The World

The coronavirus pandemic could set the planet back on decades worth of progress in securing access to food for millions of people living in poverty. And, protests against police brutality and racism in the US and elsewhere are resonating in South Africa, which has its own complicated history of police violence. Also, Russian emergency teams are still working to contain an oil spill in the Arctic before it reaches the Atlantic Ocean.

Wednesday on The World, we'll check in on global movements to end systemic racial discrimination. First to Toronto, Canada, where the city’s first black police chief resigned abruptly — months before he was supposed to and without explanation. And, thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the US Embassy in Madrid over the weekend to commemorate the life of George Floyd. But, they were also protesting the racial inequalities in Spain. Also, as lockdowns were lifted in China, worry spread about imported cases from abroad. Black people were targeted, leading some African Americans in Guangzhou to question whether they could stay.

In Greece, people are staging protests and actions in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Organizers say the protests aren't just about police brutality, but also about the treatment of migrants in the country. And, voters in Georgia are voting today — most casting absentee ballots. As part of our weekly series, "Every 30 Seconds," we profile a young Latina in Atlanta, Leticia Arcila, and hear about her first time voting. Plus, Netflix has picked up its first film from Zimbabwe. "Cook Off" is a romantic comedy centered on a single mom who enters a TV cooking competition that might just change her life.

Protests against racial discrimination and social injustice continue across the globe. At a rally last weekend in Bristol, England, activists pulled down the statue of a 17th-century slave trader and dumped it in the harbor. And, the notion of putting the US military into the streets to quell unrest is a bridge too far for many people, including many military leaders. Also, As East African countries such as Uganda begin easing lockdowns, borders remain a big concern. Truck drivers crossing borders between Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania have contributed to the spread of COVID-19.

The tactics used by police forces to control protesters around the world over the death of George Floyd have included the use of rubber bullets and tear gas. Use of those instruments may violate international law, experts say. And, one of the world's most prestigious medical journals, The Lancet, has retracted a scientific article about the effects of hydroxychloroquine in treating COVID-19. Plus, following months of a liberal approach to social distancing, the Swedish government announced last month that summer camps are allowed to open this season under certain guidelines.

From The World and PRX, this is The Number in the News. Today’s number: 1,000. Seventy-nine-year-old Pete Loosmore is the supervisor of the Sturminster Newton Mill, normally a tourist attraction in Dorset, England. But now, due to flour shortages in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Loosmore has increased the mill's four production back to commercial levels to meet a spike in demand and support local bakeries facing shortages. Learn how the flour mill is doing its part to help during the pandemic in today’s feature of The Number in the News.

We continue to focus on the two biggest stories across the globe: Police violence against black people in the US and around the world, and the coronavirus pandemic. The killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the killing of a 14-year-old boy during a botched police raid in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is forcing a reckoning in both countries. Also, how testing and tracing for COVID-19 is working in the UK. And, pandemic lockdowns have changed the way people around the world are using their streets and sidewalks. We take you to a busy street in Milan to hear how people are using new bike lanes and socially-distanced sidewalks.

If the US can’t build better airports or trains than China — or even take care of itself in times of major crisis like the coronavirus pandemic or current civil strife — how exactly is it supposed to “beat” China in this global competition we’re in? A co-production of PRX and Inkstick Media, and in partnership with The World, Things That Go Boom host Laicie Heeley looks back to see how China’s ascent snuck up on the US. Is a zero-sum mentality is sleep-walking the US and China to war?

Black Americans are facing two existential threats: the coronavirus pandemic and state violence. And, a recent exchange of cyberattacks between Iran and Israel, which included an attack on critical civilian infrastructure, is threatening to change the unofficial, but implicit agreement on the rules of engagement between these regional rivals. Also, a new collection from music producer and DJ, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, uses bird recordings collected during the coronavirus quarantine.

Today, The World explores the intersection of racism and health in this critical moment around the globe. And, as protests against police brutality continue across the world, many people are using social media to monitor events in real time, raising concerns about misinformation, conspiracy theories and outright false stories. Also, when Italy was hit hard by COVID-19 in February, researchers started looking into patients' brains. What they found was that there are neurological symptoms to the coronavirus.