The World: Latest Stories

Russian troops have made incremental gains in parts of eastern Ukraine, although their advances elsewhere have stalled. That's according to Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Kofman explains to Host Marco Werman why Russian casualties are on the rise.

European countries are looking to bolster their defense capacities - including their manpower. A recent study says the region will need 300,000 more troops to defend itself. But where are those recruits to come from? Some countries are reinstating military service; others are looking for volunteers. From our partners at Deutsche Welle, DW, reporter Lisa Bryant sent us this report from a French bootcamp outside of Paris.

Hilbe is a legendary condiment, believed to have been mentioned in the Talmud, the ancient Jewish book of laws. It's considered a folk medicine, a cure all, a source of strength, and also just really tasty. Reporter Sarah Ventre has the story of how Yemenite Jews proliferated hilbe, and why it's nearly impossible to find outside of Israel.This story originally aired on July 9, 2024.

The World Bank is sending $4 billion to Argentina ahead of schedule to help stabilize the country's ailing economy. It's the result of extreme cuts made by the country's president, Javier Milei, that have successfully reduced inflation - at the cost of almost everything else. Host Marco Werman speaks with journalist Natalio Cosoy in Buenos Aires about the state of the economy and its impact on Milei's political standing ahead of next month's midterm elections.

As part of a cultural push to counter the influence of narco-corridos, President Claudia Sheinbaum's government is hosting Mexico Canta," a national songwriting contest aimed at lifting up non-violent musical expressions. The initiative encourages young musicians from Mexico and the US to create original songs that promote peace, resilience, and social reflection. The World's Tibisay Zea reports from Mexico City.

Alaa Abd el-Fattah, Egypt's most prominent political prisoner, has reunited with his family after six years in prison. Abd el-Fattah, a dual UK-Egyptian citizen and former blogger, was a key figure in the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. The University of Oklahoma's Samer Shehata discusses the timing of the pardon with The World's Marco Werman.

The world's largest storm this year to date, Super Typhoon Ragasa, is moving its way toward China after making landfall yesterday in the Philippines' northern island, causing major flooding and the evacuation of thousands. It followed weekend protests against corruption in the country, including a scandal known as "Floodgate," involving unfinished storm surge protection infrastructure across the country. The World's Marco Werman spoke to Ronald Holmes, a political scientist at De La Salle University in Manila.

Seventy years ago, China named the western region of Xinjiang an autonomous part of the People's Republic. Today, Chinese leader Xi Jinping made a rare visit to the region to commemorate 70 years of coexistence among different ethnic groups. But the reality is that hundreds of thousands of people within the ethnic Uyghur population and other Muslim groups have been sent by the Chinese government to "re-education" camps or subjected to forced labor.This story originally aired on July 21, 2025.

Machu Picchu is Peru's top tourist attraction and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. But protests over bus contracts left hundreds of visitors stranded last week, with trains and roads blocked by demonstrators. The unrest has reignited long-standing concerns about overcrowding, mismanagement, and access to the site. Now, the organization that gave Machu Picchu its Wonder title is warning that its status - and Peru's global image - could be at risk. The World's Tibisay Zea reports.

Residents of Aix-en-Provence, France, could see a mountain disappear. The VIEW of a mountain, that is. The Mont Sainte-Victoire mountain's illustrious outline was made famous by impressionist painter Paul Cezanne. The painter captured the mountain's rocky ridges in dozens of landscapes. But that iconic view may someday only exist in his art. The World's Gerry Hadden has the story.

Medical experts and public health officials are alarmed and speaking up today after President Trump told pregnant women not to take Tylenol. Rebuttals to his comments were prolific across the UK this morning, as Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman explain.

War crimes researchers at Yale University have described it as "the single largest kidnapping of children during wartime since World War II". They say since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has taken tens of thousands of Ukrainian children. A summit on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly aims to put the spotlight on these children. The World's Shirin Jaafari speaks with Host Marco Werman.

The Malawi Electoral Commission, or MEC, states that it won't be pressured into declaring a winner in the country's presidential election until the panel has completed a proper vote count. Partial results were released yesterday, showing the former president with a strong lead. Host Carolyn Beeler explains.

Funding from the United States has been one of the primary ways that NGOs in South Korea have withstood the pendulum swing of administrations over the past couple of decades. President Trump revoked these funds, but a US judge recently ruled that the administration must disperse these grants. Jason Strother reports from Seoul.

In 1972, a march through a neighborhood in Derry, Northern Ireland, was intended to be peaceful. But that Sunday turned out to be anything but - it became known as "Bloody Sunday," when British paratroopers shot at an unarmed crowd of civilians, killing 13, with another later dying from his wounds. Don Mullan was 15 years old when he attended the march. His book "Bloody Sunday: Eyewitness" details what he and others witnessed that day. He discusses it with Host Marco Werman.

The 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly gets underway in New York this week. One issue that's at the top of the agenda is connected to the war in Gaza. Several countries announced over the weekend that they will formally recognize a state of Palestine. Other US allies are doing the same this week. The US and Israel are not pleased. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports from the United Nations in New York.

