The World: Latest Stories

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.

National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek tells Host Carolyn Beeler about Suyanggae, South Korea, an archaeological zone that holds rare and precious relics of the peoples who first arrived there up to 46,000 years ago. He observes that the Stone Age represents nearly 99% of human history, and most of that unrecorded human experience remains unknown.

For decades, Okinawa, Japan, has prided itself as a hotspot for longevity. In 1999, the Japanese islands were listed as one of five blue zones", where people statistically live the longest, often into their 100s. On Okinawa, a strong diet and emphasis on human connection were thought to be some of the biggest contributing factors. But new research suggests the entire concept of blue zones is a myth. Rebecca Rosman examines the data, and visits Okinawa to find what healthy habits can be gleaned from the lifestyle.

A feature film shot before Russia's invasion of Ukraine tells the story of one of the country's most famous national heroes. His name is Oleksa Dovbush. During the 18th century, Dovbush is said to have crossed paths with another hero - to Orthodox Jews. The rabbi credited as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. Reporter Jon Kalish caught up with the American actor who portrays that rabbi in the film.

A lot of the energy consumed in cities comes from commercial and residential buildings. Heating those buildings is a big part of that. In Boston, some of the largest buildings in town will be heated using a surprising source of renewable energy that's already taking hold in Denmark. Craig LeMoult reports from GBH in Boston.

Last night's Latin Grammy Awards were filled with lots of performances, awards and glitter. The World's Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Carol Hills give some of the highlights.

At a bar, your olive pits end up in the trash. In Spanish olive presses, however, they're collected, dried and sold as a "bio-fuel" for furnaces. In the race for sustainable heat sources, even big companies are getting into this side business. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from La Galera, Spain.

After the rains in Valencia, Spain, came the political storm. It turns out that Valencia's center-right president, Carlos Mazon, is a climate change skeptic who could have acted more quickly to warn citizens and, later, to start clean-up efforts. But until this month, he openly ridiculed the science behind climate change. The World's Gerry Hadden brings us the story of how a lack of buy-in set the stage for evacuation and recovery chaos.

Scientists have discovered the world's largest coral - so big it can be seen from space. The mystery of the spy whale in Norway has been solved. He was a naughty whale who ran away from a Russian military base he was charged with guarding. And the world's largest offshore solar farm is going online. The facility, off China's coast, can provide power for nearly 3 million urban residents.

In South Africa, tiger farms are harvesting the body parts of the big cats for sale on the black market - and they might be the biggest farms of their kind outside of Asia. That's according to a new report from the international animal welfare foundation Four Paws. These body parts are traded illegally and are used in traditional medicine in places like China. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler spoke to Four Paws' South Africa Director Fiona Miles, who joined the show from Cape Town.

The Al-Hadba minaret was part of the centuries old Great Mosque of al-Nuri when it was destroyed in 2017 by ISIS. Now a multi-year rebuilding effort involving the United Arab Emirates, UNESCO and local Iraqi craftsmen is complete. The World's Host Marco Werman speaks with Iraqi photojournalist Ali Al-Baroodi about the significance of the restoration and the ongoing efforts to restore Mosul's old city.

A new study has found that private aviation is booming. Experts say these flights often cluster around big international events, including the UN's climate summits. This year's COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, appears to be no exception. The World's transportation correspondent Jeremy Siegel reports on the environmental toll of private jets.

The Biden administration will begin sending US military contractors to Ukraine. This policy reversal was first reported late last week, and signals a shift in US willingness to support Ukraine's military effort. The World's Daniel Ofman reports that the contractors will play a limited, but significant, role on the ground in Ukraine.

Peru is hosting Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders today, including the presidents of Brazil, China and the US. But the meeting will likely be eclipsed by a major event happening tonight in Peru: the inauguration of a huge commercial port built by China, which is expected to become a game changer in the region. The World's Tibisay Zea reports.

A wave of misleading videos pushing for Okinawa's independence from mainland Japan is part of a wider disinformation campaign aimed at realigning the islands with China. In a recent investigation, the Nikkei found more than 200 fake accounts spreading misleading videos. Okinawa, which is close to Taiwan, has also been a cornerstone for Japan's regional security since the end of World War II - with more than 70% of US military bases in Japan located in the prefecture. Rebecca Rosman explains the complicated history behind Okinawa's independence movement, as well as the Chinese misinformation campaign fueling it.

