The World: Latest Stories

Hamas has amassed billions of dollars despite being labeled a terrorist organization by the United States and others. Deputy Secretary of the US Treasury Wally Adeyemo talks with The World's Marco Werman about how Hamas moves money and what the United States is doing to cut it off.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank is, which is the larger of the two Palestinian territories, is backed by the international community and the US. But the PA has lost much of its sway in Gaza. To explore where the PA and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fit into the larger picture, The World's host Marco Werman speaks with Nour Odeh, a Palestinian political activist, researcher and author based in Ramallah.

More than 450 church leaders from around the world came to the Vatican in early October to debate this and other questions during the latest synod, a monthlong meeting to discuss the church's future. Their conclusion: more research is needed.

Lewiston, Maine,the site of the latest large mass shooting in the US, is a city that has been transformed by immigrants, particularly a large community of refugees from Somalia. Ari Snider reports on how Somalis in Lewiston, who fled violence in their homeland, are reacting to the violence in their new home.

Many women saw no future for themselves in Afghanistan when the Taliban took over. So, when offered a chance to leave, many took it. Reporter Rebecca Rosman meets a young Afghan student. Unfortunately, her temporary status in the US is a constant shadow, as she can't go home again.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, many countries stepped up their humanitarian aid efforts to help Ukrainian families. In Latvia, the Children's Hospital Foundation has been offering therapeutic care for Ukrainian children and their families.

The Spanish artist Maria Jose Llergo has just released her first full-length album, called Ultrabelleza." Her voice carries the legacy of flamenco, the traditional music of her homeland, but on this new record, her roots have turned into wings, allowing her to explore other genres.

The government approved a new contract with the mine late last week. Since then, protests have rippled across Panama, and people are afraid they could bring the country to a standstill.

International art collectors purchased many of Zimbabwe's massive stone carvings. But buyers stopped coming in 2000 after conflict over land reform policies led to violence. Some sculptors are still trying to keep their art alive.

Chhom Nimol is the lead singer of the band Dengue Fever, based in Los Angeles, California. In this installment of Movement," a series on music and migration, we hear from Nimol about how she found her singing voice.

Ever heard of Celtic Trap? It's not exactly a thing yet, but it might be soon thanks to C. Tangana in the mix.

Massachusetts is seeing the arrival of more migrants, and many of them have no place to live. Because it's a "right to shelter" state, officials are providing temporary housing, often in hotels. New England Public Media's Jill Kaufman reports that school districts, such as West Springfield, have geared up to help the new arrivals.

The Jain religious community in India makes up less than than 1% of the population. A steady number of them - even children - are renouncing the material world to join Jain monasteries.

Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, or EHD, is typically found in the tropics and affects cattle, deer and other animals. But due to abnormally high temperatures in Europe, cases are now spreading quickly across Spain, Italy and France. The virus causes internal bleeding, miscarriages and sterility. It's rarely fatal, but ranchers are concerned for their animals and livelihoods.

The "Click Here" podcast traveled to Ukraine to look at its grassroots defense industry and take you into its secret drone factories where entrepreneurs are able to put innovative weapons into the hands of soldiers at the front in a matter of weeks, not months.

Thousands of students in Mexico commute daily to attend school in the U.S. But there are also those who travel each day in the opposite direction. Over the past few years, Centro de Ensenanza Tecnica y Superior (CETYS) in Tijuana has worked hard to appeal to students north of the border. Today, residents in the US make up 10% of the university's population.

This week, Russian authorities detained Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist who works for the US-funded Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty news service. The dual US-Russian citizen was accused of failing to register as a foreign agent and collecting information about the Russian military as a foreign entity."

Musicians Ane Rozman and Kara Talve invented prehistoric instruments to help transport viewers back in time for the BBC series, Prehistoric Planet."

On Tuesday, India's Supreme Court declined to legalize same-sex marriage, dealing a blow to millions of LGBTQ Indians living in the world's largest country.

Microfinance was hailed as a way to change the lives of hundreds of millions of people without access to credit. It worked so well that Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus was awarded a Nobel Prize. But then, banks jumped in to get in on the profits. To manage high debt levels, Cambodians are migrating for work, eating less and even pulling their children out of school.

In Gaza on Tuesday, a hospital was struck by a bomb, killing hundreds of people. Hospitals in Gaza were already at a breaking point, straining under an overwhelming stream of injured patients and dwindling fuel and supplies. Tanya Hari, executive director of Gisha, an Israeli human rights organization in Israel, spoke with The World's Marco Werman about humanitarian aid.

US colleges and universities are grappling with divisive international issues while pledging to create spaces for free expression

Saturday's solar eclipse cut across the western United States, dipping down into parts of Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Brazil. It was Panama's first eclipse in 25 years and it came at an auspicious time when scientists are promoting an interest in astronomy.

On Oct. 14, Australians will vote on a referendum that would officially recognize First Nations people for the first time and establish an advisory body called Voice to Parliament.

Soccer is a sport with lots of contact - and injuries. But imagine the game played much slower. In Barcelona, walking soccer" allows soccer lovers of all ages to continue playing the game.

