The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang , South Korea have kicked off with official luge, biathlon and ski jumping training sessions. But these games may be remembered for more than just who skied the fastest or skated most gracefully. That’s because last month North and South Korea - two countries still technically at war - announced that they would march under a unified flag at the opening ceremonies. A total of 22 North Korean athletes will compete on joint Korean Olympic teams in women’s ice

Back in January 2017, Brazil experienced a wave of massive and grisly prison riots. More than 130 inmates were killed in a few weeks in fighting between rival gangs. Many of the of the dead were decapitated or mutilated, and pictures of their bodies were posted on the internet by other inmates. Now, two other deadly riots in the first few weeks of 2018 are raising fears of more mass-killings in Brazilian prisons. In some cases, prisons have been all but abandoned by outnumbered prison guards and

Overpopulation has been debated since British economist Thomas Malthus famously warned in 1798 that humans could reproduce far faster than they could increase their food supply. But since Malthus's time, world population has grown from 800 million to 7.5 billion today. Yet worries about overpopulation are back. In part that's because lots more people are on the way, complicating efforts to deal with problems like climate change and water scarcity. The UN forecasts that in the near future the

In the next decade, India may pass China to become the world’s most populous country. But there’s something odd about India’s population. At its last census in 2011, India had 36 million more men than women. As the population grows, the World Bank predicts there will be 51 million more men by 2031. This is due in part to the widespread practice of sex-selective abortion and the gender-based neglect of young girls leading to higher mortality rates. In some cases, 'infanticide' of newborn girls is

On this special edition of Global Journalist, we take a step back from international news to hear from Leonard Pitts Jr., a Pulitzer-winning syndicated columnist for the Miami Herald. Pitts is well-known liberal critiques of the Trump administration as well as his columns covering race, gay rights, religion and other cultural issues. His column on Sept. 12, 2001 called “We’ll Go Forward From This Moment,” is particularly well-known for directly addressing the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks

North Korea has one of the worst human rights record in the world, but for women the situation is particularly acute. Sexual harassment and sexual assault are rarely punished, and many women who escape to neighboring China end up being trafficked into prostitution or sold as brides to Chinese men. Yet despite these challenges, North Korean women often have more economic freedoms than men. On this edition of Global Journalist, a look at women's rights in North Korea.

On this special edition of Global Journalist, host Jason McLure speaks with two distinguished journalists about their road to success. MaryAnne Golon, the director of photography of the Washington Post, describes the chaotic days covering the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and her career working for Time magazine and the Post. In addition, writer Margaret Engel talks about becoming a playwright, television producer and author after a career in newspaper journalism. Both women are 2017 winners of the

Those who listened to NPR's coverage of the 2016 presidential campaign regularly heard the dispatches from political reporter Asma Khalid. During the race, Khalid distinguished herself for her ability to blend voter interviews with the use of data to illustrate Americans shifting political views. But as a Muslim woman who wears the hijab, or Islamic headscarf, the Indiana native was also tested by then-candidate Donald Trump's divisive rhetoric, and was mocked on Twitter as a "terrorist,"

Conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere has fueled a booming trade in looted antiquities from archaeological sites and museums. Millions of dollars worth of artifacts have disappeared, with some resurfacing for sale in Europe and the United States. The black market trade provided tens of millions of dollars of funding for the Islamic State, one of the largest groups involved in the business. With ISIS nearing defeat, archaeologists are looking for ways to halt the trade in looted artifacts

Recently an international cricket match in the Indian city of Delhi had to be temporarily halted in the middle of the game for an unusual reason. The cause: air pollution levels so high that a top player for India's opponent, Sri Lanka, began vomiting on the field. India has had pollution problems for years, but recently it has gotten significantly worse. Smog was so bad in New Delhi last month the government ordered thousands of schools closed and banned trucks from the road for a week. But