The World: Latest Stories

Today, millions of people in Southeast Asia and throughout the Indian diaspora celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of color. Hosts Carol Hills and Carolyn Beeler have more.

This week, Oslo hosts the ski jumping world championships, but Norway's team kicked off the event with a cheating scandal. Members of the team, including Olympic medalists, are barred from competing as the International Ski and Snowboard Federation investigates suspected modifications of Norwegian ski jumpers' suits. The World's Host Carol Hills spoke to Sigmund Loland, a professor of sports philosophy and ethics at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo.

Civil society groups in Peru are warning a new anti-NGO law in Peru could infringe on human rights in the country. The law, passed yesterday by the Peruvian Congress, bans NGOs from providing legal support of any kind to lawsuits against the state, including legal claims of human rights abuses. Supporters say it's targeting financial problems with NGOs, with oversight and transparency. Host Carol Hills speaks with Julia Urrunaga, Peru director for the Environmental Investigation Agency, about the implications of this law for people in the country.

In London, an unofficial memorial - right across from Parliament - has become a pilgrimage site for the grieving. More than 240,000 hand-painted hearts adorn a wall, each heart representing someone who died of COVID-19 in the UK. In a story originally broadcast in October, Leo Hornak reports that painting these hearts has brought healing and a sense of community to those who lost loved ones in the pandemic. We hear it again, to mark the five-year anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the 1960s, France had around 200,000 cafes nationwide. It's down to 36,000 today. Most of the bistros that disappeared were in small, rural towns. Up until now, it's been virtually impossible to bring them back, mainly because of restrictive French liquor laws. But a bill in Parliament hopes to change that, and breathe some life back into thousands of small towns. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Jujols, France.

In an audio postcard from the project Postcards from the Wind, Fil Corbitt brings us a performance of a heavy metal band in Kathmandu, Nepal, which mixes traditional Nepali instruments with rock guitars.

Scientists are zeroing in on wastewater surveillance of airplanes as a critical tool to quickly detect the global spread of emerging pathogens. To learn more about what a monitoring system would look like, The World's Carolyn Beeler went to Logan International Airport in Boston to speak with Alessandro Vespignani, a professor at Northeastern University and director of the Network Science Institute.

Twelve years ago today, Pope Francis became the first pope from Latin America. Since then, in all his travels around the world, he has never gone back to visit his home country, Argentina. Now, Pope Francis is facing health issues and has been hospitalized since Feb. 14. His followers in Argentina are praying for his recovery - and hoping that he will finally come back on a papal visit. From Buenos Aires, Natalio Cosoy reports on why analysts believe he's stayed away.

In Germany, employees miss an average of 20 days a year because of illness - a whole lot more than in the rest of the EU. Businesses see a direct link between that and the generosity of the country's mandated sick pay system. The World's Sarah Birnbaum has more on the debate over sick pay raging in Germany.

Scientists working with the Ocean Census have discovered more than 800 new marine species over the past two years. It's part of a decade-long project trying to expand what we know about life under the sea. Studies estimate only about 10% of the world's marine species have actually been identified. The discoveries could have wide ranging implications for biodiversity management and medicine. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler spoke with Michelle Taylor, a scientist working with the Ocean Census, about the new discoveries, the importance of marine biodiversity and the future of her research

Today at a news conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced tentative support for a 30-day ceasefire proposal put forward by the United States and Ukraine. But the Russian leader also made it clear he was in no hurry to agree to it and wanted to continue negotiating on a number of points. Host Carolyn Beeler gets reaction from Dmitri Alperovitch, a political analyst and author of "World On the Brink."

Over the course of three decades, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury built a multi-million-dollar real estate empire with properties across the globe, as recent investigations by the Financial Times and Al Jazeera show. But he did so during his tenure as Bangladesh's minister of land, and most of the money used by Chowdhury to purchase real estate was laundered from the country he was supposed to serve. Now, Bangladesh's interim government wants that money back. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler spoke to Iftekhar Zaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh. He also headed an anti-corruption commission formed by the new government when it came to power.

The US has reported more than 200 cases of measles this year, mostly in Texas and mostly affecting unvaccinated people. Public health experts in the US and worldwide are concerned about the spread of this highly contagious disease. Host Marco Werman speaks with Dr. Peter Hotez at Baylor College of Medicine about the outbreaks of measles in other countries, its spread across borders and the correlation between measles outbreaks and local rates of vaccination.

The UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, has found that Israeli forces have used sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinians. The report also seeks to explain why these activities have expanded without check. The IDF referred The World to the Israeli prime minister's office for comment, but they did not reply. Chris Sidoti, who led the commission's investigation, explains the contents of the report and how sexual and gender-based violence became a de facto policy.

Donatella Versace is stepping down after nearly 30 years at the helm of the luxury fashion house started by her brother Gianni. Donatella took on the role in a crisis, after her brother was murdered outside his Miami Beach mansion in 1997. Host Marco Werman speaks to Robin Givhan, critic-at-large, at the Washington Post, about the legacy of Donatella Versace on the fashion world and the role of women in it.

