The World: Latest Stories

Sword duels with real blades have been barred for centuries throughout Europe. But, as Leo Hornak reports, every year, across Germany and Austria, hundreds of male university frat house members still undergo a secretive, violent and bloody sword-fighting ritual, using real sharpened blades.

A series of seemingly coordinated attacks on synagogues and Orthodox churches took place in the Russian republic of Dagestan over the weekend. Multiple gunmen opened fire, killing at least 20 people. Dozens more were injured and taken to local hospitals. The World's Daniel Ofman has the latest.

Public toilets: At best, they're functional, at worst, dirty, dark and even unsafe. But in Shibuya, a busy ward in Tokyo, officials want public toilets to inspire wonder. They've recently started a tour of 17 bathroom facilities designed by world-class artists and architects. One is housed inside a glowing cube, another resembles a fairy-like woodland dwelling and, yet another toilet, operated by voice, will clean your backside on command. The World's Patrick Winn reports.

At first glance, the fashion and sport industries may not have a lot in common. But behind each label and couture house are dedicated, skilled professionals - just like on a sports team. The World's Bianca Hillier reports on how the two disciplines will intersect as the fashion capital of the world hosts this summer's Olympics.

Many young Venezuelans who settled in Argentina brought with them a passion for baseball, a sport in which Venezuela is a world powerhouse. The competition isn't quite up to Venezuelan levels, but it's getting there. The World's Tibisay Zea reports from Buenos Aires.

Midsummer, or the summer solstice, is a day of great celebration in many countries throughout the globe. For many people in northern Europe - in the Scandinavian countries and the Baltics - midsummer is one of the most beloved holidays. The World's Daniel Ofman reports from Riga, the Latvian capital, about how people there are celebrating the longest day of the year.

New mothers who prepare the traditional foods of their mothers and grandmothers from back in their home countries - like Mexico or Vietnam - often find that eating them can ease the transition to motherhood. If nothing else, carrying on tradition provides grounding and routine. Hannah Yang from Minnesota Public Radio reports.

A Namibian court declared two laws criminalizing same-sex relations unconstitutional, a major win for LGBTQ+ advocates. Host Carol Hills has the details.

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra is a collective of nine veteran musicians with a shared love for ska music, jazz and rock. And their action-packed music video has James Bond vibes. Host Carol Hills plays us one of their new tracks, "The Last Ninja."

It's officially summer in the Northern Hemisphere and cutting grass can definitely feel like a chore on a long, hot day. For some lawn owners across North America, rewilding is an environmentally friendly alternative to maintaining a well-manicured lawn. While proponents say natural gardens and lawns increase biodiversity and drought resistance, it's often seen by neighbors as an eyesore, and local regulations forbid it. The World's host Carol Hills speaks to Nina-Marie Lister, who directs the Ecological Design Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University. Lister recalled her own experience running afoul of local bylaws regulating lawn care.

A cargo ship sank in the Red Sea sank on Wednesday, a week after it was attacked by Houthi rebels firing drones from two speedboats. One seaman is believed to have been killed. It's the second ship to be sunk by the Houthis since they began their campaign against commercial vessels to protest Israel's war in Gaza. The World's host Marco Werman speaks with Iona Craig, a reporter who has covered Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula for more than a decade, about the attacks.

Ukraine has been a war zone for more than two years now, and that's affected both humans and animals. This week two beluga whales needed to be evacuated from Kharkiv, Ukraine. Host Marco Werman speaks with Dan Ashe, president and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, about how the evacuation was conducted.

A movie theater in London's West End has cancelled a public premier of the film "The Last Screenwriter," written by "ChatGPT 4.0", because of backlash over a film being written by AI. The director of the film told The Daily Beast that the theater shut down the event after getting 200 complaints. As host Marco Werman tells us, the director says the movie wasn't intended to be controversial - it was intended to be "a contribution to the cause."

In 1971, athletes from Italy, Argentina, Denmark and other countries travelled to Mexico to compete in the Women's World Cup. More than 100,000 fans showed up to games, and by all accounts, the tournament was a success. But that momentum came to a screeching halt the day the tournament ended, and the event was rarely spoken of again. Until now. The World's Bianca Hillier reports on a new documentary called COPA 71.

Farmers in northern Israel say the war has devastated their businesses. Officials in Margaliot, a tiny agricultural settlement bordering southern Lebanon, want the town to sever contact with the Israeli government" following what they see as months of abandonment. Reporter Rebecca Rosman set off for Margaliot but, as she reports, getting there isn't easy.

French President Emmanuel Macron joined several African leaders on Thursday to kick off a planned $1 billion project to accelerate the rollout of vaccines across Africa, after the COVID-19 pandemic exposed gaping inequalities in access to them. Host Marco Werman speaks with Professor Peter Hotez, co-Director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, about the latest effort to provide vaccine equity for all.

On Friday, Namibia's High Court is expected to issue a judgement on a landmark court case that could impact gay rights across the country. At the center of it are colonial era laws that effectively criminalize same-sex intimate relations, which LGBTQ+ activists say are violating their constitutional rights. The World's Africa Correspondent Halima Gikandi reports.

