The World: Latest Stories

Russia recorded its lowest birth rate in 25 years in the first six months of 2024, with the number of infant deliveries falling under 100,000 for the first time in June. Vladimir Putin is desperately trying to deal with his country's birth dearth. Last week, Russian lawmakers introduced a bill that would make it illegal to advocate for a child-free" lifestyle, with fines of over $4,000 for individuals who don't comply, and much higher fines for state employees or companies.

Almost a year into Israel's campaign to eradicate Hamas in Gaza, life there continues to be dire. Some 42,000 have been killed, according to health officials, and those who have survived lack basic necessities like shelter, food and clean water. Health care and humanitarian workers say they struggle to provide care in the face of daily Israeli bombardments and red tape. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports.

A super typhoon is heading toward Taiwan, with record-setting winds predicted. The typhoon hasn't lost momentum like typhoons typically do before hitting Taiwan because its highly unusual trajectory has avoided the islands in the Philippines. Classes and work are canceled in Taipei, and many other parts of the island. Host Marco Werman speaks with reporter Ashish Valentine in Taipei.

Norton, Massachusetts, recently hosted one of the state's most unique sporting events. The New England Rodeo's championship brought horse and bull riders of all ages to a small dirt arena tucked away in the southeast corner of the state for glory and a little prize money. GBH's Esteban Bustillos reports on the group of immigrants who are keeping this sport alive.

After the attack on Oct. 7, President Joe Biden pledged steady US support for Israel. He flew to the Jewish state a little over a week later and repeated the pledge. A year later, the US military helped intercept Iranian missiles fired at Israel for the second time. But the US-Israel security alliance is facing unprecedented strain. There are big policy differences between the two governments as well, and they won't go away anytime soon. The World's Matthew Bell has our story.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr ZelenskIy has been asking Western leaders for permission to use long-range weapons supplied by the United States and others to strike inside Russian territory. Journalist Volodymyr Solohub hit the streets of Kyiv to speak with Ukrainians and find out how they feel about the prohibition on using these arms to strike Russia.

Sid Sriram wanted to make it big in the American music industry, so when he got an opportunity to live and work in India as a singer for hit films, he wasn't sure he would take it. For The World's regular series Movement about music and migration, Meklit Hadero talks with Sriram about his breakout album Sidharth, playing Coachella, and how he needed that time in India to find his way in the US.

Half of Haiti's population is struggling with acute hunger, according to a new report. Gang violence and lack of food and water are making daily life a constant struggle, especially for children hoping to return to school. The Miami Herald's Jacqueline Charles speaks with The World's Marco Werman about her recent visit to the island.

A day after Iran fired nearly 200 missiles at Israel, the world still waits to see what Israel's response will be to the attack. Meanwhile, more than half a dozen Israeli soldiers and about a dozen Lebanese have been killed as the IDF army and Hezbollah clash in southern Lebanon. Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler bring us the latest.

Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler bring you a few things you might have missed in the news.

"Don't waste your time with generic dating apps that don't understand your unique cultural background. Download our Somali dating app today." That's the pitch from Guurdoon, the first dating app created in Somalia. It was developed by community elders and religious leaders concerned about how to strengthen family values in a country that's suffered through decades of civil war and conflict. The World's Africa correspondent Halima Gikandi reports.

In Turkey, there's a type of pub that's renowned for its ability to help people open up and share emotions not typically expressed in public. Visiting a meyhane involves long hours spent with friends over food and an anise-flavored liqueur. Dating back to the Byzantine Empire, the meyhane is a place where enthusiasts laugh, sing - and often cry. The World's Durrie Bouscaren takes us inside. This story first aired in December 2022.

Germany's dachshund clubs say a new animal protection law could effectively outlaw their beloved sausage dog, whose long body and short legs can cause painful spine problems. Farmers are outraged with proposals in the law for how they should raise their livestock. As Valerie Hamilton tells us, a proxy culture war is playing out in Germany's cities and hinterlands, with dachshunds, cows and their humans as unlikely standard-bearers.

Claudia Sheinbaum, a climate scientist and the former mayor of Mexico City, promised to carry on with the agenda of her mentor, outgoing president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. But as The World's Tibisay Zea reports, she has a big opportunity to build a legacy on her own.

Israel came under attack on Tuesday, with strikes from Lebanon in the north, and Iran in the east. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps called the attack a direct retaliation for Israel's assassinations of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, and of top Hamas and Iranian leaders in separate recent attacks. Michael Hanna with the International Crisis Group tells The World's Carol Hills that Tuesday's events are a continuation of the "wider war" the international community has been anxiously anticipating.

Rwanda is dealing with a deadly outbreak of the Marburg virus. It's left eight people dead and 18 more in treatment. Host Carol Hills speaks with Craig Spencer, associate professor at Brown University, about the origins of the virus and Rwanda's capacity to deal with it.

Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas began walking picket lines early Tuesday in a strike over wages and automation that could cause shortages on store shelves and reignite inflation if it is not settled soon. Host Carol Hills speaks with Willy Shih, supply chain expert and professor of management practice at Harvard, about the strike's potential impact on the economy and global trade.

The Jewish community in Turku, Finland, has worshipped at a particular synagogue for more than a hundred years. It was built before Jews even had the right to citizenship in Finland. For The World's series on "Sacred Spaces" around the globe, Jon Kalish tells the story of this synagogue and what it reveals about the unique identity of Finnish Jews.

A cruise ship taking passengers on a 3 1/2-year, around-the-world voyage finally sailed from Belfast's dockside after four months of delays in Belfast only to turn back to finish some paperwork. The World's Carol Hills explains.

The Santiago Bernabeu stadium, home to soccer club Real Madrid, has placed a moratorium on what it hoped would be a couple of giant music shows a month. This, after neighbors complained of painfully high noise levels in their homes. Real Madrid hopes to soundproof the stadium by the spring but locals say that's impossible. They're still fighting to have the shows canceled permanently. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Madrid.

Mountains are in constant motion. That includes the world's tallest peak, Mt. Everest, in the Himalayas. It's added an extra 160 feet in the past 89,000 years, according to a new study. Adam Smith, a geoscientist at University College London and one of the study's authors talks with The World's Carol Hills about how and why mountain ranges grow.

Over the course of his over 60-year career, Joe Boyd has worked Pink Floyd, R.E.M., Fairport Convention, Toots & the Maytals and so many more. He's now released a new book called "And the Roots of Rhythm Remain: A Journey Through Global Music." Host Marco Werman speaks to Boyd about the book and plays a few tracks to help us on the journey.

A coal-fire powerplant at Ratcliffe-on-Soar has shuttered permanently as the UK shifts toward renewable energy. The closure was a long time coming but marks the end of an era in UK history. Ewan Gibbs, a senior lecturer in history at the University of Glasgow and author of "Coal Country," explains how this caps a major shift in identity for the UK.

This troublemaking trio from West Belfast writes rhymes in favor of Irish unification, the health benefits of the pint and anything else they can think of. Their politics have earned them enemies among pro-Britain Northern Irish. But their energetic music and on-stage antics have shot them to fame among young people across Northern Ireland, sectarianism aside. They've also made an award-winning film. The World's Gerry Hadden caught their recent show in Boston.

Afghanistan's Taliban leadership may have smashed TVs in the 1990s, but these days, they're embracing slickly-produced videos and social media influencers to try to rehab their image abroad. From the podcast "Click Here," Dina Temple-Raston has the story.

Israeli military officials are hinting at the possibility of a ground invasion in Lebanon, even as the Biden administration pushes for a ceasefire. While there are mixed feelings about Israel's current government, there seems to be unity within the country for eliminating the threat posed by Hezbollah. The World's Matthew Bell explains.

Pope John Paul II and American President Ronald Reagan were both known for their public speaking. What many people probably don't know is the two were also friends, and allies in the global fight for freedom during the Cold War. Lance Orozco reports from KCLU on a new museum exhibit at the Reagan Library.

Lebanon's Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, says that as many as a million people have been displaced since the start of the Israeli airstrikes in his country. People fleeing bombardments in south and east Lebanon have fled to Beirut. Many have nowhere to go and are sleeping on the streets. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports on the conditions they are facing in Beirut.

Dikembe Mutombo, the man considered one of the best defensive players in NBA basketball history, died on Monday from brain cancer at 58. Mutombo was also a global ambassador for the game, spreading philanthropy through his Dikembe Mutombo Foundation. Host Carolyn Beeler has an appreciation.

Language is about more than just words. Between the letters lies traditions and cultures that go back thousands of years. One town in Sweden knows this well, and is working to preserve their language called Elfdalian. The World's Bianca Hillier has the story.

The past couple of weeks have been deadly in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa. More than 100 people have been killed or gone missing since Sept. 9, when rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel began clashing violently. In the capital of Culiacan, schools, restaurants and shops have had to close. The World's Tibisay Zea has the story.

Brazilian musician Laiz grew up in a conservative, religious household in Sao Paulo. Music wasn't exactly banned at home, but it fell into two 'safe' categories - Phil Collins and Bach. It was only later, after leaving home at 14 years old, that Laiz was able to broaden her musical tastes to include people like Brazil's Tim Maia and genres like hip-hop. Both inform Laiz's debut album, "Ela Partiu."

According to a new study, at least 3,600 chemicals come into contact with food in packaging, kitchenware and food processing equipment in the US. Those chemicals are now also showing up in human bodies. Host Carol Hills speaks with Erik Millstone, a professor at the University of Sussex, about why regulations for food in the US are currently less stringent than those in place in the European Union.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a defiant speech at the United Nations headquarters in New York. He said the Israeli military will do what it needs to do to degrade Hezbollah in Lebanon until Israelis can return safely to their homes in the north. Soon after he finished speaking, news broke about a major Israeli strike in Beirut. Israeli journalist Noga Tarnopolsky speaks from Jerusalem with The World's Carol Hills about the range of reactions she's hearing in Israel.