An American defense contractor, CACI, whose employees worked as interrogators at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad during the US occupation of Iraq, has been ordered to pay $42 million dollars in damages to three Iraqi plaintiffs over the torture and abuse they suffered while in detention. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Katherine Gallagher of the Center for Constitutional Rights about the case, which took 16 years to litigate.

In South Africa, the health care system is plagued with many problems. And one of them is about access. There are simply not enough health care providers, especially in rural areas. South Africa's president has postponed reforms in the sector. On the ground, this means many patients are desperate for better options. Reporter Elna Schutz spent some time onboard one mobile health clinic in South Africa, doing its part to address some of the needs.

President-elect Donald Trump is nominating US Army veteran and Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. He would oversee US troops occupying 750 military bases across more than 80 countries. Evelyn Farkas, director of the McCain Institute and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense talks with The World's Host Marco Werman about the global dashboard the new Pentagon chief will inherit.

Researchers in Australia say attaching strips of LED lights to the bottoms of surfboards might prevent great white sharks from attacking. Co-hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman have the details.

In a landmark ruling this week, India's Supreme Court has ruled to ban "bulldozer justice." The court stated that authorities could not move to demolish homes or properties merely because a person has been accused of a crime. It also laid down strict guidelines for this form of action by authorities. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Indian journalist Rashka Kumar about the significance of this ruling and the origins of the practice.

With just a few months left in office, the Biden administration is trying to do what it can now to help Ukraine in its war with Russia. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today that that means sending as much aid as possible so that Ukraine can hold Russia's military forces at bay. Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler have more.

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest stage in all of soccer. Now, the sport's global governing body is well underway with preparations for the 2026 tournament. Researchers are paying attention to something many fans may not think twice about. The World's Bianca Hillier reports.

The Nazi death camp at Buchenwald and the nearby factory where mass-murder ovens" were built and designed for Auschwitz are some of Germany's darkest reminders of the Holocaust. The groups who run the public memorials at the sites are determined to use them to make sure their history remains in the past. But in recent years, as the far right has gained support and the memorials have broadened their work educating about the Holocaust to efforts against racism and xenophobia, they're increasingly in the firing line - so much so that after speaking out publicly against the AfD recently, the Buchenwald memorial director has received death threats. Valerie Hamilton reports.

Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, was optimistic about the potential of the Paris climate agreement to effectively tackle climate change after it was agreed to in 2015. Now, Rockstrom says the agreements need a shakeup. He tells The World's Host Carolyn Beeler the pact won't work without reform that holds countries accountable for meeting climate goals.

The list of no shows" at the two-week COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan is long: China, the US, Germany, Japan, Australia, France, Brazil and Mexico are all sitting this one out. Someone who did show up, though, is Tina Stege, the climate envoy for the Marshall Islands. In conversation with The World's Host Carolyn Beeler, she discusses how the countries most vulnerable to climate change are trying to fill the leadership vacuum.

The names being considered for key national security positions in President-elect Donald Trump's second administration are mostly familiar: Senator Marco Rubio for Secretary of State, Representative Mike Waltz as National Security Adviser, Representative Elise Stefanik as US Ambassador to the United Nations. But what do those choices indicate about Trump's foreign policy priorities, as well as his approach to dealing with the rest of the world as he prepares to return to the White House in January? Host Carolyn Beeler speaks to Peter Feaver, professor of political science and public policy at Duke University. From 2005 to 2007, he served as Special Adviser for Strategic Planning and Institutional Reform on the staff of the National Security Council.

From apple pie on Thanksgiving Day to Johnny Appleseed stories passed down for generations, the apple has been a symbol of American culture. But the first apples actually originated halfway around the world, below the towering, snow-capped mountains of Central Asia in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. And now, wild apples growing in that very region might be the key to ensuring the long-term survival of a fruit whose genetic diversity consists of more than a century of agricultural cultivation practices.

A cruise line is trying to woo Americans who are disappointed with the US election results. Lasting for the conspicuous duration of four years, the new offering is called the "Skip Forward" cruise. Host Carolyn Beeler explains.

Police in Italy say they have busted a major criminal art-forging network and seized 2,100 fraudulent works peddled by the ring. The artwork had been attributed to Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, British street artist Banksy and other big names in the modern art world. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Laurie Rush, co-author of The Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Property," about how a special branch of the Italian national police, the Carabinieri Art Squad, solve art crimes in Italy and around the world.

