter last December. Seraj is still living in the Afghan capital and doing her best to voice the aspirations of Afghan girls and women. But she's wondering if it's time to leave. She spoke with The World's Host Carolyn Beeler about the erasure of women from public life.

Birdwatching is a rapidly growing and lucrative part of the tourism sector worldwide, but women make up a very small minority of professional guides. Uganda Women Birders, a bird guide club, is revolutionizing the industry by encouraging and supporting women who want to get into the business. Anita Elash reports from the town of Entebbe, Uganda.This story originally aired on Jan. 18, 2024.

The late Puerto Rican band leader, Ray Barretto, must have imagined an elephant marching through New York City when he composed the song, "O Elefante." The song dates back to 1971 and brings you right into a swingin' jungle.This story originally aired on July 4, 2023.

Giant tortoises have been reintroduced on Floreana Island in the Galapagos. The tortoises were thought to be extinct on the island since the 1800s, but 20 years ago, scientists discovered descendants on another island. Thanks to that discovery, conservationists were able to breed and reintroduce the tortoises. The World's Host Marco Werman spoke with James Gibbs from Galapagos Conservancy about the project.This story originally aired on Feb. 23, 2026.

There are a lot of songs about birds: bluebirds, blackbirds, free birds. Host Carolyn Beeler introduces us to a song about a peacock. In this tune, it's a beautiful bird with an immortal soul that's carved out of wood. "El Pavo Real" is by Chancha Via Circuito featuring the Meridian Brothers.

Barcelona has a major pigeon problem, like a lot of cities. But the heart of the problem, say government officials, are the super-feeders: some 350 local residents who don't just toss a few breadcrumbs from a quaint park bench, but distribute bags of food that attract massive flocks of birds. From Barcelona, Gerry Hadden looks at what city officials are doing to curb the problem.This story originally aired on July 10, 2024.

Humans and monkeys once peacefully coexisted in Lopburi, a mid-sized city in Thailand, but no more. Its downtown is overrun with more than 2,000 long-tailed macaques, snatching food and belongings from passersby. Wildlife authorities say the monkeys expanded their turf during lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the alpha males now acting like gang leaders. The World's Patrick Winn reported on the difficulty officials had dealing with the monkeys. Since the story aired, the city has rounded up and sterilized thousands of the monkeys.This story originally aired on April 12, 2024.

At least 68 Palestinians and 13 Israelis have been killed in the West Bank this year. And there is a real fear that violence could spiral further out of control between Palestinian villagers and Jewish settlers. The Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, and by most global bodies, including the UN. Stephanie Fried reports from the northern Israeli settlement of Havat Gilad.

In Japan, a new refrigerator designed to cool humans is making its debut, while scientists in the UK say they've invented a biodegradable balloon. Host Carolyn Beeler has the details.

People crowded in from across Europe to catch the solar eclipse in Spain. The World's Gerry Hadden took some friends to a remote spot to view the spectacle. He reports from Spanish city of El Perello.

Author Tim Queeney has written a book, "Rope: How a Bundle of Twisted Fibers Became the Backbone of Civilization," that delves into the ways rope has been used - for good and ill - throughout human history. As he tells Host Carolyn Beeler, this global story is both magnificent and very dark.This story originally aired on Oct. 1, 2025.

Last year, an independent book shop just outside the Danish capital, Copenhagen, received five big boxes of books. There was just one problem: The books were supposed to head to Nairobi, Kenya. Isabella Mousavizadeh Smith, the owner of the store Books and Company told The World's Host Carolyn Beeler that she decided to keep them, and offer a unique window into the kinds of books people a continent away are reading.This story originally aired on July 18, 2025.

A cafe manager in Tokyo, Japan, has developed a particular method to help writers struggling with procrastination to complete their work - whether it's a business plan, a novel or a radio script. Thisanka Siripala paid a visit, her own script in hand, and brought us this report on how it works.This story originally aired on July 6, 2022.

After decades of refusing to allow a movie version of his most famous novel, the two sons of Gabriel Garcia Marquez eventually sold the rights to Netflix. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is a Colombian magical realism television series based on the 1967 novel of the same name. Sarah Birnbaum reports.This story originally aired on Dec. 11, 2024.

National Book Award Winner Ha Jin published a new coming of age novel set against the backdrop of the Tiananmen Square massacre. He joined host Carolyn Beeler in the studio to discuss "Looking for Tankman," which mirrors his own experience coming to the US as a student in 1985 and deciding to stay.This story originally aired on Oct. 28, 2025.

National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek is walking from Ethiopia to Chile on the Out of Eden Walk. But as he tells The World, "People are my destination." The story of the walk unfolds through conversations he has with the people he meets along the way. He speaks to Host Carolyn Beeler about the everyday chitchats that have become essential to his travels.This story originally aired on Aug. 22, 2025.

A coder in Sweden thought it would be funny to see what ChatGPT says when it is stoned - whether on weed, coke or ketamine. So, he created a chatbot plug-in that people are actually paying to use. The World's Gerry Hadden reports.This story originally aired on Jan. 9, 2026.

Humans aren't the only animal species on the planet with complex vocal communications. New research shows that chimpanzees communicate with 390 "words" and it could have big implications for the understanding of the evolution of human languages. Host Marco Werman spoke to a co-author of the research, Catherine Crockford. She's research director at CNRS Institute of Cognitive Sciences in Lyon, France, and co-director of the Tai Chimpanzee Project, Ivory Coast, where the research took place.This story originally aired on April 4, 2024.

Cali, Colombia, was hit hard by this week's earthquake. A mix of local and regional rescue teams are on the ground, and every hour brings a new celebration or disappointment, as neighbors gather around the sites devastated by the 7.4-magnitude quake. Host Marco Werman speaks with reporter Manuel Rueda, who's on the ground in Cali.

Some Americans, like Pardis Mahdavi, feel caught between two worlds. Her parents immigrated to the US from Iran, and she's never really felt completely at home in either country. So now, she's adopted a hyphenated identity. Patrick Cox of the "Subtitle" podcast reports.This story originally aired on Dec. 23, 2021.

The Trump administration has stripped Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, from hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries from 13 countries. Sejal Zota, the co-founder of the legal support group Just Futures Law, talks with The World's Host Marco Werman about the origins of the TPS program and the idea that the US should not send people back to countries where they cannot return safely.

Hundreds of years ago, Chinese women created a secret language to share their struggles and dreams with each other. The language is almost extinct, with only a handful of women still able to read and write it today. A new documentary shows how the language is being preserved in China today.This story originally aired on June 10, 2022.

Brasiliano is a combination of Portuguese, African and Indigenous languages. Many advocates says it's a truer reflection of the complex history and people of Brazil and that Brasiliano should replace Brazilian Portuguese as the official language. Musician Lucas Santtana agrees and even calls his new album "Brasiliano." Santtana recently spoke to Host Marco Werman.This story originally aired on March 11, 2026.

In April 2025, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched a small bioreactor carrying genetically engineered yeast into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It's part of a larger plan to develop in-space food production systems to serve the International Space Station and future missions to the moon and Mars. Host Marco Werman speaks with Aqeel Shamsul, CEO of Frontier Space, a UK biotech company that is developing the platform for biotech and biopharma in space.This story originally aired on April 22, 2025.