The World

US President Joe Biden is in Mexico City for the last day of the North American Leaders Summit. While trade and environmental issues are part of the agenda, the big issue for Biden at this summit is what’s happening at the southern border. And, at a UN meeting in Geneva on Monday, Pakistan received more than $9 billion in pledges from international donors to help it recover and rebuild from last year's devastating floods. Also, the trial of 24 aid workers accused of espionage and fraud opened on the Greek island of Lesbos on Tuesday. Among them is Syrian aid worker Sarah Mardini, who was the inspiration for a recent Netflix film “The Swimmers.” Plus, Indonesia’s marginalized groups say the criminal code is more than just a ban on premarital sex.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had harsh words for those who stormed his country’s parliament, its Supreme Court and presidential palace this past weekend. We hear about the role Brazilian authorities and security services may have played in the rioting. And Sweden's prime minister said Sunday that Turkey has made demands on Sweden that his country "cannot — and does not — want to meet" to gain Ankara's approval for a bid to join NATO. Demands include Sweden and Finland joining Turkey's fight against banned Kurdish militants. Also, Ana Montes was a senior analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency when she was arrested by the FBI at her office in 2001. She had been spying for Cuba for decades. Now, she's been released from prison having served a 25-year sentence. Plus, a historic Christmas in Kyiv.

Mexican authorities in the city of Culiacan arrested Ovidio Guzman, the son of the notorious drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, on Thursday. In response, gunmen rampaged in the city streets, killing at least 29 people. And, rats are especially plentiful in the hills of Laos where they can eat 20% of the harvest. But rice farmers there take part in rat-killing tournaments that reward amateur hunters with cold, hard cash. Also, Belarusian opposition spymaster Aleksander Azarov discusses his work and ambitions for Belarus. Azarov is part of a cabinet of ministers organized by Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who declared herself the winner of presidential elections in Belarus, but  later had to flee the country. Plus, negotiations over the return of Parthenon (Elgin) marbles show signs of progress.

Pope Benedict XVI, who died at age 95, was laid to rest on Thursday following his funeral at the Vatican. We hear about Pope Benedict's legacy and where the Catholic Church goes from here. And Ukrainian officials say they have struck several barracks housing Russian soldiers in recent days. Russia now says it will impose a temporary ceasefire over Orthodox Christmas, beginning Jan. 6. Also, the Biden administration is expanding its use of Title 42 to begin rapidly expelling migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua. The new policies also offer legal entry into the US under humanitarian parole for a limited number of migrants. Also, Karim Younis, a Palestinian Israeli imprisoned for 40 years for killing an Israeli soldier, has been released.

A top Chinese epidemiologist says that China is now experiencing the first of three expected waves of COVID-19 cases in the coming months. International health experts predict there will be at least 1 million deaths from COVID-19 in China this year. And, the Philippine government is urging hundreds of top police officials to resign after a probe found a handful of officers were involved in the narcotics trade. Also, the Kremlin has long denied that many of its soldiers are dying in its war in Ukraine. That changed this week when Russian officials admitted that a single Ukrainian strike killed at least 89 troops in a New Year’s Day attack in Makiivka, in the occupied Donetsk region. Plus, the war in Ukraine prompts a shift in the global fertilizer market.

Several nongovernmental organizations have suspended their operations in Afghanistan after the Taliban banned women working for them. The ban comes at a time when over 28 million people in the country require aid to survive, according to the United Nations. And, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wept on Sunday as he vowed to reduce poverty and inequality as Brazil's returning president. Lula is moving fast to reverse four years of Jair Bolsonaro's right-leaning policies, but he'll be facing some stiff opposition. Also, former Pope Benedict, who died on Saturday at age 95, now lies in state in St. Peter's Basilica. We remember the conservative icon who struggled against church reformers. Plus, Canadian entrepreneur Craig Cohon has vowed to walk from London to Istanbul to capture the environmental cost of his own life.

The World is marking the new year by reflecting on some of its favorite music segments. Hear about how Spanish-language lyrics feel like the norm today, but wasn’t always the case. Also, Austrian British musician Alicia Edelweiss takes the stage with a heavy dose of glittery eye makeup, an accordion and a hula-hoop. Plus, hear about how the cuatro, the national instrument of Venezuela, is gaining in popularity.

Global leaders are descending on Brazil this weekend for the inauguration of the next president. It's a sign that Brazil will resume ties with many parts of the world that felt disconnected to the country during the previous government. We'll look at the incoming administration of the president known by one name, Lula. Also, some of the most memorable news of 2022, plus a few of our favorite stories we've brought you in the past year.

Brazilian soccer legend Pelé, who set all kinds of world records, died on Thursday at the age of 82. Also, the Biden administration announced that starting on Jan. 5, all travelers from China entering the US will need to present a negative COVID-19 test. How China is responding to the new rule and what it means for US-China cooperation around the pandemic. Plus, the Spanish Canary Islands, just 60 miles off the coast of the Western Sahara, has been a favorite tourist destination. But now it's a stepping stone for migrants trying to reach Europe.

The US Supreme Court says that Title 42 restrictions must stay in place at the southern border. But that's not the end of the legal fight over this Trump-era border policy. Plus, private security guards actually outnumber the police in Brazil. We'll hear about a training school for security guards. And Soviet cosmonauts during the Cold War communicated with mission control back in the USSR. For more casual conversation, they'd connect with a ham radio operator in Australia.