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Space junk is a growing problem. Thousands of defunct satellites are orbiting Earth at dangerous speeds, sometimes shedding debris. New regulations require all defunct satellites to be brought back into Earth’s atmosphere when their mission is over to burn up. But when they do, they release thousands of tiny metal particles that can be dangerous. Scientists in Japan may have a solution: building s...

2020 was the self-imposed deadline for developed countries to pony up $100 billion a year in climate finance, to help developing countries switch to green energy and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Countries don't look to be on track to meet that target. What's worse, only about a fifth of the total funding goes toward helping developing countries protect themselves from a problem they did...

China is building a southern wall along its border with Myanmar, which is struggling to control the spread of COVID-19. The World's Patrick Winn tells host Carol Hills that while China seeks to shut out the pandemic, its new hi-tech wall also allows it to control the flow of border jumpers and illicit goods.

President Trump's so-called Muslim ban has for years blocked most immigrants and refugees from more than a dozen targeted countries from entering the US. President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to end that ban on "day one." As Durrie Bouscaren reports from Turkey, this promise has given some families reason for hope.

The World Health Organization gave its final press briefing of 2020 this week, where its experts celebrated the scientific breakthroughs on the coronavirus, but also made sobering comments that "we need to get our act together and prepare for something that may be even worse in the future." Carol Hills has the story.

In Russia, COVID-19 cases continue to rise. Yesterday, the Russian government came out with newly updated fatality numbers. According to Rosstat, the Russian Federal Statistics Agency, the coronavirus death toll is more than three times higher than previously reported. That's 186,000 deaths — the third-highest number after the US and Brazil. Host Carol Hills talks with Russian science writer Irina...

After early success in combating the coronavirus, South Korea is now recording record numbers of new infections and deaths. While the government dangles the threat of a European-style lockdown, it remains hesitant to do so out of fear from economic turmoil, with a president whose popular support has already plummeted. Host Carol Hill speaks with reporter Jason Strother in Seoul, South Korea.

Colombian President Iván Duque says his administration will not provide vaccines for undocumented immigrants in the country. It's estimated more than 1 million people from Venezuela are living in Colombia without authorization.

Armenia went into mourning ahead of Christmas week. An estimated 3,000 Armenian troops died in several weeks of fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan gained control of much of the disputed territory, and Russia brokered a ceasefire that's held so far. Armenians are struggling to come to terms with the aftermath and that includes winemakers. Reporter Andrew Connelly was recently in Na...

Alexei Navalny is Russia’s most prominent opposition politician and President Vladimir Putin’s harshest critic. Navalny is also lucky to be alive. This past summer, he was mysteriously poisoned. Over the last few weeks, investigative journalists — with help from Navalny himself — have managed to piece together the story of exactly what happened. The World’s Daniel Ofman reports.

The conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region began more than a month ago between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and Ethiopia’s federal government. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the region has now returned to normal. He’s claimed that no civilians were killed during the weeks of military operations there. But more than 50,000 Ethiopian refugees have fled Tigray for neighboring Sudan, a...

Blue whales are the largest animals that have ever lived. It’s therefore difficult to imagine a population of blue whales going unnoticed. But scientists have found that there are groups of blue whales living in the Indian Ocean that were previously unknown to researchers. And they have their own unique song. Salvatore Cerchio, a marine mammal biologist at the African Aquatic Conservation Fund, sp...

The world’s largest free-floating iceberg is causing alarm. The iceberg, known as A-68, broke off Antarctica two years ago and has been a floating liability ever since. A group of scientists is urgently prepping to head to the iceberg to further investigate. The World's Marco Werman speaks to the chief scientist for the mission, Povl Abrahamsen, at the British Antarctic Survey, about the history a...

In Saudi Arabia on Monday, an anti-terrorism court sentenced women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul to nearly six years in prison. Hathloul was jailed in 2018, after starting a campaign to advocate for a women’s right to drive in the kingdom. Host Carol Hills discusses the implications of the case with Hiba Zayadin, a researcher on Gulf affairs with Human Rights Watch.

As many of the world’s more developed countries begin vaccinating their populations, African countries are still waiting on their first doses to arrive. And in South Africa, cases are soaring due to a new variant of the virus, with authorities expected to announce new restrictive measures to curb its spread. Host Carol Hills speaks with Dr. Richard Lessells, an infectious disease expert in Durban.

It’s a campaign the likes of which has never been attempted before: A coordinated effort to vaccinate the population of Europe, some 450 million people against the coronavirus. The campaign got underway on Sunday, in what the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described as a “moment of unity” for the continent.  But there were some hiccups along the way. The World’s Europe correspondent...

Ethiopian American singer Meklit Hadero has given the idea of "home" — and what it means to be dislocated — a lot of thought. She helped create a documentary project called "Movement," and invited musicians and artists to share stories of music and migration. One voice in the project is Syrian DJ Hello Psychaleppo who, again and again, has been forced to pick up and build a new home.

It's a uniquely British tradition — a dish of Christmas pudding is seemingly compulsory for every subject of her majesty, the queen. They're eaten at the end of the meal and taste a bit like a bag of sugar and gravel left in glue, then boiled. But they're actually served with flaming brandy as well. Leo Hornak explains the tradition to host Marco Werman.

We’re square in the middle of the holiday season, one that looks decidedly different this year. Host Marco Werman speaks with The World’s foreign correspondents Lydia Emmanouilidou, Ariel Oseran and Jorge Valencia about what the holidays look like in their corners of Greece, Israel and Mexico.

After five years of negotiation, consternation and debate, the EU and the UK have finally reached a Brexit trade deal. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, announced the deal on Thursday. “At the end of a successful negotiation’s journey I normally feel joy. But today I only feel quiet satisfaction and, frankly speaking, relief,” Von der L...

On this edition of "The Big Fix,” The World's weekly look at climate solutions, host Marco Werman speaks to the Franciscan monk, brother Benedict Ayodi in Nairobi, Kenya, about how climate change has impacted East Africa and how religious rituals and spirituality can help communities build a more just and sustainable world. Brother Ayodi also joined with some of his colleagues to sing a Christmas...

Post offices across North America have been swamped with packages this holiday season. But delivering mail is especially complicated in Nunavut, one of the most remote territories in Canada. In the capital city of Iqaluit, basic goods are already really expensive, so residents rely on Amazon for almost all of it. But until recently, there was not much room for the growing mountain of packages. Emi...

The number of journalists detained around the world hit a new record in 2020. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that at the beginning of December, a total of 274 journalists were imprisoned worldwide. For the second year in a row, China tops the list of countries with the most journalists in detention. Rebecca Kanthor in Shanghai speaks with host Marco Werman.

It's been four years since authorities in France dismantled the massive migrant camps in Calais. But the place is still a transit point for migrants hoping to make their way across the English Channel to the United Kingdom. French police are cracking down on the migrants, forcing them to stay on the move. Rebecca Rosman has the story from Calais. 

Thousands of truck drivers have been held up since Sunday at the southeastern English port of Dover. Now, after many realized that they would not make it back into Europe before Christmas, there have been scuffles with British police. France had put a travel ban in place because of the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom. Host Marco Werman has the latest.