The World: Latest Stories

The South Korean Indie rock group HOA may sound like a Beatles knock-off band, but since 2015 its members have generated their own unique sound in a country where K-pop rules. Fans have taken notice. We'll hear two of the group's most recent tunes.

A study by the UN agency, UN Women, examined data from around the world in 2023 and found that levels of violence against women have remained high and largely unchanged. It also re-affirmed that violence against women is most likely to occur at home, from either a partner or family member. Raphaelle Rafin, a policy specialist on ending violence against women for UN Women, talks to The World's Host Carolyn Beeler about the results of the study.

This weekend in Azerbaijan's capital Baku, officials at the COP29 climate summit penned a new climate finance deal. Richer countries agreed to pay $300 billion per year to help countries in the Global South cope with climate change. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler heard from Malini Mehra, who was at the summit last week. She's chief executive of GLOBE Legislators and joined the show from London.

As the world's largest religion, Christianity is undergoing a tectonic shift. It is booming in Africa, now the continent with the most followers, and waning in Europe. Countries like Spain, which for centuries sent their missionaries to evangelise the world, now rely on priests from abroad to come preach at home - a trend some call "reverse missions." Alan Ruiz Terol reports on how this phenomenon has translated to the Catholic parish in his own hometown.

Legendary Lebanese singer Fairuz turned 90 late last week. She remains wildly popular in Lebanon and the broader Middle East after more than seven decades in music. Host Marco Werman speaks with Lebanese music writer Danny Hajjar about Fairuz's significance in Lebanon today and beyond.

The Colorado River used to flow all the way to the Pacific Ocean. But climate change and steady demand mean that it dries up before it ever gets there. In the part of Mexico where the river once turned into the sea, environmentalists are hoping there's political will to make things a little greener. KUNC's Alex Hager has the story.

The Albanian prime minister took his country, and most delegates at a UN General Assembly by surprise in September when he announced plans for a brand new state. The state would be similar to the Vatican but would be dedicated to an Islamic sect known as the Bektashi order. The World's Europe correspondent Orla Barry reports from the capital, Tirana.

Six tourists have died in a suspected alcohol poisoning in Laos. Police are looking into whether the alcoholic drinks contained methanol, a highly poisonous substance for humans. This is a recurring issue across Southeast Asia. Host Carol Hills speaks with Dr. Wayne Carter, a leading toxicologist at the University of Nottingham in the UK, about why methanol is so harmful in alcoholic drinks.

Brazil's federal police have passed a sealed indictment against former President Jair Bolsonaro and various aides and allies of his to the country's Supreme Court. The charges are directed at Bolsonaro's alleged attempt to retain control of the presidency after losing the country's general election in 2022. It's being charged as a coup attempt. Leticia Duarte is "Report for the World's" Latin America Manager, and she explains the indictment and what it means for Brazil.

Middle East Airlines is the only carrier currently flying in and out of Lebanon. All the others stopped their operations since the war intensified. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports on the challenges of operating flights in the middle of a war zone, and why for many Lebanese it's vital that the service continues.

Recently, the Cambridge English Dictionary chose "manifest" as its 2024 English word of the year. Other languages also have words of the year. In Germany there's the word of the year and also the "Youth Word of the Year," which was recently announced. Each year since 2020, this German youth word of the year has appeared to be an English word. Host Carol Hills speaks with German journalist Annabell Burkhardt to understand why.

Indian businessman Gautam Adani is one of the world's richest people. But how he amassed his enormous wealth and close ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi have long come under scrutiny. Now, a US indictment charging the Adani Group with bribery and corruption have once again brought those questions to the forefront. Sushmita Pathak reported in 2023 on the story of the multibilloinaire's success - as well as the suspicions around it.

Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Carol Hills list a few headlines in the news you might have missed.

The International Criminal Court has just issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. It also issued a warrant for the arrest of a top Hamas official. The World's Marco Werman discusses the implications with David Scheffer, former US ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues.

The Danish military confirmed on Thursday it is monitoring a Chinese ship off the country's coast. The vessel was reportedly in the Baltic Sea where two undersea data cables were severed in recent days. Finnish, Swedish and German authorities have launched investigations into the event. The World's Joshua Coe happened to be on the shore where the two ships, Chinese and Danish, passed by.

Over the past two days, Iraq held its first census in nearly four decades. The government has ordered a nationwide curfew in order to carry out the count. Iraq's population is expected to rise to 44 million people. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Hamzeh Hadad, a visiting fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations, about the census and the ethnic and sectarian tensions surrounding it.

