The World

Hong Kong is marking its 25th anniversary since the United Kingdom handed over its administrative control to China as Chinese President Xi Jinping visits for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and the crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2019. And, a wildfire is threatening a centuries-old landmark: Peru’s Machu Picchu archaeological site. Plus, The Economist predicts that governments being mired in debt and unable to ease the cost of living will lead to mass protests and violence in countries around the world within the next couple of years.

At the NATO summit on Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced that NATO is "more united than ever.” Changes to the bloc include an increased US presence in Europe, more US troops on NATO's eastern flank and a new permanent US base in Poland. And in northern India on Thursday, thousands of people took to the streets in Udaipur to protest the murder of a Hindu tailor. They were calling for the death penalty for two Muslim men accused of the murder, pushing religious tensions in India to a boil. Plus, Salah Abdeslam, the lone survivor among ISIS assailants who attacked the Bataclan concert hall in 2015, has been found guilty of murder.

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Wednesday at the NATO summit, US President Joe Biden announced a plan for new US military deployments to Europe including creating a new permanent US military headquarters in Poland. NATO also formally invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. Turkey was threatening to veto their membership aspirations on grounds the countries were supporting terrorists. Now, the memorandum says they will be fighting terrorism together. Plus, scientists are raising alarm bells once more about bird flu. Tens of millions of birds have been culled and hundreds of thousands have died from the H5N1 strain.

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NATO members are gathering in Madrid for what many are calling the most important summit in at least a generation. From the war in Ukraine to the threat of China's rising power, much is at stake. And, as leaders prepare for the NATO summit this week we look at the outsized role of the US within NATO and its direct support of Ukraine’s military. Plus, language learning app Duolingo recently added a course in Haitian Creole for English speakers. The course helps Haiti’s diaspora communities reconnect with the mother tongue of families and ancestors.

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Efforts to expand reproductive freedom in the US in recent decades have propelled similar changes in other countries. Now that the US Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, that momentum could flip. And, the Chinese trend of made-to-order videos featuring African children often contain racist, exploitative content. A recent expose has triggered calls for this to end. Also, local farmers in Honduras turn to cashews as erratic weather patterns in Central America are leaving millions of people facing food insecurity.

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The US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, revealing a canyonlike divide across the nation over the right to terminate a pregnancy. Abortion rights supporters condemned the decision as a dark day in history, while abortion foes rejoiced and said it will save countless lives. Also, in Lebanon, a pregnancy can only be terminated if three doctors agree that a person's life is at risk. But this doesn't stop them from happening — abortion pills are available online, and some doctors provide abortions privately. Plus, meet King Rao, the central figure in a new dystopian novel called "The Immortal King Rao," by Vauhini Vara.

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The first delivery of heavy weapons from Germany arrived in Ukraine this week, marking the end to a longstanding policy not to send lethal aid into active conflict zones. In a country where history looms large, many Germans are uneasy with their country’s new proximity to war. Also, Southeast Asia is opening up to tourists this summer for the first time since the pandemic began. But Chinese tourists will be conspicuously absent due to the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policy. Plus, at the last minute, pop star Dua Lipa was forced to change the location of her Sunny Hill music festival from Kosovo to Albania.

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Rescuers are trying to reach provinces in eastern Afghanistan after a 5.9-magnitude earthquake shook the area on Wednesday. Initial reports suggest a high death toll and injuries. And Mohamad Bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's crown prince, is in Turkey on Wednesday for a visit with President Recep Erdoğan. The visit is seen as the two sides normalizing relations following the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.

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The state of Assam in northeast India has seen the worst flooding in generations. Weeks of monsoon rains have caused the largest rivers to overflow, flooding 32 of the state's 35 districts. Also, many US manufacturers rely on products from China’s Xinjiang region, where forced labor is common. New rules that come into force on Tuesday require firms to prove a “complete digital chain of custody” for products from the region. Plus, the US Navy says a small Iranian vessel charged an American ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

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Voters in Colombia have chosen a left-wing president for the first time, signaling a shift in the nation's politics. Also, ethnic tensions continue in Ethiopia following an attack on Sunday that killed more than 200 people. And in Germany, officials say they are ready to fire up coal power plants again in an effort to save on natural gas, which may impact climate targets.

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