In Egypt today, the country's most prominent political prisoner has received a presidential pardon. Alaa Abd el-Fattah has spent most of the past 12 years behind bars. He became a leading voice for democratic change in Egypt during the Arab Spring that began in 2011. Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler have the details.

This past spring, Rome's Fiumicino International Airport opened a new hotel for dogs. The hotel offers standard room and board, along with optional extras such as grooming, training and spa services, including massages and aromatherapy. Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman have the details.

Morocco on Friday became the 60th country to ratify the High Seas Treaty, which will now become international law. The treaty aims to protect huge swaths of the ocean outside of national boundaries. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler spoke with Heidi Weiskel, of IUCN, about why the treaty is needed.

From London to Brussels and Berlin, some of Europe's biggest airports are grappling with a ransomware attack that has caused delays and cancellations. The World's Carolyn Beeler learned more from Junade Ali, a cyber expert at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and joined the show from Edinburgh, Scotland.

Hundreds of thousands of people are trapped in the besieged Sudanese city of El Fashir, cut off by 19 miles of earthen berms built by rebel forces now attacking the town. Katharine Houreld and her Washington Post colleagues have been speaking with some of those behind the dirt walls. She tells The World's Marco Werman what she learned.

Immigrant workers in Massachusetts with a particular type of immigration status are losing their jobs in critical industries like health and home care and nursing home industries, after the Trump administration's policy changes. Work permits were revoked for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were in the US under a federal program called CHNV. GBH's Sarah Betancourt reports.

The death of Mahsa Amini - a young Kurdish Iranian woman who was arrested and beaten in police custody - sparked widespread protests across Iran in September 2022. Protest songs became a powerful unifying force for the movement. Nahid Siamdoust of the University of Texas at Austin tells The World's Host Carolyn Beeler why Iran's regime has struggled to silence the musicians at its heart.

The Trump administration says it's destroyed three ships off the coast of Venezuela that were carrying drugs. It justifies the attacks by saying the ships were run by drug cartels that the US has designated as foreign terrorist organizations that pose a danger to the United States. Pentagon lawyers say it's all above board, but some experts say the legal arguments are entirely flawed. The World's Matthew Bell takes a look.

Is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan turning the lights out on democracy? The Turkish opposition party, CHP, says he is. Sixteen of their mayors are now in jail, and a court case looms that will determine whether its leadership will be removed and replaced by court-appointed trustees. DW, Deutsche Welle's Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.

During his state visit to the UK, President Donald Trump expressed interest in the US reclaiming Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, saying it's an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons." Previously under US military control, the base is now in the hands of the Taliban and would likely require negotiations to retake. The World's Host Marco Werman spoke to Dennis Wilder, who was the US National Security Council's director for China from 2004 to 2005 and is now a senior fellow at Georgetown University.

On Saturday, singers from 23 countries - including The United States - will come together for the Intervision Song Contest - Russia's answer to Eurovision. Hosted in Moscow and promoted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, organizers say it's all about bringing countries together on one stage to inspire and unite millions." But as The World's Joshua Coe learned, Russia also wants to show that despite its invasion of Ukraine, it's not all that isolated.

New data from the World Meteorological Organization finds the hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica is continuing to heal. It's expected to likely close entirely by mid-century. This success story can be directly linked the the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement that phased out the chemicals causing the ozone's depletion. The World's Host Marco Werman spoke with professor of political science Pamela Chasek about the legacy of the Montreal Protocol.

Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman catch you up on headlines you may have missed.

Universities are grappling with their biggest challenges in years. Financial and enrollment pressures are mounting, and some economists even warn of a coming recession for colleges. GBH's Kirk Carapezza reports that at places like Clark University in Worcester, MA, the squeeze is already leading to big changes.

Schools around the world are implementing various kinds of cellphone bans in classrooms. A new study takes a look at how that impacts grades. The World's Bianca Hillier reports.

Israel's strike on the Hamas political leadership in Qatar last week has raised alarms in Gulf capitals. The countries are questioning US protection and what guarantees exist if such actions happen with or without US warning. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports.

Somewhere between 500,000 and 1 million French people took to the streets across the country today, protesting against cuts in social services meant to balance the federal budget. But a different approach to getting out of the red has some protestors excited: It's a 2% tax on France's wealthiest, nicknamed the "Zucman Tax" after progressive economist Gabriel Zucman who first floated the idea. But a wealth tax would be a tough pill to swallow for France's conservative President Emmanuel Macron. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Perpignan, France.

US President Donald Trump wrapped up his historic state visit to the United Kingdom today with a joint news conference at the British prime minister's country retreat. Keir Starmer told reporters that he and Trump discussed some major international crises in a private one-on-one conversation earlier today. But the two leaders did not present anything ambitious in terms of new solutions for Gaza, Ukraine or global migration. On those questions, Trump and Starmer simply agreed to disagree on some key details. The World's Matthew Bell has the latest.

