The World: Latest Stories

The two men accused of cutting down the famous Sycamore Gap tree in the UK have been found guilty. They were convicted of two counts each of criminal damage. The key piece of evidence in the trial was a grainy video of the tree's demise. Sentencing for the crime will take place in July. Host Carolyn Beeler has more.

The US announced this week that it's cutting $50 million in medical aid to Zambia. A US investigation into corruption in the country found that 2,000 local pharmacies had been selling donated drugs and medical supplies - paid for by the US - that were intended to be distributed for free to the public. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, about the corruption allegations and what the loss of medical aid could mean for the country.

Today, Russia is celebrating Victory Day, the holiday that marks the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany 80 years ago in World War II. The main celebration took place in Moscow, with a grand military parade attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and more than 20 leaders from other countries, including Chinese leader, Xi Jinping. The World's Daniel Ofman reports that victory in World War II has become a cornerstone of the Kremlin's propaganda and ideology.

Today, Pope Leo XIV gave his first mass as pontiff. The announcement of his papacy yesterday was met with celebrations across the globe, especially among Catholics in the US, where he was born Robert Prevost. The decision was also hailed in Peru, where Leo carried out decades of missionary work and became a naturalized citizen. Host Carolyn Beeler spoke to Juan Miguel Espinoza, an associate professor of theology at the Catholic University of Peru in the capital Lima.

The National Gallery in London is unveiling an early renaissance painting this weekend that's considered to be a European masterpiece. The gallery paid $20 million for "The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret." As Host Carolyn Beeler explains, the altarpiece came from a church in what was called "the low countries", or modern-day Belgium.

US officials are heading to Switzerland to meet with China's vice premier this weekend for the highest-level known talks between the two sides since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. On Friday morning, Trump floated the idea of reducing tariffs on Chinese goods from 145 to 80%. The talks in Geneva are not expected to produce a major breakthrough on US-China trade, but they could lower the temperature on a trade war that's causing economic pain across the globe. The World's Matthew Bell reports.

Foreign students - and the big tuition checks they bring - are a key ingredient in the American college business model. But, just as US colleges face a shrinking pool of domestic college-aged students, international students are feeling less welcome here. From the Higher Education desk at GBH in Boston, Kirk Carapezza reports that the shift could have major consequences for colleges - and the US economy.

It's been six straight days of drone attacks on Port Sudan, a place that used to be a quiet refuge for government forces and civilians amid Sudan's civil war. Despite an arms embargo, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces continues to receive increasingly sophisticated weapons that it has used against both the Sudanese national army and civilians. Brian Castner, head of research for Amnesty International, discusses his organization's most recent investigation into the RSF arsenal with Host Carolyn Beeler and what it reveals about its backers and arms embargo violations.

The US and the UK have a trade deal. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been focused on negotiations with key trading partners around the world. Brexit, implemented five years ago, has cast a long shadow on the UK's trade relations with the EU and the rest of the world. Host Carolyn Beeler discusses the deal with Marco Forgione, director general for The Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade.

The Financial Times reports that British television was behind a third of all new unscripted television adaptations worldwide. Host Carolyn Beeler has more.

All this week, celebrations for Victory in Europe Day are taking place in Britain, France and even in Germany. It was on May 8, 1945, when Nazi generals signed onto an unconditional surrender with the US and its allies. The international system of law and commerce that was built in the years after the war helped shape the global order in profound ways, but that system is now coming under strain. By questioning US alliances in the European Union and with NATO, the Trump administration is putting the old post-war international system to the test. The World's Matthew Bell reports.

Dozens of community kitchens that provided desperately needed food to Palestinians in Gaza shuttered this week. Now, the US government is asking humanitarian groups to back a new Israeli plan to push Palestinians into a small enclave where they'll receive aid in centers run by US security contractors. Sean Carroll, the head of American Near East Refugee Aid, a relief group with deep roots in Gaza, speaks with The World's Host Carolyn Beeler about what's at stake.

In rural Ghana, pregnant women often have trouble getting to the hospital to give birth. Roads are narrow, rough and rocky, and it can take hours to go relatively short distances. The World's Transportation Correspondent Jeremy Siegel reports on how one nonprofit is working to change that with cheap motorized tricycles.

