Episodes
World Central Kitchen (WCK), one of the few aid groups distributing food in Gaza, has suspended its work there, along with others. The move comes on the heels of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strike that killed seven WCK workers after they left a warehouse in two armored cars. And, Israel's airstrikes on WCK workers and the Iranian Embassy annex in Syria are drawing criticism from the international community over a potential violation of the rules of war. We hear how the IDF selects its...
Published 04/02/24
Israeli protesters from various groups have come together to demand elections and the removal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. To put pressure on the government, they've set up a tent city in front of the Knesset — Israel's parliament — in Jerusalem. And, Turkey's main opposition party, the CHP, won municipal elections in 35 of the country's 81 provinces Sunday, which included Turkey's largest cities. The results are a blow to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's party, the AKP....
Published 04/01/24
The World looks at the price of higher education for international students in the United States in this special podcast. American universities make the US the No. 1 choice among students from abroad. But nowhere else is tuition as expensive, leaving many people in debt. Universities depend upon international students’ high tuition fees to balance their books since foreign students can't rely on federal aid. To realize their dreams, some people are starting off by going to community colleges...
Published 03/29/24
It’s been one year since Russian authorities detained Evan Gershkovich, a 32-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter. This week, a closed-door court in Moscow extended his detention by three months. He’s the first US journalist to be apprehended under suspicion of espionage in Russia since the Cold War ended. Also, in Turkey, Ramadan is a chance to enjoy evening concerts, and traditional musicians often book several gigs each week. But nonreligious concerts are few and far between during the...
Published 03/28/24
Andrii Shadrin is a 28-year-old Ukrainian corporal who serves in a military unit that repairs and replaces equipment damaged in frontline fighting. Shadrin describes what it’s like to return to the battlefield after an injury, when military equipment and ammunition are in short supply. And, Nuha al-Junaid, a Yemeni woman in exile, has been speaking with people across war-torn Yemen and in the diaspora. Their voices show a diversity of experiences that reveal how life does not stop for war....
Published 03/27/24
The container ship The Dali that crashed into the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore had two local pilots navigating the large cargo carrier along the Patapsco River. We hear from a ship captain about the challenges of safely guiding a large container ship. And, the demand for language courses on US college campuses typically has reflected global shifts. But today, students are taking Korean — and it's all attributed to K-pop music and K-movies. Also, Senegal's president has led the...
Published 03/26/24
After tense negotiations and four previous failures, the UN Security Council passed a resolution this morning calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. For the first time, the US abstained on a Gaza ceasefire vote, rather than using its veto. And, according to Russian officials, the death toll from the Crocus City Hall shooting in Moscow currently stands at 137, with another 180 people injured. While many key questions remain unanswered, the Kremlin is already forming a narrative that will...
Published 03/25/24
The Kremlin says that more than 40 people have died and more than 100 were wounded in a Friday night attack. The motive for the shootings or who may be responsible is not known. And, for more than a decade, Hosam Bahgat has been under criminal investigation for his work with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a human rights group. The court's investigation concluded this week and the charges against Bahgat were dropped. Also, Mongolia’s nomadic herders are facing a savage dzud...
Published 03/22/24
Across Europe, the NATO military alliance is conducting its largest exercises since the Cold War, with tens of thousands of troops from 32 countries. NATO officials and European leaders are adding to the sense of urgency, warning that a direct conflict with Russia is becoming an increasing threat. And, this week, the United Nations said Sudan's civil war is one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory. Fighting between the country's rival military and paramilitary forces has gone...
Published 03/21/24
The Dominican Republic has stationed 10,000 soldiers on their border with Haiti. Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez says his country’s national security is his top priority and does not support the establishment of a humanitarian corridor. And, despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition, the US continues to push Israel to pursue a two-state solution with Palestinians — an independent Palestinian state alongside the Israeli state. What do former negotiators on both sides of...
Published 03/20/24
Japan's central bank has raised interest rates for the first time in 17 years. It's a milestone in a long economic recovery and sign of something afoot in the Japanese economy. And, from "Stories From The Stage," Eson Kim tells a tale about how she was held up at gunpoint with her dad in the family's hardware store when she was 12 years old. What happened next forever changed her. Also, all but one of the 100 cities with the world’s worst air pollution last year were in Asia, according to a...
Published 03/19/24
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed a landslide victory in the country's elections held over the weekend, which means another 6 years in the Kremlin. According to the Russian election commission, Putin won 87% of the vote, but most Western countries have said that the elections were neither free nor fair. And, US troops are being asked to leave Niger after the government there revoked a security accord with the United States. There are about 1,000 American troops in Niger working to...
Published 03/18/24
The pandemic has been a global trauma with a silver lining of immense scientific and medical development. Michael Mina, a physician-scientist who spent the pandemic focused on immunology and epidemiology at Harvard University, tells us where the world is now and how prepared we are for the future. And, Russian American director Michael Lockshin began his film adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic novel, "Master and Margarita," before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Moscow. Now that it’s...