Japan's ruling LDP party has selected Shigero Ishiba as its leader, paving the way for him to become the county's next prime minister. The former defense minister, a centrist, unexpectedly beat out a conservative opponent who would have been Japan's first female leader. Rebecca Rosman reports from Tokyo.

The UN Food and Agriculture organization says that in the next 25 years, salinity will affect more than half of the arable land around the globe. Growers in regions where the soil has gotten too salty are adapting. With support from the Pulitzer Center, reporter Rachel Parsons went to Bangladesh and Spain to see how farmers in both places are adapting.

Paraguay is the only country in Latin America that has found a way to preserve and protect the official status of an Indigenous language - Guarani - alongside Spanish. Most Paraguayans speak Guarani as their mother tongue, whether they are of Indigenous descent or not. From the capital, Asuncion, Michael Fox explains how the language has endured.

Dozens of people are being tried in a court in Kenya's Mombasa county for the massacre of hundreds of people last year. The deadly event centers around the Goodnews Church. Victims and prosecutors say the church's leader, Paul Mckenzie, took people's belongings and convinced them to starve to death in a forest. It's bringing up questions about how Kenyan authorities should be regulating religious organizations. Host Carol Hills speaks with The World's Africa correspondent Halima Gikandi, in Nairobi.

More than 100 women have come forward accusing the former owner of the British store Harrods of sexual abuse and rape. Mohamed Al Fayed, who died last year, was accused in a recent BBC documentary of setting up a system where he recruited young women to work in his store with the aim of assaulting them. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports.

In stately London, bright colors and personalized decoration are still considered daring choices for building exteriors. But this week, during a citywide mural festival, residents are proving receptive to something new: psychedelic paintings covering the walls of multi-story buildings in neighborhoods throughout the capital. Reporter Leo Hornak joins one artist on a crane, as she sets to work transforming a brown brick facade into something sparkly.

Two sisters from Haiti have founded separate nonprofits: one at an institution based in Boston that serves immigrant families, the other in Port-au-Prince at an after-school center for kids and teens. The siblings grew up in Port-Salut, a coastal beach town in southern Haiti, raised by parents who taught them to put others first and share anything they had. GBH's Tori Bedford has a profile.

Leading chefs from across African nations share recipes rooted in home cooking traditions in a new cookbook: "The Contemporary African Kitchen." Alexander Smalls helped curate the book. The James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur joins Host Marco Werman to talk food.

At least 18 countries around the world have recorded cases of mpox, which the WHO has declared a public health emergency of global concern. The epicenter of the outbreak is the Democratic Republic of Congo, where hundreds of people have died. The World's Africa Correspondent Halima Gikandi brings us the latest on the outbreak, and explains why the WHO is saying this is not the next COVID-19.

For more than three decades, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has felt irreconcilable. The two countries have repeatedly clashed over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Last year, Azerbaijan's military took control of that region, which led to the displacement of more than 100,000 Armenians. But despite all of that, The World's Daniel Ofman reports that the two countries are still talking, in hopes of reaching a peace deal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively lowered the threshold for what would prompt a nuclear response. In a strongly worded warning to the West on Wednesday, Putin said that any attack on Russia that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country. Host Marco Werman gets the story from Pavel Podvig, director of the Russian Nuclear Forces Project in Geneva, Switzerland.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with bribery, fraud - and using his position to help Turkey. Host Marco Werman speaks with Steve A. Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, about Turkey's influence operations in the US.

The world is getting stormier, and the UN blames the increase in weather-related disasters on climate change. Bangladesh has been hit especially hard, but these days, cyclones there result in very few casualties. That's thanks to a homegrown warning system. Have Bangladeshis cracked the code to preventing storm deaths, and if so, is the strategy replicable elsewhere? The World's Patrick Winn reports.

Nitazenes are synthetic opioids 500 times more potent than heroin. The drug is increasingly showing up on the streets of the UK, the Netherlands, Australia and the US. Since 2019, nitazines have been implicated in more than 200 deaths in Europe and North America. Host Marco Werman discusses the origins and dangers of the drug with Caroline Copeland, director of the UK's National Programme on Substance Use Mortality.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous region at the heart of a multi-decade conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis. It's historically been inhabited by a majority Armenian population, but now it's fully under Azerbaijan's control. The World's Daniel Ofman reports from Yerevan, Armenia, on the more than 100,000 Armenians displaced by an Azerbaijani military operation one year ago, as they continue adjusting to life away from home.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. In his remarks, the reform-oriented leader was critical of Israel and the US, but signaled a willingness to negotiate. Host Marco Werman speaks with Sanam Vakil, director of the MENA program at the Chatham House think tank, about Iran's position in the region.