National Geographic explorer Paul Salopek has experienced recorded-breaking heat in Japan during his global walking journey. He witnessed the havoc the heat had on rice farms that he passed by. Host Carol Beeler speaks with Salopek about his conversations with rice farmers there and how they've adapted their farming techniques as the heat continues to break records.

Wang Jingyu is an alleged Chinese dissident in the Netherlands. He's been interviewed by multiple media outlets about the alleged harassment and coercion he's suffered at the hands of Chinese Communist Party agents. It's well established that China is running a global program to pressure dissidents and criminals into going home. But Wang's story began to fall apart after an NPR investigation. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Barcelona.

In eastern Turkey, two high school friends taught themselves how to make the daf - a shallow drum popular in Kurdish, Persian and Middle Eastern music. Their brand, Elefra Percussion, is a way to preserve a crucial part of Kurdish musical heritage. The World's Durrie Bouscaren reports.

Pope Leo XIV is the first Catholic pontiff to be from the United States. In his first address in St. Peter's Square after the announcement today, he mentioned frequently the need for peace. And he said one of his goals is to build a "missionary church" - one that builds bridges and fosters dialogue. Host Carolyn Beeler discusses the papal selection with Meghan Clark, a professor of moral theology at St. John's University in New York.

The manatees of the Amazon region have the familiar nostrils and sad eyes of their Florida relatives but they are smaller - and they're endangered. Ongoing hunting and the growing effects of climate change have contributed to their dropping numbers over the years but a number of local efforts are underway to bring them back. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Miriam Marmontel, an Amazonian manatee expert and senior researcher with the Mamiraua Institute for Sustainable Development in Tefe, in the Brazilian Amazon.

Trump administration officials told reporters this week that they're planning to send a group of migrants to Libya aboard a US military plane. But today, Libya's government, as well as militias that control eastern Libya, rejected the plan. Sally Hayden, the author of "My Fourth Time, We Drowned: Seeking Refuge on the World's Deadliest Migration Route", speaks with The World's Host Carolyn Beeler about conditions in Libya's vast network of migrant prisons.

Thursday's Europa League semi-final soccer match between the UK's Tottenham Hotspurs and Norway's Bodo/Glimt is one of the hottest tickets north of the Arctic Circle. Some Norway fans are bartering with local delicacies to secure their tickets, as Host Carolyn Beeler explains.

Four men were sentenced today for attempting to smuggle more than 5,000 ants out of Kenya. Their punishment is a fine of $7,700 or a year in jail. Why would anyone risk smuggling that many ants? As The World's Host Carolyn Beeler explains, there are a lot of ant lovers out there - who both find the insects incredibly cute and amazingly resourceful - and who will pay big bucks for exotic ants they can't get at home.

April 30, 2025, marked 50 years since the fall of Saigon in South Vietnam. Just seven days later - marked today - a plane carrying 70 refugees landed at Fort Chaffee near Fort Smith, Arkansas. By the end of 1975, more than 50,000 refugees passed through Fort Chaffee. One of those refugees was 1-year-old Ngoc Nguyen, a Californian who revisited the area after recently discovering her roots in Arkansas.

Some of the oldest poems are about war. Verses about warfare were carved onto Sumerian tablets that are more than four millennia old. Japanese samurai also wrote poetry about battles, as did Walt Whitman, describing the American Civil War and its horrors. Less explored is poetry's role in a war happening right now - the deadliest conflict in Asia. The World's Patrick Winn reports on the rebel poets of Myanmar.

Indian jets launched airstrikes on nine sites inside Pakistan overnight in retaliation for a militant group's attack on mostly Indian tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir two weeks ago. The struggle over the region of Kashmir has alternated between restive quiet and war between India and Pakistan in the past. Shashank Joshi, the defense editor for The Economist and visiting scholar at the King's College war studies department in the UK, explains what's happened and the dynamics which could lead to escalation or containment.

Syria's Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa is in France for talks. French President Emmanuel Macron says he's willing to help the new government, as long as it respects the rights of all Syrians. In the town of Maaloula in western Syria, which has long been a center of Christianity in the country, residents speak Aramaic, the language believed to have been used by Jesus. Years of conflict and displacement forced many of them to flee the town, which also has a small Muslim population. But as The World's Shirin Jaafari reports, they continue to push to keep their language and religion alive.