Published 03/15/24
As part of the effort to get more food and water into Gaza, the Jordanian Air Force is conducting air drops into the beleaguered territory. The World's Shirin Jaafari travels along on one of the flights to see what the logistics are like and what the air force thinks about delivering aid. And, French far-right groups say superstar Aya Nakamura is not the right performer for the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics this summer. Also, Russian President Vladimir Putin is looking to secure his...
Published 03/14/24
Across northeastern Syria, makeshift refineries are a major source of income for local residents who have endured more than a decade of conflict. But this critical resource is also making people sick and destroying the environment. And, US and Caribbean officials have reportedly told Haitian leaders they have 24 hours to name a transitional council that will appoint a new Haitian prime minister. US State Department deputy spokesperson, Vedant Patel, talks about US policy options in Haiti and...
Published 03/13/24
Ariel Henry, Haiti’s besieged prime minister, has agreed to resign once a transitional presidential council is installed. We hear how gang violence in the capital has made Port-au-Prince increasingly unsafe. And, the US House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill that would force Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a US ban. Also, Since Oct. 7, 2023, Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank have been barred from working in Israel. Tens of thousands in the West Bank who were...
Published 03/12/24
Cyclists on the Gaza Sunbirds team have always dreamed of competing on the global stage at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. But amid the Israel-Hamas war, the athletes have pivoted to delivering food to community members in need. And, a new study says salmon populations produced in countries such as Norway, the UK and Canada are dying in large numbers. Warming waters and disease are seen as the main culprits for the depletion of farmed salmon. Also, in northwest Nigeria's Kaduna state, gunmen...
Published 03/11/24
Ten years ago Friday, flight MH370 took off from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, carrying 239 people headed to Beijing. During the flight, the plane changed course, turning south toward the Indian Ocean. Its transponder was turned off midflight and was never heard from again. But their families never stopped searching. And, celebrated Japanese manga creator, Akira Toriyama, has died at the age of 68 in Japan. He's best known as the creator of the "Dragon Ball Z" series, which was adapted...
Published 03/08/24
On March 8, International Women's Day, voters in Ireland will decide if they want to replace a clause in the constitution that deems a "woman's place is in the home." The Irish government has proposed new wording that recognizes the value of the provision of care in the home "by members of a family." And, military regimes in the West African nations of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso recently severed ties from the regional alliance known as the Economic Community of West African States or...
Published 03/07/24
Ukrainian American pastor Alex Zaytsev helped his parishioners evacuate from the strategic town of Avdiivka before it fell to Russian forces last month. They sought safety 40 miles east in Pokrovsk, but he says their new home is no longer safe. And, a United Nations team this week said it found convincing evidence that some hostages taken into Gaza on Oct. 7 were subjected to sexual violence, as well as hostages in captivity. Israelis are preparing for the worst, including the possibility...
Published 03/06/24
Gangs are taking over Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. Police and the military have been ineffective in stopping the gangs from attacking the country's main airport last night and breaking out of thousands of inmates from prison over the weekend. And, a UN report finds credible the allegations of sexual assault by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, and against hostages held in Gaza. UN Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten went to Israel and the West Bank with a team...
Published 03/05/24
According to the Pentagon, since the start of Israel's war in Gaza, there have been about 200 attacks on US forces stationed in Iraq and Syria. These attacks have been carried out by militia groups supported by Iran. And, on Monday, the European Union sent a message to Apple and other tech giants: "We will ensure compliance with our regulations." It followed a massive $2 billion antitrust fine for Apple. Also, research has shown that the vast majority of children in orphanages actually have...
Published 03/04/24
People around the world are mourning the death of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s leading opposition politician. Thousands of people came to his funeral in Moscow on Friday. Navalny died last month while being held in a remote Russian prison in the Arctic Circle. And, a team of scientists sought to find out how violence between rebel groups in Central African Republic has affected the country's mortality rate. They found that it's shaken the foundations of the country. Also, Iran is holding...
Published 03/01/24
US President Joe Biden touched down at one key Texas crossing point on the US-Mexico border today. His rival for the oval office, former President Donald Trump, visited another, showcasing a very different border environment. And, a new survey from the Pew Research Center says that representative democracy remains popular globally, but its appeal is also waning. Also, for the first time, the Cuban government has asked the UN's World Food Program for help providing powdered milk to children...
Published 02/29/24
As the Israel-Hamas war continues, food aid reaches northern Gaza for first time in weeks. Israeli hostages' families continue to push for their release. This conflict has stirred up strong emotions in Lod, a mixed Jewish and Arab town in central Israel. And, the northeast African nation of Sudan is rich in natural resources. Various international actors are fueling its civil war there with an eye on the bottom line. Also, thousands of junior doctors in South Korea are striking against a...
Published 02/28/24