The World: Latest Stories

Varzeshe Pahlavani is a mix of martial arts, wrestling and calisthenics. It has deep roots in Persian tradition going back centuries. The sport is officially closed off to women, but one female Iranian activist is trying to change that.

The UK has taken in more than 250,000 Ukrainian refugees since the start of Russia's invasion in February 2022. The World follows up on the story of one of them: a young woman who fled to London alone in March of 2022.

The Green Road project has helped over 3,000 displaced Ukrainians find safe housing in ecovillages throughout Ukraine and across Europe - including the idyllic, rural community of Hallingelille, just outside of Ringsted, in Denmark. The project is a testament to the power of international friendships and networks in times of crisis.

After the war started in Ukraine last year, the UK created several programs to welcome Ukrainian refugees. British families received stipends to welcome them into their homes, and the Ukrainians had special status to live and work in Britain. But Sudanese refugees fleeing the civil war do not have a quick, legal path to enter the UK, even if they have family there.

For generations, people have moved from rural areas to cities to find opportunities. But new research shows neighborhoods in Indian cities are segregated according to caste and religion, and that impacts upward mobility for residents.

The ruble is not doing very well. The Russian currency has been in a free fall. Last week, it reached its lowest point against the US dollar since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That could have implications for the Russian economy.

Hip-hop has taken root in Egypt. Authorities are trying to suppress it. But the raw power of the music may be unstoppable. Yasmine el Rashidi, author of "Laughter in the Dark: Egypt to the Tune of Change," tells host Marco Werman how young Egyptians are pushing hip-hop to the limit.

The former administrative capital of French West Africa, Saint-Louis in Senegal sits between the Senegal River and the Atlantic Ocean. Its highest point stands just 13 feet above sea level, and it gets waves from both fresh and seawater that have become a growing threat as water levels rise.

About 10% of Iceland is still covered by glaciers - what Icelanders call their white diamonds." Now, a mysterious patch of cold water in the North Atlantic Ocean, known as the Blue Blob," is helping slow down the rate at which these glaciers are melting. But scientists are concerned about how long this will last.

Iraq's Ministry of Water Resources has warned that the country is facing its worst water shortage in a century. It said 7 million people are experiencing reduced access to water. Shrinking water levels, rampant salinity and contamination have left communities with no choice but to migrate.

After the war began in Ukraine last year, Ukrainians fleeing the violence spread across Europe. In the UK, a program paid families to take Ukrainians into their homes for six months. But the budget for this program was cut in half this year, and thousands of Ukrainians are looking for a longer-term solution, and risk becoming homeless.

A two-day NATO summit wraps up on Wednesday in Vilnius, Lithuania. The 31-nation military alliance now has plans to grow, with Sweden expected to become a full-fledged member. Ukraine is eager to join as well, and its membership bid was at the top of the NATO summit agenda.

The war in Ukraine has interrupted the delivery of wheat to Senegal, and that's shaking up a big part of that country's culture.

The ongoing fighting in Sudan is being described as a civil war, with fears of possible genocide. The World's host Marco Werman speaks with Administrator Samantha Power, who heads the US Agency for International Development (USAID) about the unrest and humanitarian support to those who need it most.

A year and a half into her administration, many say Xiomara Castro has yet to live up to expectations. But as Honduras' first female president, those expectations are higher than usual. Much of the criticism against Castro comes from machismo and gender discrimination. She's just one of two female heads of state of a Latin American country.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year upended energy markets throughout Europe.No country was hit harder than Germany.At the time, more than half of Germany's gas came from Russia. In the short term, the country had to double down on fossil fuels: keeping coal-fired power plants open longer and building new liquefied natural gas terminals.But in the long term, the war pushed a government falling behind on renewable energy goals to enact some ambitious new policies.

A financial deficit that forced Cardinal Stritch Universityin Wisconsin to close down left many of Milwaukee's undocumented community with nowhere to go. Stritch was seen as a welcoming place for undocumented students facing additional barriers to higher education. Now, students are trying to replicate its services at other colleges.

Oscar Olivares plans to take his ecological art global in hopes of promoting sustainable practices and educating communities on how to recycle.

The Taliban have given all women's beauty salons in Afghanistan one month to close down. The ultraconservative group, which took power by force in 2021, has consistently chipped away at women's rights and freedoms in the country.

On Thursday, the 14th Dalai Lama turns 88 years old. The Tibetan spiritual leader and prominent Buddhist figure is the longest serving in the line of Dalai Lamas in Tibetan history. As he gets older, the prospect of his demise - and what happens after - is looming.

The current writer's strike in the United States jeopardizing content creation for streaming services might, in fact, help international film and television productions fill the gap and reach global audiences.

For most of the world, silent films died out in the 1930s. But in Brussels, Belgium, the only remaining cinema in the world with a regular schedule of silent films, along with live piano accompaniment, is thriving.

Many Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have lost limbs and need to be fitted with prosthetics. A group of soldiers in New York City is receiving treatment, and they're already thinking about what their lives will look like when they return home.