Zhao Xintong made history at the Men's World Snooker Championship this week when he became the first player from any Asian country to win the title. The win also marks Zhao's return to the sport after serving a 20-month ban for being part of a match-fixing scandal that rocked the snooker world in 2023. Now, he hopes his comeback will spark a wave of snooker champions from China in the years to come. The World's Bianca Hillier reports.

The Zool (Torch) Festival is held annually at a mountain shrine south of Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir. It's a vibrant blend of folklore, Sufi devotion and seasonal tradition. Rooted in a local legend about a demon who once terrorized the area and was eventually defeated, the festival symbolizes the victory of light over darkness. Syed Shahriyar reports from Kashmir.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met today with US President Donald Trump. The two men were cordial, and agreed on the need for Canada to step up its military. Carney also praised Trump's work on the world stage. But as Host Carolyn Beeler tells us, when the idea of Canada as the 51st US state came up, things got a little tense.

It may be hundreds of miles away from any coastline, but the Bavarian capital of Munich is home to one of the world's most iconic - albeit dangerous - waves. The Eisbach wave apparently appeared overnight in 1972 after the city submerged several concrete blocks under a bridge to block the river's strong current. This created an accidental constant flowing wave effect - one which experienced surfers immediately seized upon. Reporter Rebecca Rosman has the story from Munich.This story originally aired on May 23, 2024.

Israel has targeted the international airport in Sanaa, Yemen, after the Houthis fired missiles at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel that managed to evade Israeli air defense systems on Sunday. US President Donald Trump later announced that United States bombing campaign against the Houthis would end after they, in the president's words, "capitulated."

This week, photographer Moises Saman was declared the winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. Photographs he took in Syria depicting the horrors of the Assad regime won him the award. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Saman about his work in Syria and what he's learned about humanity as he's captured the tragedy of war in the Middle East and beyond.

There are 135 Catholic cardinals from 70 different countries who will convene on Wednesday, May 7, for a secretive conclave that will end with the selection a new pope. Vatican watchers are wondering whether the next pontiff will be a reform-minded modernist, like Pope Francis himself, or more of a conservative traditionalist, like many of Francis' critics. Among the cardinals voting for a new pope, 80% were elevated by Francis. But that doesn't mean they're all like-minded. As The World's Matthew Bell reports, it's not clear at all who will ultimately be chosen to lead the Catholic Church next.

For three straight days, drone strikes by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been pummeling Sudan's principal seaport, Port Sudan. The strikes have torched the country's

Bergen, Norway, is already one of the rainiest cities in the world. And now, it's getting more rain and more intense rain because of climate change. In response, the city is opening up its stormwater infrastructure, building rivers instead of adding pipes to manage flooding. The World's Hannah Chanatry reports that this is part of a city-wide mandate to use nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change wherever possible.

North Korea confirmed that it sent troops to fight in Ukraine, but with tens of thousands of Russians killed in the fighting, the Wall Street Journal reports that Moscow is now turning to Pyongyang to reinforce another sector: Russia's workforce. North Korea analyst Rachel Minyoung Lee told The World's Host Carolyn Beeler that ties are likely to only deepen between the two countries moving forward. Lee is a senior fellow at the Stimson Center and joined from Washington.

Since last month's deadly attack in Kashmir, when gunmen opened fire on mostly Indian tourists, killing 26, India and Pakistan's already tense relationship is in even greater crisis. Last week, a Pakistani cabinet minister said their intelligence suggests India might attack. The whole thing seems to have alarmed Iran enough that they've sent their foreign minister to Islamabad to help mediate today. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center.

Two quick election updates today. The first from Romania, where the far-right candidate George Simion won a decisive victory yesterday in the first round of the presidential election. And then to Australia, which has re-elected Anthony Albanese as prime minister. He won over hardline conservative Peter Dutton, who appeared to have the upper hand as recently as a month ago.

Skype has been shut down by its owner Microsoft today. It comes more than two decades after its inital launch in 2003. Skype was among the most popular chat services across the globe until the rise of Viber, WhatsApp and, later, Zoom. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, a senior writer with TechCrunch, about the rise of Skype and why it was it was so innovative at the time of its launch.