A Dutch court has overturned a 2021 case that ordered the oil giant Shell to cut its greenhouse emissions down by 45% before 2030. The 2021 ruling against the fossil fuel industry giant was considered a big win for climate activists and set a precedent in litigating corporations on their emissions. In conversation with Host Carolyn Beeler, Jonathan Verschuuren of Tilburg Law School in The Netherlands calls the court's decision a pyrrhic victory for Shell.

Thirty-five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, nostalgia for the old days and ways of socialist East Germany is stronger than ever. Germans even have a name for the phenomenon: Ostalgie." From East German scooters to '80s hair metal, artifacts of the past are increasingly popular with some who grew up in the GDR [German Democratic Republic] and watched it disappear overnight - and even many who didn't. But it's controversial, because Ostalgie can move beyond favorite foods and bands, and into a problematic whitewashing of the misdeeds of the dictatorship.

Dominique Morisseau is a Haitian American playwright, who was raised in Detroit, Michigan. She's written extensively about her native city, but her newest, and perhaps most autobiographical, play shines its light on the island nation where her father was born. It's called "Bad Kreyol", and it looks at a pair of cousins - one from America, the other from Haiti - negotiating a difficult relationship. Jeff Lunden reports from New York, where the play premiered.

Emperor penguins are social birds that live in Antarctica, so it struck experts as curious that a single emperor penguin washed ashore in Australia this month. Officials in Western Australia are caring for the malnourished bird while determining what to do with it next, as Host Marco Werman explains.

Since Lebanon has been dealing with ramped-up airstrikes and an Israeli ground invasion, not only have hospitals and clinics have been bombed, but doctors say they have also seen a sharp increase in premature births and miscarriages among Lebanese women. The World's Durrie Bouscaren looks at what it's like to be pregnant in wartime.

Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council has ousted leader Garry Conille after six months. They've named businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aime to the top spot. The ouster may violate the country's constitution. The Miami Herald's Jacqueline Charles tells Host Marco Werman that if Conille doesn't step down, Haiti could find itself with two prime ministers, as armed gangs on the island continue finding new sources of weapons and funding.

Swastikas on classroom desks. Heil Hitler" in the hallways. In an open letter this spring, student council associations from the six former East German states warned of increased neo-Nazi incidents in their schools and radicalization and recruitment of their classmates online. Valerie Hamilton has the story.

Parts of India and Pakistan are blanketed in thick smog, with densely populated cities seeing record-breaking levels of pollution. Now, some are calling for the two rival nations to work together on new ways to fight the issue. The World's Transportation Correspondent Jeremy Siegel reports on the unlikely possibility of smog diplomacy."

In an attempt to set a new world record, 1,000 musicians gathered on Mexico City's main plaza with trumpets, violins, vihuelas and bass guitars over the weekend. Host Marco Werman has the story.

Israel's new foreign minister today said that there has been what he called "certain progress" in efforts to end fighting with Lebanon's Hezbollah. Hezbollah denies any knowledge of a potential ceasefire. Host Marco Werman has more.

Following his election win last week, US President-Elect Donald Trump received congratulations from leaders across the globe. Reports have since come in that Trump spoke to his counterparts in Kyiv and Moscow as well. While President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine confirmed that he had an excellent" call, Moscow denies any such communication. Host Marco Werman spoke to Sam Greene, a professor of Russian politics at King's College London, about what's known as of now.

A panel of experts sent by the UN Security Council arrived in Port Sudan on Sunday. They're looking into possible war crimes committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has been locked in a war with the government for more than a year and a half. Cameron Hudson is a former CIA analyst and national security official for multiple US administrations who's kept a close eye on Sudan; he joins Host Marco Werman to discuss this recent development.

The four-letter f-word is part of the unique set of profanities that cannot be uttered on public radio, but its history and use is no less fascinating. Perhaps even more so in light of its taboo. Details about its roots continue to emerge, as shared by Jesse Sheidlower, a lexicographer and assistant adjunct professor at Columbia University.

Playwright Michael Shayan's one-man play about his mother and growing up as a first-generation Iranian American begins a national tour in Denver. Each night, Shayan transforms into his mother Roya, hosting a traditional Nowruz celebration. The show's origins trace back to a simple recorded conversation between Shayan and his mother. From Colorado Public Radio, Eden Lane reports.