Kids in northern Israel are starting to return to school this week following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. This comes after the Israeli military deemed it safe for families to move back into their homes and children to go to school. Host Marco Werman speaks with journalist Davide Lerner who recently reported from Israel on the returning Israeli school children and the impact all the time away has had on their education and personal lives.

The owner of a London comedy club announced he is banning audience members who have had Botox injections. He said performers complained about unresponsive faces in the crowd. Botox, the target of many a stand-up comic's humor, is now raising eyebrows - or not - when customers are barred from entering The Top Secret Comedy Club in Covent Garden.

The head of the interim government in Syria has signed a deal with the leader of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish militia that controls the northeast. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports on the parameters of the deal, and what will happen to the US-backed camps for the suspected ISIS fighters and their families that are based there.

The Trump administration has revoked Chevron's license to pump oil in Venezuela, accusing its president of not making progress on electoral reforms. In response, Venezuela says it will stop receiving deportees from the US. Phil Gunson, a Caracas-based analyst with the International Crisis Group tells The World's Host Marco Werman that the White House may be quietly lobbying for a return of the migrant flights and a resumption of some sort of oil deal.

Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, hundreds of thousands of Spain's poorest families who received monthly government assistance are now being told they were overpaid and must return the money. The trouble is, the recipients were already low-income earners and most say they don't have any savings, much less cash on hand, to pay back the COVID aid based on errors the government admits it made. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Sabadell, Spain.

A new abortion clinic has opened in the center of Warsaw despite Poland's strict abortion ban. Abortion rights activists who opened the clinic said they felt they had no other option. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk vowed to liberalize the country's abortion laws when he took office in December 2023. But, so far, little has changed. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports.

Professional track athletes from Brazil, Australia, Kenya, the US and beyond are meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, on April 4 for the first-ever Grand Slam Track meet. The World's Bianca Hillier reports on how this global league is differentiating itself from the current models.

Tribal elders from territory that Al-Shabab controls were meeting with Somali government officials in a hotel to discuss cooperation in the war against Al-Shabab when a Land Cruiser exploded out front, followed by gunmen attacking. When the siege was over, people on both sides had been killed. Mohamed Gabobe, a reporter in Mogadishu, walks through what happened, what it means for the offensive against the group and the US role in Somalia.

Following eight hours of negotiations in Saudi Arabia today, the US and Ukraine say that Kyiv will accept a 30-day ceasefire with Russia, if Moscow also agrees. Washington also pledged to lift a freeze on intelligence sharing and military aid to Ukraine. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Ukrainian journalist Volodymyr Solohub for the latest.

The firebrand former president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, will likely stand trial for crimes against humanity. He was arrested today by Philippine police serving an Interpol warrant from the International Criminal Court. His daughter says he was put on a plane and sent to the Hague. The World's Asia correspondent Patrick Winn tells us the arrest was a shocking development in the political life of a former strongman.

In 1977, David Holden, the chief foreign correspondent for The Sunday Times in the UK, went to Egypt to cover peace talks with Israel. He was murdered shortly after arrival. Preliminary investigation showed he was the victim of a sophisticated operation. Peter Gillman, a former reporter for the Sunday Times, has been investigating ever since, and talks about his reporting partner and his mission to put the mystery of Holden's death to rest in their new findings.

Today marks five years since the World Health Organization made a big announcement - about COVID-19. The first Western country to go on lockdown was Italy. The whole experience of facing this mysterious new disease so early on took a real toll on Italians. Film producer Francesco Frisari was based in Rome at the time, and he remembers it vividly, as he shared with The World's Host Carolyn Beeler.

A new Scottish tartan has been designed to honor the thousands of individuals - mostly women - who were executed between 1563 and 1736 under Scotland's Witchcraft Act. The Witches of Scotland tartan is part of a campaign to recognize what advocates call one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in the nation's history. Host Marco Werman speaks with Claire Mitchell, a lawyer and co-founder of the Witches of Scotland campaign.

A small group of San Diego residents have created patrols in the Linda Vista neighborhood to keep watch for suspicious vehicles. They're not cops or private investigators. They're activists with Union del Barrio, a locally based immigrant rights group, looking for any signs that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is trying to arrest their neighbors. Gustavo Solis reports from KPBS in San Diego.

Ukrainian comic Anton Tymoshenko is based in Kyiv, and since the start of the war, he's begun performing in both Ukrainian and English. Amid a groundswell of comedy in Ukraine, Tymoshenko has managed to cross over to reach a global, English-speaking audience. He says that for him, comedy is a way to process the war. It's also a defense mechanism, and sometimes a distraction. The World's Daniel Ofman reports.

The Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for an attack on a train in Pakistan. The separatist group has been fighting a violent insurgency for decades. But this attack - with more than 400 hostages thought to be involved - is unprecedented. The World's Matthew Bell has more.

