The World: Latest Stories

Brooklyn-raised Iranian American Azita Houshiar visited Tehran last year and then decided to stay in the land where she was born. Houshiar is a former lawyer who writes a food blog about Persian cuisine called “Fig and Quince.”

Brazil will be represented at the Academy Awards on Sunday night. The film "Boy and the World" is up for an Oscar as best animated feature. But the story is told more through music than words.

Authoritarians like strong leaders, feel threatened by outsiders and like plain language and rousing promises like "make America great again." No surprise, then, that Donald Trump is drawing them in. About 18 to 30 percent of Americans skew authoritarian on polling questions, and in recent years, ever more have concentrated in the Republican Party and, specifically, in Trump's camp. Career political consultant and mid-career PhD candidate Matt MacWilliams talks about the phenomenon he's found through his own polling, and other polls, about the appeal of a strongman in a democracy.

And author and a linguist take a single-engine plane throughout the United States. What they find are 11 signs a city will succeed.

James Williamson inspired a punk-rock revolution in the 1970s, then quit music and became an engineer. After three decades of working in tech, however, he went back on a rock-and-roll tour

This Salvadoran American supports Marco Rubio on immigration. "We can't break laws just because," he argues.

The FBI and Apple are battling over whether Apple must help the government gain access to the iPhone of the San Bernardino shooter, reigniting America's ongoing debate of the balance between national security and individual privacy. But the same tension is also being felt in Europe.

Developers of a new app, Walk Freely, hope it will help solve Kosovo’s sexual harassment problem.

The Open Skies Treaty of 1992 allows Russians to fly spy planes over US military bases. Now, they want to improve their cameras.

Brazil's largest city, São Paulo is coming out of a searing drought. But its impact wasn't all bad. One woman saw the drought as an opportunity to empower women and bring her community closer together.

Once again, President Obama has announced plans to close down the Guantanamo Bay prison. Here's what life has been like for some of them in Uruguay.

When Deepak Singh was growing up in India, he always bathed in cold water. Quickly. Now that he lives in the US, he's come to appreciate a hot shower. And luxuriate. When he went home for a visit to India recently, he realized that he'd gone soft.

For public art installations around the world, São Paulo artist Nele Azevedo casts human figures from ice and then lets them melt. The sight — and sound — of that melting is an experience in "impermanence," she says.

Mezar Matar’s witnessed ISIS fighters take over his hometown in the summer of 2013. He saw them violently enforce Sharia law, seize homes, close schools and stage elaborate public executions. He watched as they punished women for their clothes, flogged anyone on the streets during prayer times and beat people for smoking cigarettes. Matar saw ISIS arrest his friends, abduct his brother and recruit children to join its ranks.

Bowing to the ground is an ancient tradition in China. A recent photograph showing a Chinese man kowtowing to his parents is generating some buzz in China about this ancient tradition.

Independent research organization Climate Central has released a map comparing the amount of coastal flooding caused by humans versus natural causes — following a study saying we are living with the fastest sea-level rise in 28 centuries.

Cities across the US, and the globe, are adopting Sweden’s model for road safety. It’s called “Vision Zero” — no loss of life on the roads is acceptable.

In 2013, American and Russian scientists had to improvise the technology needed to destroy Syria's chemical weapons

There’s no love lost between America and the theocratic rulers of Iran. But Marco Werman discovered during a visit to the cinema in Tehran that many Iranians have a whole lot of love for classic American movies.

President Barack Obama released a proposal today to close "once and for all" the Guantanamo Bay detention center. But there are no specifics as to where prisoners will go.

In Britain, a civil war between two old schoolmates and political rivals has broken out. A few months from now, Britons will go to the polls to vote on whether the country should exit the European Union, and go it alone.

Want to introduce a plastic water bottle ban in your town? The residents of Concord, Massachusetts, have some advice for you.

