The World: Latest Stories

The Syrian government and its allies, Russia and Iran, are indiscriminately bombing and shelling the last square mile of Aleppo under rebel control. The area still contains tens of thousands of unarmed civilians. Many experts say it's a war crime. But legally, it's not genocide. It's a crime of extermination.

The Bureau of Land Management has issued a new rule for the leasing of public land for solar and wind energy development — and it has bipartisan support in Congress.

So, Americans are outraged that Russia may have attempted to interfere in US elections. From Italy to Guatemala, Indonesia to Afghanistan, people ask, "so, how does it feel?"

Rex Tillerson has spent about 40 years at one of the largest oil companies in the world. He'll have to make some adjustments in order to transition into his new job as secretary of state.

President-elect Donald Trump's tweet about a US-made fighter jet, the F-35, caused its manufacturer's stock to tumble. Here's why critics of Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter program say that the plane, designed to be efficient and economical, is neither.

White Helmet volunteer Ismail Alabdullah says the city of Aleppo is like a mother to him, and until evacuation was announced on Dec. 13, he never thought he would leave it.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday ordered the border with Colombia sealed for 72 hours, calling it a "hard" but "inevitable" choice.

Israel has a policy of offering incentives to African migrants to leave the country. But when they go, they often leave their families behind.

How throw-away plastic could alter humanity as we know it.

The Macedonian singer once told The World that she hoped the Balkans would become better known for the “beauty of its music than for the bitterness of its wars.”

The demand is keeping record plants humming around the clock.

The controversy surrounding Russia's intervention in the US election has now split Republicans, at least to some degree. Congressional Republicans are calling for an investigation, while President-elect Donald Trump has outrightly disregarded the allegations.

​December 2016 marks two decades since the signing of the Guatemalan peace accords. It officially ended a 36-year domestic armed conflict in which an estimated 200,000 people were killed and many more tortured and raped. Bringing war crimes perpetrators to justice has been slow, with convictions appealed and cases stalled. But many see victory in the trials themselves, and in their growing involvement of women.

A Syrian military official in Aleppo says the "operation in eastern neighborhoods is entering its final phase," as fierce clashes were reported in the few districts still under rebel control.

Why cheap oil is a nightmare for the millions who scavenge trash.

President-elect Donald Trump doubled down Monday in dismissing CIA intelligence that Russia interfered in the US election, even as leading senators from both camps demanded a broad probe on the apparent national security threat.

Beijing issued its first clear warning Monday over Donald Trump's fiery rhetoric.

Fake news stories spread like viruses across social media sites this election season. What can — and should — be done to stop fake news in the future?

Some Taiwanese Americans found it refreshing to see a US president acknowledge Taiwan. But one worries that Trump is playing with fire.

Andrew Puzder is tough on minimum wage increases but believes there should be a “path to legal status” for undocumented immigrants.

At a small, mostly immigrant church in North Carolina, even the pastor is trying to figure out how to deal with the rise in racism since the elections.

The real story of the fall of Jerusalem 99 years ago was no "Lawrence of Arabia." In fact, it is full of mishaps.

A fox in the hen house? With Donald Trump's selection of Scott Pruitt to run the EPA, rejection of the reality of climate change could become official US policy.

The McLaren report shows that more than 1,000 athletes in the summer and winter Olympics and Paralympics have been involved in a state-supported doping system.

Mormons in Utah have their own history of religious persecution. But then the state went for Trump, who had proposed faith-based immigration bans. Muslims there are wondering what to make of that.

Each week on The World, we feature a unique selection of musicians, and every week we put it together for you here.

Junaid Jamshed was a legendary figure in Pakistani pop music. He was killed in a plane crash north of Islamabad Wednesday. His fans were devastated.

A book changes the life of an actor. It sets him on a journey that ends with one of the biggest disappointments of his life. But how he rebounds is the bigger lesson.

The long and tawdry history of "yellow journalism" in America.

South Korean so preferred having boys that the country had to implement a law requiring doctors to refrain from revealing a baby's gender until late in the second trimester, so as to avoid sex-selective abortions.

Just in time for the holidays, the Science Friday team has put together this list of books that you should think about picking up.

There are the specific policy proposals coming out of the transition team, including one that could seriously dial back or even eliminate one of the main sources of data on the earth’s changing climate — NASA’s Earth science program.

The president-elect broke with decades of precedent last week to accept a congratulatory phone call from Tsai.

The rebels in Syria have lost control of most of their foothold in Aleppo. Some say the defeat of the rebels there could be decisive. Others say the eventual fall of Aleppo is unlikely to end the war in Syria. But it does raise the possibility of movement in that direction. So how do wars end?

South Korean office culture is overbearing. Many bosses act like generals. Artist Yang Kyung-soo lets workers say what's really on their mind in his cartoon "Yakchjkii."

In her final project, Leonor Caraballo explored illness, fear and the powers of ayahuasca.

The US, Britain and France led a call Wednesday from six countries for an immediate ceasefire to allow aid into the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo.

Unlike in America, climate change skepticism in China is largely a left-wing notion.

Redistricting remains a highly partisan issue. But partisan redistricting is OK, while racially motivated redistricting is not.

Following Sunday evening's victory — winning postponement of the Dakota Access Pipeline — the Standing Rock protest camp was battered by a strong blizzard.

A young man who learned to survive in the harshest conditions now dreams of helping disabled kids the world over.

Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis make up the majority of the refugee population stuck on Lesbos and other Greek islands. So the Africans there to seek asylum are often overlooked.

Billionaire philanthropist and Holocaust survivor will invest $10 million to help communities track hate crimes against them.

Cary Fowler, founder of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and the author of a new book documenting its story and its treasures, explains why humanity needs a seed vault at the top of the world to ensure the genetic diversity of our agricultural heritage.

It wasn’t so long ago when US colleges and universities dismissed Islam as a serious subject of study. A broken arm set off the chain of events that sent Philip Khuri Hitti from Lebanon to Princeton, where he created the first program in Near Eastern Studies in the US.

The Western Hemisphere's longest-ruling communist leader loved wearing some of the world's best-known brands.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel sets off re-election bid with ban on Muslim full-face veil, following Germany's intake of more than a million refugees, which has drawn criticism from Merkel's party.

Why do we use mice for medical research? It all started with fancy mice.

The US, China and Taiwan have all signed onto a fiction — that Taiwan and China are one and the same government. Of course, the US doesn't completely go along with that, but for official purposes, it's been a useful lie for decades.