The Chinese love their durian, a thorny fruit with fanatical fans. In the Western imagination, durian is often exoticized as the world's most repugnant food. For China's upper-middle class, durians are the new truffles, or bourbon. As Patrick Winn reports, China now imports about $7 billion worth of durian, mostly from Thailand - proving to be a mixed blessing for the country.

At a far-right demonstration in London over the weekend, protesters draped themselves in the English flag, the St. George's Cross. The flag has, over time, been claimed as a symbol of the far-right, despite criticism from politicians and other activists. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with historian Camilla Schofield about the impact of national flags becoming political symbols and the rise of this symbolism in countries around the world.

Hermeto Pascoal, an iconic Brazilian musician and composer, died last week. Pascoal created sound and harmony from anything: soda bottles filled with water and even a baby pig. So, why not a reporter's questions? Co-hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler have the story.

Pan con chicharron, the Peruvian breakfast sandwich that graces many special occasions, has been crowned the best breakfast in the world, according to tens of millions of voters on social media. Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler explain how the pork rind specialty won the World Breakfast Cup.

A new 72-page UN report released this week finds there are reasonable grounds to conclude that since the start of its war with Hamas in 2023 Israel has committed four of the five genocidal acts as defined under international law. William Schabas, professor of international law at Middlesex University in London, discusses the findings with Host Marco Werman.

The world's tallest bridge - over Huajiang Grand Canyon in China - is set to open later this month. It recently passed a key load-bearing test that involved a team of 96 truck drivers. As The World's Transportation Correspondent Jeremy Siegel reports, the project was completed in record time.

Shell and Exxon Mobil are suing the Dutch government over the closure of a major gas field in Groningen, and over payouts to residents for damages tied to extraction. The suit is possible under a complicated international framework known as Investor-State Dispute Settlements. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with policy expert Lukas Schaugg about how these disputes work and their increasing use in attempts to delay and dissuade climate litigation.

Until recently, the vehicles cruising around major Southeast Asian cities were brands most anyone around the world would recognize. Lots of Toyotas and Hyundais. A smattering of Fords. The occasional Tesla. But about two years ago, everything changed. From Jakarta to Bangkok, totally unknown brands - with unheard of features - appeared almost overnight. Patrick Winn reports from Bangkok on the massive influx of Chinese electric vehicles.

Gambling the world over brings with it the risk of addiction. That's generally because of the excitement of a big payday. But when the payday is relatively small and there are no bells and whistles to get your blood pumping, people tend to keep themselves more in check. That's what Norway has experienced. And it's one way to help prevent problem gambling. Karen Brown, from New England Public Media, reports.

Google, Microsoft and Nvidia are among the US technology giants announcing tens of billions of dollars in new investments for the United Kingdom. The most ambitious plan is from Microsoft, which has announced a four-year, $30 billion investment, the company's biggest yet outside of the US. American tech leaders say these moves will help make the UK an "AI superpower," boost the country's struggling economy and create thousands of new jobs for Britain. But one global economy expert says these projections might be a bit overblown. The World's Matthew Bell reports.

Lithuania is training children as young as 10 years old in the use of drones as part of a new initiative by the country's Ministry of Defense. Drone warfare has been a crucial innovation since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and as a neighbor of Russia, Lithuania feels compelled to strengthen its defense capabilities. Deputy Defense Minister Tomas Godliauskas tells Host Carolyn Beeler that the training is an important aspect of Lithuania's ability to bolster resilience among civilians.

Kim Chinh grew up in the United States, with one parent from Buffalo, New York - and another from a village in Vietnam. She never thought of herself as biracial. In fact, she didn't think of herself as Vietnamese at all. Chinh joined Stories from the Stage out of GBH in Boston to tell the story of what she'd been avoiding, in that identity, and what changed for her when she finally traveled to Vietnam.

A landmark election five years ago boosted hopes for democracy in Malawi. The country's Supreme Court found evidence of fraud and ordered a historic rerun. Fresh elections put an opposition candidate in power. But today, as voters again head to the polls, corruption and lack of accountability are again major campaign issues. Boniface Dulani of Malawi's Institute of Public Opinion and Research joins The World's Host Marco Werman to discuss why.

India hosted US officials for trade talks today, restoring hope after bilateral trade negotiations collapsed over the Trump administration's steep tariffs on India. The government in New Delhi said the negotiations were "positive." Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman have the details.

Today marks 50 years since Papua New Guinea gained independence from Australia. With its rugged, mountainous geography, over a thousand distinct ethnic groups and almost as many languages, the young democracy has its share of obstacles to forging a national identity. But as Patrick Kaiku told the World's Host Marco Werman, the idea of direct democracy is familiar to Papuans based on traditional ways of life in the Oceanic country. Kaiku is Director for Policy and Legal Division at the Registry of Political Parties in Papua New Guinea.

There are no reliable statistics on the number of people who have lost the ability to speak their native language. But it is likely a growing number, given the rise in global migration and the disappearance of many minority languages. But once you've lost your first language, is relearning it a realistic goal? Patrick Cox brought us the story of a woman who learned Czech growing up, moved to Canada, lost her ability to use the language but then decided to re-learn Czech as an adult.This story originally aired in 2022.