Kristofer Goldsmith received a general discharge from the US Army after missing a deployment flight, because he was in the hospital after attempting suicide. This despite more than a year of cries for help. He wants to make sure no one else suffers like he did.

The "freelance economy" might not be so great after all. Author Steven Hill argues that companies like TaskRabbit and Uber are undermining the American middle class.

Women who won't vote Clinton just because she's a woman. Latinos who won't vote Rubio or Cruz because they're Latinos. Why is this the case, when we're more focused than ever on defining our identity?

Renato Bialetti, the Italian businessman who made a stovetop coffee-maker called the Moka Express famous has died at the age of 93. There are millions of his Bialetti coffee makers in kitchens throughout the world. They are beloved.

Nagin Nasiri wanted to get of Iran. She was accepted to grad school in the US, but she was refused a visa. So, Nasiri started a company with her old friend, Shaghayegh Jahanbani. Now they make stunning custom furniture in a Tehran wood shop.

The mosquito that carries the Zika virus also carries dengue and other deadly diseases. So research into how to kill or alter the mosquito population is crucial in Brazil.

With drone owners now subject to federal regulation, enthusiasts are looking to bring order — and a little competition — to the sky.

Hamburg bans the devices from government offices.

The low price of a gallon of gas in the US hasn’t stopped automakers from moving forward on new and affordable electric cars.

Antonin Scalia was at the center of some of the most consequential Supreme Court decisions of the past three decades — either writing the opinion or writing a blistering dissent. But he didn't always succeed in writing "great" opinion. Here are some of his best and worst.

Do you know how to fix your car's engine? What about your coffeemaker, or your door? iFixit founder Kyle Wiens explains why repair culture is important - and why it’s struggling.

Temperate rainforest makes up less than one percent of the world’s forests, making it one of the most rare ecosystems on Earth. Now, after years of negotiations, 85 percent of the Great Bear Rainforest along the coast of British Columbia will be protected, with just 15 percent open for logging.

The Sochi dog adoption scheme started during the run-up to the Sochi Olympics in 2014, when Russian officials, in an effort to rid the city of packs of stray dogs, began shooting them.

NASA says January 2016's temperatures were the "greatest departure from average" of any month on record. That's globally. But the spike in temperatures last month was particularly pronounced in the Arctic.

When you think of World War I, you probably think of trenches. And stalemate. But it turns out that the amount of time British soldiers spent in trenches was less than we thought.

Last Friday night, The World's Marco Werman got a violin lesson in Tehran and learned what makes Iranian classical music scales different from Western music.

Over the past year and a half, oil prices have gone from $100 per barrel to $30. That has left the Saudi economy, which relies heavily on oil, in a pickle.

Venezuela has far-and-away the highest rate in the world, nearly 200 percent. And it could get much worse. The International Monetary Fund predicts inflation in the country will top 700 percent by the end of the year.

Here's something to think about: A thriving city where a rush-hour backup might involve just a few cars, and the air is clean because just about everything runs on zero-carbon energy. That's the goal for the Swedish capital, Stockholm, and the city is well on its way.

Four out of five of Nevada's Latinos went for President Barack Obama four years ago. But the Republicans are putting forward a Latino native son.

In Canada, they don't need to watch train wrecks. They have the US elections.

Iran’s hardline rulers have disqualified many of their rival candidates for this month’s elections. But supporters of the reformist camp are still holding out some hope that their votes can make a difference.

There are pockets of Korean communities all over the US, places where food and culture make you think you're in Seoul. Chef Deuki Hong and food writer Matt Rodbard set out on a journey across America looking for Koreatowns. They wrote a cookbook about these places and the cuisine made there.

The Henhouse Prowlers aren't the first band you'd expect to hear in Saudi Arabia. But on their trip with the State Department, they've made some new friends.

After 23 years in the Dadaab camp, Abdullah "Fish" Hassan escaped due to violence, but his daughters are still refugees there.