In an interview with Recorded Future News' podcast "Click Here," Hartman says the cooperation between the US and foreign partners like Ukraine has become important in the effort to deter Russia's cyber operations.

Last week, mercenaries from the Wagner Group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, seized a major Russian city. Fighters eventually stopped their march toward Moscow, but the mutiny put Putin's leadership - and the military -into question.

The World's Planet Hip Hop" series takes us to France, where hip-hop is second only to the US in terms of popularity and influence. Samuel Lamontagne, co-leader of the UCLA Hip Hop Initiative, explains the power of hip-hop and its evolution in France.

In a nationwide address in the 1970s, President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse to be public enemy No. 1" and stepped up efforts to shut down the global trade. Much of the initial efforts of the DEA were focused on Southeast Asia where US troops in Vietnam were using heroin.

Although the movement began within political parties, it's since spread to many other sectors of society such as entertainment and academia. And in some cases, there's even been a backlash.

The latest installment of The World's "Planet Hip Hop" series takes us to Argentina, where trap music has a huge following. From their bedrooms, aspiring artists remix their favorite trap songs and record music of their own.

Colombia's president awarded medals to members of the search party that found the four Indigenous children in one of the world's toughest terrains.

People in Senegal are getting ready for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or the Feast ofthe Sacrifice. Families around the world will slaughter an animal, like a sheep or goat, to commemorate the willingness of the Prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, in obedience to God. And as people choose what to wear, tailors are cramming to complete their outfit orders in time.

Maia Ernst and her mom escaped Dnipro under heavy shelling in a car occupied by dogs -her own and a few rescues. For the moment, they're living about an hour outside Belgrade, the Serbian capital, where Ernst has taken in a couple more dogs.

The mayor's move renews focus on Tijuana's security situation and the state of Mexican democracy.

Surrogacy is banned in Italy, but the government of Giorgia Meloni is now trying to go further: outlawing the practice of having babies through surrogacy abroad. This will likely have an outsized impact on members of the LGBTQ community, which many believe is the point.

Russian attacks on Ukraine's power stations knocked out more than half of the country's capacity to generate electricity last fall and winter. The widespread blackouts are over for now, but the new focus on energy security is raising prospects for a speedier transition to renewable energy as Ukraine rebuilds.

In El Salvador, thousands of people have been imprisoned over the past 15 months, including dozens of international visitors, as the government tries to stop gang violence through a law known as the state of exception."

Senegal is often seen as a model of political stability in West Africa. But that could be changing. President Macky Sall has upset people with the suggestion that he may run for a third term next year, defying the Constitution, and young people are increasingly frustrated by a lack of opportunities. Recent protests turned deadly, and most victims were under the age of 30.

Brazilian immigrant Jose Jube told The World about finding opportunities in the US.

Modi will hold bilateral talks with Biden and address a joint session of Congress, followed by a lavish dinner reception at the White House. The US and India have long enjoyed warm relations, but this visit is particularly momentous.

Incumbent President Julius Maada Bio will face off against against main contender Samura Kamara on June 24. As the country prepares for this crucial election, voters are looking at issues like economic stagnation, corruption and national security.

An Indigenous woman in Bolivia has earned international recognition for her work in the production, transformation and commercialization of canahua, a resilient crop and nutritious grain with the potential to reach international markets.

US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns was in the room this week when Secretary of State Antony Blinken sat down with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Amb. Burns spoke with The World's Marco Werman about Taiwan, Ukraine and why US and Chinese military leaders have stopped talking to one another.

When the Afghan government fell to the Taliban in 2021, hundreds of students continued their education in Kyrgyzstan. As some students begin to graduate, many are hoping to relocate to the United States.

About a dozen Russian game developers have wound up in the quiet city of Subotica, on the border of Serbia and Hungary, to start over after fleeing Russia. Some left after facing arrest for aiding Ukraine, while others wanted to avoid getting drafted.

Georgia's beloved Borjomi mineral water can be found anywhere from Kyiv to Kazakhstan. But Russia's war in Ukraine has hurt the company's bottom line.

Ukraine's counteroffensive appears to be off to a good start, even though it's early days.

Yingyi Ma, who teaches sociology at Syracuse University and has written extensively about Chinese students' experiences in the US, and Tianrui Huang, a senior at the University of California San Diego studying philosophy and economics,discuss the challenges of studying in the US with The World's host Marco Werman.

In India, artists are using hip-hop to stand up to one of the world's oldest forms of discrimination: caste. In recent years, a new wave of Dalit artists is wielding some of the same musical elements that Black artists began channeling decades ago to call out prejudice and injustice.

Exchange programs allow students to move freely between universities across the European Union, while paying local tuition fees - which, in some cases, can be free. The Bologna Process has united university degrees across the continent under a common set of quality assurance controls and recognition standards.

An hourlong, education-focused special on The World delves into issues around language, borders and cost.