Toward the end of September, India achieved a historic victory in chess - winning the gold medal in both men's and women's Chess Olympiad in Budapest - considered the Olympics of chess. This double victory, plus four individual goal medals, has captured the nation's imagination. As Namrata Kolachalam reports, Chennai has become a global hot spot for chess, and professional-level schools and training programs have exploded in towns and cities.

Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman give updates on a few food stories you might have missed.

Olga Benario was a German woman who worked as a Soviet agent in the 1920s and 1930s. She ended up in Brazil as part of a plot to assassinate the president of that country. Eventually, Benario was killed in a concentration camp in the Holocaust. But as Zoe Sullivan reports, her extraordinary story lives on through her daughter in Brazil.

Whiskey may not be the first drink you associate with the South Coast of California, but as KCLU's Caroline Feraday reports, a master distiller from Scotland is putting Oxnard on the map when it comes to making the spirit.

Doctors say that right now, breathing Delhi's air is like smoking dozens of cigarettes each day as pollution levels have reached 50 times the safe limit, according to the World Health Organization. The dense smog that shrouds the city this time of year takes a toll on residents, both physically and mentally. Reporter Sushmita Pathak is there now; she explains what causes the annual air quality crisis, and what stands in the way of solutions.

San Marino, officially the world's lowest-ranked soccer team, etched their name in history by securing their first-ever away win ... and put themselves within striking distance of entering qualifying playoffs for the 2026 World Cup in North America. The European Minnows have won just three games in the last 20 years. Host Marco Werman has more.

Since 2017, Jehovah's Witnesses have been designated an extremist organization in Russia - it's unclear why, but the religious group does not believe in war, which observers think may be at least part of the reason. Reporter Levi Bridges explains how a law meant to fight terrorism has been used to jail people for their religious affiliation.

The Biden Administration has agreed to supply Ukraine with anti-personnel landmines, in an effort to slow the steady advance of Russia's troops, especially in the eastern Donbas region. Officials say the new mines are "non-persistent", battery-detonated and don't function after a pre-set period of time. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler discusses the repercussions with Patrick Thompson, Amnesty International's Ukraine researcher.

This month, a university student in Iran stripped to her underwear in public as a way to protest the country's strict dress codes. The details of the incident are still not clear, but the authorities promptly arrested her and accused her of suffering from mental illness. They have reportedly admitted her to a psychiatric hospital. This label, however, is not new. Iran has a history of using it against dissidents.

A year ago this month, the Italian government signed a controversial deal with Albania. It would see asylum seekers rescued off the coast of Italy be taken to a detention facility in Albania - not an EU country - to have their asylum claims processed. But as The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports, not a single asylum seeker is staying at the detention facility.

Pope Francis today said he will canonize Carlo Acutis next April, making the late teenager the Catholic Church's first millennial and digital saint. Acutis was a British-born Italian website designer who documented Eucharistic miracles on a website he designed before his death from leukemia in 2006 when he was 15.

Arthur Frommer passed away this week at the age of 95. He gained fame through his seminal work, Europe on $5 a Day", which sold millions of copies and inspired a series of similar titles. Frommer's success eventually helped to popularize international travel for ordinary Americans. Host Marco Werman reports.

An entire fleet of diesel trains that were taken off the tracks in California are being shipped to the megacity of Lima, Peru, where they will be used for a new commuter rail project. The World's transportation correspondent Jeremy Siegel looks at how the unusual move could be transformative for the Peruvian capital.

North Korea has cranked up the volume of its loudspeakers along the border with South Korea. But this time, instead of the usual decipherable propaganda, it's blaring weird and disturbing noises that are upsetting South Korean locals within earshot. Using noise and loudspeakers as methods of coercion goes way back. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Toby Heys, the author of "Sound Pressure: How Speaker Systems Influence, Manipulate and Torture." He's also professor of digital arts at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK.

Work ground to a halt across Greece today as public and private sector workers walked off the job to protest the rising cost of living. Public sector unions are demanding a 10% wage hike and the return of salaries cut during Greece's nearly decade-long financial crisis that began in 2010. Host Marco Werman speaks with Daphne Tolis, a journalist based in Athens.

Global carbon emissions are on track to hit a new record high this year - as they continue to heat the planet, wreak havoc on local ecosystems and fuel more extreme natural disasters. In Baku, Azerbaijan, negotiations are underway on how to fund projects to help countries adapt and survive. The World's Durrie Bouscaren reports.

The Moldovan Orthodox Church is caught between a pro-Russian orientation and a pro-European one. The minority pro-Romanian branch of Moldova's Orthodox Church accused clergy from the rival Moscow-linked branch of the church of campaigning against a referendum asking voters whether they back the government's drive to join the European Union. Katie Toth reports.