A Soviet-era spacecraft is expected to come hurling down back to Earth after being stuck in orbit for more than 50 years. The Kosmos 482 probe was intended to reach Venus, but never made it. Instead, it's been circling Earth since 1972, and gradually descending. The World's Daniel Ofman reports.

When the Taliban regained power in 2021, women were barred from sports and the Afghanistan national women's cricket team was effectively disbanded. Many of the team members fled to Australia, where they've been fighting to play together again. Now, the International Cricket Council - the sport's global governing body - has announced support for the exiled athletes. The World's Bianca Hillier reports.

Musician El Leon Pardo has pronounced himself king of Cumbia Espacial, or Space Cumbia. It's here that he's created a tropical, psychedelic-like world where the coral is constantly changing color and the trees have a language all their own. And because El Leon Pardo is king, when he gives the signal, we all have to get up and dance.

Anyone around in the 1980s might recall the hand wringing over test tube" babies, conceived in IVF labs. That now seems quaint - today, more than 1 in 50 US babies are conceived by IVF - but on the horizon are mind-blowing experiments in reproductive science that may cause much more controversy. Breakthroughs are happening in East Asia, where birthrates are in free fall and officials are clamoring for solutions. The World's Patrick Winn reports.

Israel's security cabinet has approved a new military offensive designed to capture" Gaza and hold it indefinitely. The plan entails relocating many of Gaza's 2 million residents to the south and shuttering hundreds of community kitchens. The kitchens will be replaced with centers guarded by Israeli soldiers. UN officials and aid groups have denounced the plan. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler discusses the implications with Amir Tibon, the author of "The Gates of Gaza."

A new book by journalist Ted Genoways sheds light on the obscure history behind Mexico's most iconic spirit. Once little-known outside its homeland, tequila found unexpected fame during US Prohibition, when Americans crossed the border in search of legal libations. The World's Tibisay Zea traveled to the city of Tequila in Jalisco, Mexico, alongside Genoways, to understand why Americans saved tequila, and how it became a billion-dollar industry - and a symbol of Mexican pride.

Using coded language and emojis, cartels are dodging social media censorship to reach out to potential recruits. Their ads are vague, lean into machismo, and flashy vehicles. David Mora, a senior analyst for Mexico at Crisis Group, speaks with host Carolyn Beeler about how these ads look and feel, and what jobs are really behind them.

India is reeling from the shock of the terror attack in Kashmir last week. Gunmen opened fire on tourists, killing 26 men, mostly Hindus. Tourists have been targeted many times in Kashmir's long, bloody history, but this is the deadliest attack in two decades. And it comes amid a strong push by the Indian government to promote tourism in the region. The rising tourist numbers helped Kashmir's economy. But as Sushmita Pathak reports from Delhi, they also served political interests.

This week, clashes broke out in the suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus. The Druze minority group, unknown gunmen and security forces exchanged fire, leaving dozens dead and injured. Israel says it carried out a strike in support of the Druze population. The World's Shirin Jaafari visits the town of Ashrafiyat Sahnaya just outside of Damascus and brings us the latest.

President Donald Trump has eliminated a tax loophole used by China's government to export cheap products to the US. It's called the "de minimus provision," and enabled small parcels valued at less than $800 to escape taxes. The loophole was often used by Chinese e-commerce giants Temu and Shein. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Rana Mitter, ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School, about how China's reacting internally to the current economic clash with the US.

Film director Rungano Nyoni moved to Wales with her family at age 9, but her films are set in her home country of Zambia. Her latest, "On Becoming a Guinea Fowl" is set in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, and is about how a family reacts to the death of a relative who turns out to not be a very good guy after all. The World's Carol Hills speaks to the director about the secrets families keep and what happens when they are revealed.

"Maybe Happy Ending" is an eccentric, endearing story, set in 2064, about two retired robots who fall in love. One of its authors, Hue Park, is Korean and the musical is set in both Seoul and an island off the Korean peninsula. And three out of the four actors in the show are Asian. It's had an interesting journey. The show was originally a hit IN South Korea, playing in Seoul in 2016, with five subsequent productions. Jeff Lunden reports.