Geert Wilders, the Dutch far-right leader has spent years spouting anti-Muslim rhetoric. Many of his anti-Islam policies were drafted by Joram van Klaveren, a former Dutch lawmaker. Van Klaveren, who was considered Wilders' right hand man campaigned for the banning of the Quran in the Netherlands and for all mosques to be shut down. Today, van Klaveren dedicates his life to defending Islam. The World's Europe correspondent Orla Barry has more from Rotterdam.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this week, he signed onto a new partnership upgrading Moscow's relationship with Pyongyang, and vowing mutual aid if either country is attacked. South Korea blasted the deal today, saying for the first time that it's considering sending weapons to Ukraine. Jenny Town, the director of Stimson's Korea Program and 38 North, talks with The World's host Marco Werman about the implications of the new mutual defense pact.

Slavery wasn't limited to America's South. In the late 1730s, a young boy in Guinea was kidnapped and taken on a slave ship to New England. He grew up as an enslaved person but went on to buy his freedom, and the freedom of his wife and children. Venture Smith would write the first published account of slavery in the America's. Connecticut Public Radio's Diane Orson meets his descendants.

The African National Congress lost its majority grip on power in South Africa's recent national elections. It was a humbling defeat, but on Wednesday, after weeks of political wrangling , the party's leader, Cyril Ramaphosa, was sworn into another term as president. The World's Halima Gikandi reports on how this happened and what this means for South African politics going forward.

China has transformed in the past generation into a much more powerful country, while the US has worked to maintain American influence in the Pacific region. The tensions between the two countries are now at an all-time high over the South China Sea. Host Marco Werman is joined by veteran journalist Jane Perlez to examine how this happened, and what could happen next. It's part of The World's summerlong series, "Face Off: The US versus China."

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon has forced dozens of families to leave their homes near the border. Some are sheltering in an abandoned hotel. The World's Shirin Jaafari visits the hotel and speaks with families who are taking refuge there.

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will be coming home from the International Space Station later than expected as officials troubleshoot helium leaks and study why some thrusters failed during the test flight. Host Marco Werman speaks with Jeff Foust, senior writer at SpaceNews, about how NASA works with private companies, and the agency's vision for the United States' future in space.

Immigration has become one of the most-divisive issues this election year. But many economists and business leaders in the US say the country's future economic growth hinges in large part on increased participation in the labor force. In Maine, some sectors have relied heavily on immigrant labor for years, while others are training new arrivals for jobs in emerging industries. Ari Snider of Maine Public reports.

June 19 commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the US. But the legacy of African enslavement continues to reverberate in much of the world. Howard French, the author of "Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War," speaks with host Marco Werman about the persistent damage in West Africa and beyond.

The British Conservative party, which has ruled the country for 14 years, is facing what some polls say could be a total wipeout in the upcoming elections. It's a far cry from the landslide election won by the Tories under then Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2019. The party is now polling so badly that some political observers are wondering if it will even survive in its current form, postelection day. The World's Europe correspondent Orla Barry has more.

Al Horford is being celebrated in the Dominican Republic after the Boston Celtics center became the first player from the country to win an NBA title on Monday. Host Marco Werman has reaction.

The Hajj is the annual Muslim pilgrimage that takes place in Saudi Arabia. It's a spiritual and physical journey that challenges pilgrims as they visit Islam's holiest sites. This year has proven especially challenging as a number of pilgrims have died due to the extreme heat. Host Marco Werman speaks with Wardah Khalid, a Muslim American from Washington, DC, about her experience so far this year.

The USDA has announced it is pausing further safety inspections of Mexican avocados over security concerns. The move comes after a security incident last weekend in the state of Michoacan, the heart of the Mexico's avocado industry and a place where drug cartels have made serious inroads. Marco Werman speaks with Romain Le Cour, senior expert at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime about how and why cartels targeted avocados.

There's been a 100% increase in the number of Palestinians detained since Oct. 7. And watchdog groups are sounding the alarm on what they claim are brutal' conditions inside Israeli prisons. The grounds for the arrests are often murky, and many of those arrested are put into administrative detentions that can last for weeks or months. At least 27 Palestinians have died while in Israeli prisons in the last eight months. Rebecca Rosman reports from Israel.

A new government program would protect undocumented spouses of American citizens from deportation while they seek permanent legal status. Host Marco Werman speaks with immigration attorney Matt Cameron of Cameron Law Offices in Boston about the program, announced on Tuesday by President Joe Biden. It could impact thousands of immigrants who are in the country illegally while married to a US citizen.

When does something as personal as abortion become a matter of foreign policy? Maybe when it proves useful as a wedge to divide societies. Polish abortion rights activists reflect on 30 years of some of the strictest abortion laws in the region, as liberalization appears to be on the horizon. A recently surfaced trove of documents suggests that Kremlin meddling may have slowed that change. Laicie Heeley of the "Things That Go Boom" podcast has the story.

