The World

The Bishops' Conference of France has released a report documenting more than 300,000 cases of child sexual abuse within the French Catholic Church. The independent commission is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, El Salvador's citizens have faced multiple traumas in the past decades: war, gang violence, natural disasters and now, COVID-19. We hear from a group of ambulance workers in El Salvador about how they cope with daily tragedies with few mental health providers in the country. And the recent Facebook outage impacted small businesses around the world. Hear about how the outage disrupted a grocery delivery business in Accra, Ghana, and what is being done to prepare for future outages.

The “Pandora Papers” are being called the greatest-ever leak of secret deals and hidden assets. Top Lebanese officials are among the powerful whose secrets are revealed in the leak. And, confidence in British police has been shaken following the sentencing of a serving police officer for the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard in London last March. Advice to women on how to handle their fears of male police officers has proven “laughable” by some women's rights groups. Plus, The University of Liverpool is launching a master's program on one of the most popular bands of all time: the Beatles. The program will focus on how attitudes toward the ever-popular group have changed over the decades.

In the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, tens of thousands of migrants hope to reach the United States, but are caught in legal limbo. They hail from different countries in Central and South America, but many are from Haiti. Also, when a massive earthquake and tsunami hit eastern Japan 10 years ago, with a subsequent nuclear disaster, nearly 20,000 people died. Some found healing in sashiko, a traditional art form that helped ease the pain among survivors. And, Spain's flamenco guitar legend, the late Paco de Lucía, is receiving an homage this week in his hometown. Capping off the honors is a decree to play his famous song, "Entre Dos Aguas,” or "Between Two Waters," from the town hall carillon twice a day.

Members of the Hazara ethnic group in Afghanistan have faced discrimination and violent attacks for a long time. Under the new reality of Taliban rule, things appear to be getting worse. And, for the first time, on Sept. 30, Canada will recognize a National Day of Truth and Reconciliation to honor the thousands of students who died at residential schools for Indigenous children between 1883 and 1996. Also, French winegrowers will have a tough harvest this fall and a late frost destroyed much of their crops this past spring. But some are trying to adapt to climate change by trying to make their grapes more resistant to heat and drought.

The lights have gone off in parts of China. Elevators have shut down and streetlights have gone dark. The country isn't producing enough electricity. Shortages are being blamed on the high cost of fuel due to strong demand from industries and tougher emission standards. And, the city of Tapachula in southern Mexico, close to the border with Guatemala, has become a transit point for thousands of migrants from Haiti, and Central and South America. The World looks at how the city has changed since the migrants’ arrival. Plus, a cassette tape with a recording of an interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono has been auctioned off in Denmark for more than $58,000. The recording, made by four Danish teenagers in 1970, includes Lennon and Ono singing two songs, “Give Peace a Chance” and “Radio Peace,” which was never released.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan heads to the Middle East to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as officials in the United Arab Emirates, to talk about Yemen and Iran. What is the significance of this trip? And top US Army officials faced sharp questioning on Tuesday on Capitol Hill about the US’ chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. We hear from retired United States Army Gen. David Petraeus about his reaction. Plus, Swedish musician José González was first inspired by the Brazilian bossa nova and Latin folk his parents played at home in Argentina. On his latest album, “Local Valley,” he turned to the sounds of Ghanaian highlife.

The return to China of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in an apparent exchange for two detained Canadians offers clues into the evolution of US-China relations — one that may require uncomfortable compromises. And four weeks after the US left Afghanistan, America and its allies are still keeping a close eye on the country, with counterterrorism and national security top of mind. How will the US gather intelligence in Afghanistan without being there? Also, most young people in South Sudan have faced conflict and displacement their entire lives. The Baobab House, an art gallery in the capital, Juba, offers young people the chance to use music as a form of social healing.

In the chaos of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the mass evacuation, a number of unaccompanied minors ended up on flights out of the country. Now comes the difficult task of reuniting them with families or helping them find new homes. Also, if you’re in the market for a puffy vest this winter, you may need to be patient. The shipping bottlenecks occurring at California ports continue to have an outsized impact on US retailers like Eddie Bauer. And the world mourns the loss of pioneering Black filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, who died on Tuesday at the age of 89 in his home in New York. Van Peebles was known as the “godfather of modern Black cinema” with themes of resistance and Black liberation.

Over the past few months, China's regulatory crackdowns have impacted almost every corner of Chinese society, with new restrictions targeting everything from entertainment to after-school education to car-share apps and video games. Also, Haitians gathered under the Del Rio International Bridge in south Texas will be allowed to cross the Mexico-US border, but those who make it across often have to scramble for lodging and aid from volunteers. Plus, the National Theater of Somalia in Mogadishu hosted the country's first movie screening in 30 years on Wednesday. The theater opened in 1967, a gift from Mao Zedong, but shut down at the start of Somalia's civil war in 1991.

President Biden is proposing one of the most ambitious spending plans since the 1930s — a $3.5 trillion investment tackling everything from clean energy, to early education, to health care. A total overhaul of the American economy. The big question: How do we pay for it? Also, the cost of energy is hitting record highs in Spain. It's driven by the rising cost of gas and lower-than-usual winds (not pushing Spain's windmills). It's a problem across Europe as the continent transitions toward renewable energies. And, we look back at the legacy and impact of the classic Cuban album, "The Buena Vista Social Club,” which is now 25 years old.