In New Zealand, a proposed bill redefining the country's founding agreement with the Indigenous Mori has erupted into political turmoil, with protests all week culminating in a thousands-strong march on the capital of Wellington on Tuesday. Sarah Birnbaum gives the latest on what's happening right now, along with background on the bill itself and the controversy surrounding it.

Forty-five prominent activists in Hong Kong were sentenced to jail for up to 10 years today, sparking criticism from foreign governments and rights groups. Beijing defended the decisions. They were prosecuted under the 2020 national security law for their roles in an unofficial primary election. Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler explain.

The Brothers Grimm were interested in unearthing German heritage such that the principalities that would later form Germany had a unifying cultural understanding of themselves. Ann Schmiesing has written a new biography of the Brothers Grimm and talks about how they sourced their tales and what they ultimately meant to German-speaking society.

An Australian mining company had its CEO and staff detained in Mali following a tax dispute with the government there. Host Marco Werman speaks with Beverly Ochieng, a senior associate at the Center for International and Strategic Studies' Africa Program, about what drove Mali's government to take a drastic measure and Bamako's strategic maneuvering in the geo-political game.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is at the center of a multi-faceted investigation involving documents gathered using secret intelligence methods. One strand of the investigation involves transcripts that appear to have been stolen or copied, tampered with and implanted in two foreign media outlets. Journalist Noga Tarnopolsky in Jerusalem discusses the case with The World's Host Marco Werman.

Rafael Nadal has made an indelible mark on the world of tennis. Today, in Malaga, Spain, the longtime legend stepped onto the court for the final tournament of his professional career. The World's Bianca Hillier reports on the legacy he's leaving behind.

In his four-hour visit to Manaus, in northern Brazil, Joe Biden met with Indigenous leaders and committed an additional $50 million to a Brazil-administered fund to protect the Amazon rainforest. As the US braces for major climate policy shifts under Donald Trump, Biden declared that "no-one can reverse" the US clean energy revolution. The World's Tibisay Zea reports.

Last week, gymnastics legend Bela Karolyi passed away. He was 82 years old. He trained some of the biggest names in gymnastics at the height of the Cold War, and across the East-West divides. But his legacy is complicated by allegations of an abusive coaching style and his association with Dr. Larry Nassar, whose sexual abuse of women gymnasts surfaced in 2016. The World's Carolyn Beeler spoke to Cristi Munteanu, a senior writer with the Romanian sports news site Golazo.

President Joe Biden will permit Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike inside Russia for the first time. The Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS," are reportedly only authorized for use in the Kursk area. That's where North Korean troops are currently fighting alongside Russians. Nina Khrushcheva, a professor of international affairs at the New School in New York, discusses the possible implications with The World's Carolyn Beeler.

Scientists are continually scoping out the far reaches of space for new planets. Now, they've found at least one - revolving around what's called Barnard star. Jonay Gonzalez Hernandez is a scientist at Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias in Spain, whose team found the new planet, called Barnard b. He speaks with Marco Werman about the find.

As frustration grows with a lack of solutions coming from the COP 29 environment summit, one city in India serves as an example of making change on a local level. In 2013, Ahmedabad became the first city in South Asia to adopt a heat action plan, and although other cities have followed, Ahmedabad stands out as an example of active implementation of new policies. Reporter Sushmita Pathak visited Ahmedabad over the summer, as temperatures soared, to bring us the story.

Some of the most-prominent Russian dissidents and their supporters gathered over the weekend in Berlin. The opposition has a wide range of demands, but this was an opportunity for activists to gather with a common message - an end to Vladimir Putin's reign. The World's Daniel Ofman reports from Berlin.

Some top news stories from around the world that you may have missed.

There's been hope among Myanmar revolutionaries that China would finally give up on the country's military regime. The military is besieged on all sides by guerrilla groups who want to destroy the junta once and for all. But those hopes are dimming as Beijing sends the regime new fighter jets and invites its leader to visit China. As The World's Patrick Winn reports, China's dominant hand in Myanmar is a major threat to the revolution.

In a lightning round of science news: volcanic history on the dark side of the moon, updates for sky-watchers ahead of this weekend's supermoon and Leonid meteor shower and a new finding about cats' tails. Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Carol Hills have more.

There is likely no one among the more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza who hasn't been touched by war in some way. More than 43,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, and many have been injured and displaced. Most of Gaza itself lies in ruins. Yet among the daily horrors of war, there are moments of joy and resilience. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports.

According to a new study from the World Health Organization, measles is estimated to have killed 107,500 people in 2023, most of them under the age of five. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler talks with Hanna Nohynek, chief physician at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, who joined us from Helsinki.