In February, Austrian heiress Marlene Engelhorn announced she was giving away her nearly $30 million inheritance. She paid a group of 50 people to figure out how it should be done. That group has released it suggestions, which include 77 initiatives involved in climate and environmental projects, the development of affordable housing, health care and social projects. Host Marco Werman explains.

In joint press conference on Friday, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, and Samantha Power, the head of USAID, urged the world to wake up to the crisis in Sudan. Birhanu Waka is the Sudan country director for Medical Teams International and speaks with host Marco Werman about the challenge of delivering medical care to crisis areas.

It's out with the old, in with the new. China has promised to loan Adelaide Zoo a new pair of Giant Pandas to replace Wang Wang and Fu Ni. The World's Marco Werman wonders how the pandas are taking it.

Thousands of people are still displaced following an earthquake in Isekawa province in Japan on Jan. 1 of this year. The epicenter of the quake was on the Noto Peninsula, an area known for its traditional crafts, including a distinct style of lacquered tableware and teaware made in the town of Wajima. The earthquake triggered a fire in Wajima, and lacquerware craftspeople lost workshops full of specialized tools. Hannah Kirshner caught up with some of these artisans in the nearby town of Yamanaka Onsen, where many have relocated and begun to redefine this centuries-old craft.

Wahat al-Salam (Arabic) or Neve Shalom (Hebrew) translates to "Oasis of Peace." It's an intentional, cooperative community that sits in the Israeli countryside, about halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Its residents are half Jewish, and half Arab. So, what is this community (which was founded in 1969 -- just two years after the Six Day War)? Who lives there, what is their socio-political experiment, is it successful, and what does it mean to be living in this community at this moment of extraordinarily heightened tension? There is a family at Neve Shalom with a Palestinian Muslim father whose family was displaced during the Nakba, and a European Jewish mother whose relatives are settlers in the West Bank. Their children are a complicated mix of the displaced and the displacers. I believe I can get access to this family to anchor the story.

"A punch in the jaw that hurts the drug lords." That's how a German state justice minister described a massive cocaine bust on Monday in Duesseldorf. Investigators there said they seized 39 tons of cocaine worth $2.78 billion, making it the biggest-ever cocaine find in the country. Host Marco Werman has more.

Nearly 100 countries and organizations, half from Europe, attended the Swiss-hosted Ukraine peace summit over the weekend. Not surprisingly, Russia did not attend. Host Marco Werman, speaks to The World's Daniel Ofman, who joins him from Riga, Latvia.

Classic American folk tunes meet beloved ragas from India. Turns out, there's a lot in common between these two music traditions as Falguni Shah, lead vocalist for the band American Patchwork Quartet, tells host Marco Werman.

An Indian man accused in a murder-for-hire plot pleaded not guilty in New York City on Monday. US prosecutors announced in November that a sting operation had thwarted a plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Pannun is a Sikh separatist, and is considered a terrorist by the Indian government. Host Marco Werman has more details.

The death of poet Mohammad Shabani, an Iranian dissident living in Turkey, catches his friends, family and supporters by surprise. Reporter Fariba Nawa finds one of Shabani's confidantes and learns new details about his life in exile before he died. This is the third episode of "Lethal Dissent," an investigative series from The World and the "On Spec Podcast."

For the last month, parts of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul have remained underwater. Many residents have been in constant contact with the flood waters, from the intense days of rescue following the torrential rains, until today. But those waters, mixed with sewage, contaminants and the wreckage of the cities, have also carried a more invisible danger: leptospirosis. Michael Fox reports from the city of Porto Alegre on how that and other diseases remain a threat to people in the region.

The US Navy has sent at least one anti-submarine aircraft to the Caribbean and has three destroyers patrolling in the waters around Cuba following the arrival of Russian military ships there. But there's no cause for alarm. Host Carol Hills speaks with Dara Massicot at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about what is being seen as a routine Russian training exercise.

A country where the Holocaust killed three-quarters of its Jewish population reflects on that dark chapter from the past with a National Holocaust Museum. But a prominent speaker at the public launch of the memorial site in the Netherlands sparked protests. The World's Europe correspondent Orla Barry reports from Amsterdam.

The Celtics are in the NBA finals, and one of the team's most impactful players is Latvian center Kristaps Porzingis. Fans in Latvia are rooting for him to become the first Latvian NBA champion. The World's Daniel Ofman reports from Riga, Latvia.

While in Italy to meet with leaders of the G7, Pope Francis convened a meeting with an unexpected audience: comedians. More than 100 of them, from 15 different countries, validated the importance of their craft in tumultuous times. Host Carol Hills discusses the papal take on comedy with James Geary, a scholar of humor, as well as Debra DiGiovanni, a Canadian comedian based in Los Angeles.

One pervasive idea about gamers is that they never leave their basements to touch grass" outdoors. But many people say that's simply not true, while a new project in the UK seeks to prove it. The World's Bianca Hillier reports.

In Qatar, life revolves around managing the summer heat - and the country has even begun to cool outdoor public spaces. Opened in 2022, Umm al-Seneem Park has the world's longest air-conditioned outdoor walking track. The World's Durrie Bouscaren takes it for a spin.