Israel's response to the deadly attack by Hamas over the weekend is already underway. But as hundreds of thousands of Israeli troops gather on the border of the Gaza Strip, they're facing a new challenge. More than a hundred Israeli hostages are being held inside Gaza by Hamas. This has to be something that Israeli military leaders are thinking about as they plan for what looks like a major military assault against Hamas.

Costa Rica is the only country in the Western Hemisphere with a state religion. The religion is Catholicism. But what happens when a president is elected promising to lift evangelical voices to the fore?

In recent months, Russia, Ukraine and the US have been running online ad campaigns all targeting Russian citizens. Russia wants more men to join its military. Ukraine wants them to lay down their arms. And the US is looking to recruit spies.

Many people are questioning how Israeli intelligence services were unable to detect and deter Hamas's attack on Saturday that left hundreds of Israelis dead, while others were taken hostage. Subsequent Israeli airstrikes killed hundreds of Palestinians. Colin Clarke, director of research at The Soufan Group, a global intelligence and security consultancy, discussed the possibilities with The World's host Marco Werman.

In Eastern Europe, some are asking whether the upheaval in the Middle East will impact the war in Ukraine. So far, Moscow's and Kyiv's responses to the war between Israel and Hamas have been starkly different.

Longtime Gaza resident and journalist Hind Khoudary is in Gaza City. She describes to The World's Marco Werman a city of flattened neighborhoods, where doctors are treating patients on the floor.

Daniel Jobim is now on the road playing his grandad's music on tour with Seu Jorge, another Brazilian superstar.

What does it mean to find home in a new country and a new language? That's the inspiration behind a massive new mural in Miami Beach - created by a Spanish art collective known for its vibrant designs and unconventional canvases.

The overall situation in Haiti has been deteriorating for many years, but things have rapidly declined since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021.

In Venezuela, security forces recently seized one of the country's most-notorious prisons, with the mission of dismantling a transnational criminal gang that was ruled from inside. But the head of the gang was able to escape, and now, countries across South America are searching for him.

Brazil has embraced carbon credits as a way to protect the Amazon and mitigate climate change. But many community activists in the Amazon say carbon offset projects can be problematic.

Rewilding Spain has reintroduced back-bred" cattle from nearly 10,000 years ago. They hope the aurochs roaming here once again benefits the environment as well as the economy.

"The Lemberg Machine," by Ukrainian filmmaker Dana Kavelina, tells the wartime history of Lviv, in western Ukraine. The city, known in German as Lemberg, was first occupied by the Soviets, then the Nazis.

The new opera, Monkey: A Kung Fu Puppet Parable," had its world premiere in Boston over the weekend. The story is based on an ancient Chinese folk tale and uses modern and diverse cultural elements to create a unique rendition of the popular fable.

Sasami's latest album, Squeeze," is a musical concoction of different genres and influences -including her family's multicultural heritage as zainichi Koreans. Meklit Hadero, host ofMovement," our series on music and migration, speaks with Sasami about her family history and upbringing.

The Biden administration announced it will grant work permits for nearly half a million Venezuelans. City officials in New York have been calling for it, as tens of thousands of migrants, mainly from Venezuela, have arrived in the city in recent months. However, the process of applying for the legal right to work can take months.

Yahritza Martinez, 16, went from apple picking in rural Washington, to becoming a TikTok sensation and chart-topping musician. But her career nearly came to a halt after her comments about Mexico went viral. Despite the controversy, Martinez played at a major Mexican Independence Day concert in Mexico City -but some fans were not yet ready to embrace her.

After more than 700 uninterrupted years of boys-only belting, Spain's La Escolania de Montserrat Choir is finally mixing things up. Beginning this September, a select group of girls will be allowed to join the boys at the altar, singing the liturgy at Saturday afternoon and Sunday masses. Choir organizers are calling it a revolution.

More than 20,000 Japanese Canadians were forced from their homes during World War II. They were incarcerated, while, back home, much of their property was forcibly sold by the government. Redress came 44 years later, but much of what was lost is gone forever.

The culinary contributions of Taiwan are often overshadowed by other cuisine from the region, especially China. Now, a new cookbook highlights some of the ingredients and flavors that make Taiwanese cooking unique.

Moroccans continue digging out victims from this month's 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the Atlas Mountains. The death toll now stands at nearly 3,000 people. Many more have been left homeless. Morocco's government has so far only accepted aid from a handful of countries, but Moroccans overseas are stepping up. In Spain, they're collecting supplies to send to victims, but it isn't always easy.

Despite prevailing narratives of coral bleaching and decline, the reefs of American Samoa have been particularly resilient to warming temperatures that have laid waste to other corals. Scientists there are finding out why, and looking for ways to use this knowledge to help reefs in other parts of the world.

Pope Francis recently praised Russian historical figures in a speech to Russian youth. To members of Ukraine's Greek Catholic community, these comments were deemed "painful" amid the ongoing war with Russia, and put a spotlight on their needs and concerns.