The World: Latest Stories

Lupita Infante is the granddaughter of Mexican cultural icon Pedro Infante, but she is also an artist in her own right, carrying legacies from both sides of her family. Lupita is charting a new path for herself, while honoring and questioning the mariachi culture she’s inherited. In this conversation, she discusses her artistic path with Meklit Hadero of the "Movement" podcast.

Thousands of Afghans who served as interpreters, security contractors and drivers alongside US troops were promised safe passage to the United States. Now, many are in limbo. About 1,100 former partners and their families are currently stranded at a former US military base in Qatar. Shawn VanDiver, president of the aid group AfghanEvac tells The World’s Host Marco Werman that the Trump administration is considering sending the Afghans to Democratic Republic of Congo.

Israeli forces have killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and injured her photographer colleague Zeinab Faraj in what officials in Lebanon are calling a war crime. The journalists were heading to southern parts of the country when they came under attack. They took shelter at an abandoned building, but according to The Committee to Protect Journalists and the Red Cross, the Israeli military stopped rescuers from reaching them. The World’s Shirin Jaafari reports.

A 1995 law in the Philippines dictated that all salt sold in the country had to be iodized because of iodine deficiency among Filipinos. That led to the closing of many artisanal salt making businesses, mostly small family operations. But the Slow Food movement is trying to change that. From Negros Island, reporter Dany Mitzman has the story.

What, exactly, do we think of as "home." Is it a place? A feeling? Is it people? Sharing her experience on GBH's Stories from the Stage, Christine Boutros tells us how she learned to redefine "home" when her son moved halfway across the globe.

The late Kim Il Sung — the founding leader of North Korea's communist regime — is forever enshrined as the country's "Eternal President." It's a powerful cult of personality from which the regime still draws much of its authority. Kim himself was deeply religious — he was raised as a devout Christian. The modern North Korean state tries to keep the religious upbringing of its founder hidden, but it's really what enabled the regime's rise in the first place. That's the subject of Jonathan Cheng's new book, "Korean Messiah: Kim Il Sung and the Christian Roots of North Korea's Personality Cult." He joins Host Marco Werman to talk about it.

European Union envoys seem set to unblock a $106 billion loan for Kyiv, now that Ukraine is once again sending Russian oil to Europe. Officials in Kyiv have called the funding "a matter of life and death.” Phillips Payson O’Brien tells The World’s Host Marco Werman that Ukrainians are increasingly viewing the US as a foe.

In a 10-minute speech over the weekend, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney laid out a strategy for the country to move forward without economic or military support from the United States. He told Canadians that "the world is more dangerous and divided," and the US has changed its approach to former allies. Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman explain.

Elections are supposed to give people a say in who governs their country, but nature can have an impact on elections. A report out today from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance found over 100 cases of “disaster-disrupted” elections between 2006 and 2025. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler spoke to Erik Asplund, a co-author of the study.

A gunman opened fire on tourists at Mexico’s Teotihuacán pyramids, killing one Canadian and injuring more than a dozen others. The attack at a UNESCO World Heritage site shows ongoing security challenges in one of the country’s most visited destinations, just as Mexico prepares to host matches for the World Cup. The World's Tibisay Zea reports.

Nothing like a little light-hearted pop music to shift the mood. Co-hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler give a listen to an indie-pop quartet from Stuttgart, Germany, called Rikas.

Over the last decade, China has become a leader in manufacturing solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles. As oil and gas prices rise, countries are increasingly importing this infrastructure. Host Marco Werman speaks with Kate Mackenzie of "The Polycrisis" podcast about how this translates to soft power for China.

Another ripple effect of the Iran war is reshaping the Caucasus. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey, nations long divided by closed borders and bitter disputes, are showing signs of cooperation — with plans to reopen key trade routes. From Deutsche Welle, DW's, Inside Europe program, Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul on the real promise these proposals hold.

Spain shocked lots of people last year when it announced it would grant working papers to hundreds of thousands of immigrants who'd come to Spain without permission. The government calls it just and necessary. But it wasn't prepared for a deluge of applications pouring in during the first few days. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Barcelona.

Four years ago, the Restoration Ecology team at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, published new research that uses super-sensitive microphones to listen to and analyze the health of soil. The researchers say this new method could replace traditional ones, which are expensive, disruptive and laborious. Reporter Bianca Hillier reports. This story originally aired on Sept. 18, 2024.

Every five years, the United Nations looks for a new secretary-general. Job interviews began today in the assembly chamber to start the search for the next one. There are four candidates, less than half the number when there was an opening 10 years ago. As The World's Hosts Marco Werman and Carolyn Beeler explain, the UN's first secretary-general called it "the most impossible job on earth."

The European Union’s top court has ruled that Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ+ law breaks the bloc’s core values. The decision targets a 2021 law that bans content about LGBTQ+ people from schools and primetime TV. Supporters in Hungary said the law was about protecting children. But judges at the European Court of Justice say it goes much further than that.

"Fika" is the very Swedish ritual of meeting people for coffee, sweets and some reflection on life. The World's Joshua Coe learned the fine line between a regular brunch date and "pure fika" at a coffee shop in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Brazilian cinema has received strong global attention recently, with films like "I’m Still Here" and "The Secret Agent" earning a slew of Oscar nods. But many filmmakers say these films reflect a limited group of voices. Reporter Julia Franca explores issues of funding, gender and access in the Brazilian film industry.

Host Marco Werman spins sounds from the innovator of the Hindustani slide guitar, Debashish Bhattacharya, a track titled, "The Sound of the Soul." This story originally aired on March 21, 2023.