La Paz, Bolivia, depends its public transportation. There are 10 lines and more than 26 stations. But this is no metro. It's the longest cable car system in the world - and it's also the highest. The system opened in 2014. Michael Fox recently took a ride and reported on how the cable cars have transformed public transportation in Bolivia's administrative capital.

Athol Fugard worked with Black actors to create plays about life under apartheid in South Africa, often drawing from small personal moments, then telescoping them into wider observations of society. Daniel Galloway, the former manager of the Fugard theater in Cape Town, talks about Fugard's work and approach, and recollects his time with Fugard.

Today, a cargo ship ran into a tanker that was carrying fuel for the US military. All crew members survived, but one has been hospitalized. Potential environmental damage is still being assessed, though scientists say the impact might be less severe than it would have been had the tanker been carrying crude oil. The World's Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman have the story.

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

Suitcase Stories is an 8-year-old program in the Boston area, meant to give immigrants a chance to share their journeys with a larger community. But recently, three foreign-born storytellers scheduled to perform canceled their appearances. Given President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration, they decided that participating would not be safe. Phillip Martin reports from GBH in Boston.

Canada's new leader, Mark Carney, has led the central banks of two separate countries through financial crises. As prime minister of Canada, he'll be putting his fiscal policy bona fides to the test as the country prepares for a trade war with the US, Canada's most important trade partner. The World's Host Marco Werman learned more from Tari Ajadi, a political scientist at McGill University. He joined the show from Montreal.

Over the weekend, residents of Brisbane, Australia, were bracing for the impact of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. The storm was downgraded to a tropical low, and made landfall in the city on Saturday. It was the first storm of its kind in the area in 51 years. The city is further south of where tropical cyclones typically hit, and scientists say climate change is playing a role in increasing extreme weather events around the world. In Brisbane, Leila Goldstein takes a look at how the city is recovering after the storm.

She convinced US President Donald Trump to delay tariffs twice, and Trump recently praised her as a marvelous woman". Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum is one of the few world leaders who have been able to deal constructively with Trump. From Mexico City, The World's Tibisay Zea reports on how people are reacting to that distinction at home.

Extreme-right candidate Calin Georgescu stunned many in Romania when he won the first round of a presidential vote in November. This weekend, he was barred from participating in May's presidential vote redo, sparking clashes between his supporters and police. Oana Popescu-Zamfir, director of Bucharest's Global Focus Center, discusses the implications with The World's Host Carolyn Beeler.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is estimating that approximately a thousand people have been killed in major violence in Syria's coastal region. The violence began after an attack on government forces left more than a dozen soldiers dead late last week. Since then, members of Syria's Alawiite community have been attacked and killed in the ongoing violence. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Joshua Landis, a professor of Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, about the background to the violence.

One of four women in Nigeria's 109-member Senate has been suspended, after accusing the Senate's president of sexually harassing her. Host Carol Hills puts this development in context, in conversation with Adefemi Akinsanya, an international correspondent and anchor at Arise News in Lagos.

A project called Phoenix of Gaza XR" uses virtual reality for something more than entertainment. The artists behind it are using the technology to recreate their beloved Gaza. Kate Dellis of GBH in Boston has the story.

An innovative maternal health intervention program in Tanzania has been improving outcomes for mothers and newborns. Host Carol Hills speaks with Dr. Benjamin Kamala, Principal Investigator for the Safer Births Bundle of Care project, about the program's successes in reducing rates of maternal and newborn mortality in the country, as well as takeaways for better serving families through pregnancy, birth, and infancy.

The movie "The Brutalist," shot in Hungary, won three academy awards at the Oscars earlier this week. The country is a big draw for US production companies with its striking landscapes and significant tax breaks. But for Hungary's own filmmakers, making movies there can be challenging. The World's Europe correspondent Orla Barry reports.

Syria's new government is clashing with former soldiers and supporters of the recently deposed Assad regime. And the fighting is escalating. Some fear the fighting could lead to more sectarian tension. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Sarah Dadouch, a journalist with the Financial Times, about what's driving this.

Late last year, China broke its own record for the world's fastest train, clocking in at 281 miles per hour. But in Japan, testing is underway for another type of train - one that levitates and can top 300 miles per hour. As The World's transportation correspondent Jeremy Siegel reports, this isn't just a competition. It could revolutionize the future of travel.

Denmark's postal service just announced that it will cease to accept letters after this year. The amount of letters sent through the mail dropped rapidly in the country over the past two decades. In a highly digitized society like Denmark, the email and apps like Facebook are the go-to for bills and season's greetings.

For years, the US has been presented as Russia's No. 1 enemy. Russian state TV is obsessed with finding external enemies and bashing them. But with recent reversals in US foreign policy vis a vis Russia, Ukraine, and Europe, Kremlin-controlled media is striking a different tone. The World's Daniel Ofman reports.

Two South Korean fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs on Thursday on a populated area during an exercise with the US near the North Korean border. Six civilians and two soldiers were injured. The South Korean Air Force apologized, saying the bombs fell outside of a firing range by accident during a live-fire exercise.