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Iraq has passed a new law that criminalizes same-sex relations and gender-affirming medical treatments. Those breaking the law could face 10 to 15 years in prison. At the same time, the killing of a TikTok celebrity caught on a security camera has added to the fear that minorities feel in Iraq. The World’s Shirin Jaafari reports.

For the first time in 421 days, North Atlantic sea-surface temperatures dipped below record-setting levels. That's expected to do little to change the forecast for an extremely active 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which starts June 1. Host Marco Werman has an update.

This week, the Chinese coast guard fired water cannons at two Philippine patrol vessels near a disputed territory in the South China Sea. The US has a mutual defense pact with The Philippines, so this incident draws the US and China into tension with each other. This incident comes just days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in China, meeting with the Chinese President Xi Jinping. Hos...

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro said on Tuesday that an inspection in April showed that hundreds of thousands of bullets, thousands of grenades and 37 anti-tank missiles had been stolen from two different military bases. He said an organized network is behind the theft of weapons and is selling them to militant groups within Colombia and overseas. Host Marco Werman speaks with Colombia-based re...

Host Marco Werman reports on the many visitors in Israel, both local and international, to the sites of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, and asks people there why they visit. The answers, it turns out, are complicated.

Major protests in Tbilisi took place today as local residents criticized a foreign influence bill. The legislation being debated in Georgia's Parliament would require non-governmental organizations and independent media to register as "foreign agents" when more than 20% of their funding comes from outside of Georgia. Host Marco Werman speaks with Ana Jegnaradze, a Georgian reporter, about how the...

Engineered stone, or quartz, is the most popular countertop material in the country. But it is causing an epidemic of silicosis, a fatal lung disease among workers who grind and polish the stone. In California, nearly all the victims are Latin American immigrants. KQED's labor reporter Farida Jhabvala Romero says the state has imposed emergency safety measures to protect workers but smaller shops...

May 1, the International Workers Day, marks the contribution of laborers with parades, picnics and speeches in many countries across Europe and in nations influenced by the former Soviet Union: including China, Vietnam, Cuba, Laos, and North Korea. Host Marco Werman looks at today's May Day celebrations in countries around the globe, and tells why the US is not among them.

The rallying cry of many pro-Palestinian protestors is “divest from Israel.” University administrators and donors have so far rebuffed that demand. Many investment analysts argue that it's not feasible for universities to alter their portfolios and sell all assets linked to particular countries. Witold  Henisz of the Wharton Business School speaks with host Marco Werman about why divestment isn't...

The city of Mae Sot, in Thailand, right on the border with Myanmar, has been a safe haven for Burmese people for years, but especially since a military junta took control of Myanmar in 2021. For a time, the city was an expatriate refuge of relative normalcy. Now, Thailand is cracking down on Burmese people living there. We'll hear from reporter Naomi Gingold in Mae Sot.

A step forward toward stability today in Haiti as a new prime minister takes over an office that's been effectively vacant for two months. Today, former Sports Minister Fritz Belizaire stepped into the role, as Haitians deal with spiraling violence from gangs that have overtaken most of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Host Marco Werman has more.

Au pairs come to the U-S to live with a family and care for the children. They are paid small stipends and work long days, which opens them to abuse. The State Department is considering revamping the program, which would likely make it unaffordable for parents. WGBH's Hannah Reale in Boston reports some parents fear it will be the end of au pairs.

The federal government is proposing that au pairs across the US get paid a minimum wage for full-time work and enjoy more worker protections. Host Marco Werman speaks with Karina Yosseline Perez, a New York City au pair from Mexico, about her experiences, the challenges she's faced, and what the proposed changes could mean for her. 

University of Sydney students set up pro-Palestinian encampments on campus last week, while others in France, Italy and the UK are staging their own forms of protests against Israel's war with Hamas. For now, the demonstrations are small compared to what's happening on US college campuses, but students say their actions are significant and likely to spread. The World's Sarah Birnbaum reports from...

In a groundbreaking discovery, scholars have deciphered an ancient scroll buried under the ashes of Mount Vesuvius. The papyrus document describes a previously unknown story about the final days of the Greek philosopher Plato.  Stanford philosopher Christopher Bobonich and host Marco Werman talk about the discovery and why Plato remains an enigma.

With national elections underway in India, more women are voting than ever before. This year, 49% of all voter turnout is estimated to be women and by 2029, female voters will outnumber males. Political parties are racing to tap into this emerging vote bank. Sushmita Pathak reports from Jodhpur, Rajasthan, on what are being seen as "women's issues" in this election.

The latest gathering of the world's nations to come up with a treaty to end plastic pollution ended on Tuesday. One area of disagreement was how to address greenhouse gas emissions generated in the manufacture of plastics. Industry groups want the treaty to focus on reuse and recycling. Most other stakeholders want to phase out the use of plastic. Host Marco Werman speaks to Kristian Syberg, a pla...

The first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in China is now protesting outside of his own lab in Shanghai. Zhang Yongzhen wrote in an online post Monday that he and his team had been suddenly notified they were being evicted from their lab, the latest in a series of setbacks, demotions and ousters since the virologist published the sequence in January 2020 without state approva...

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back in the Middle East. On Monday, he said Israel is offering an "extraordinarily generous" deal and that, "the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and ceasefire is Hamas." But this morning, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said whether there's a ceasefire or not, the Israeli military will launch a ground offensive into Rafah. The World'...

More trucks carrying aid are crossing the border into Gaza. And the relief group World Central Kitchen is resuming operations there, four weeks after Israeli soldiers killed seven of the group’s aid workers. Still, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza remains dire, as the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Suze an Meegen in Rafah explains to Host Carol Hills.  

Tayi Tibble is making headlines in the poetry world. And if you haven't been paying attention you should be. The New Zealand born Maori poet released a new collection of poems, "Rangikura" earlier this month to critical acclaim. Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Tibble about her youth, Maori identity, and what it means to connect with Indigenous groups beyond New Zealand.

Trucks swept away by water, collapsing dams, and flooded airports: These are the scenes witnessed in Kenya over the weekend because of heavy rainfall and flooding. The downpours have also killed around 100 people so far. Experts say the extreme weather is wreaking havoc across several countries in East Africa. The World’s Africa Correspondent Halima Gikandi reports from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi...

US beef exports are being impacted by the avian flu. Last week Colombia announced it had placed restrictions on beef exports from the US. Host Carol Hills speaks with Jada Thompson, an agricultural economist at the University of Arkansas, about the mechanisms in place to safeguard beef production in the US. 

It's been 20 years since France introduced a law banning the hijab and other religious symbols in schools. But two decades later the issue is more divisive than ever. Last month, the French government said it plans to sue a student involved in a row with a school principal over the wearing of the Islamic headscarf. And at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, French athletes will be prohibited fro...

One Japanese prefecture, sick of badly behaved tourists, is trying a novel approach to keep them away. Instead of charging a fee to visit, they're removing the tourist sight. That is, they're making it impossible for tourists to see the site, hoping they'll go somewhere else to take pictures. Host Carol Hills has the details.