The World

An Israeli military strike on a media residence in Lebanon killed three journalists as they slept, and wounded several others. The Lebanese Information Minister called the strike “an assassination." Also, Major League Baseball draws star athletes from across the globe, with a whopping 28% of the players in the league this season born outside the country. As the Dodgers and the Yankees head to the World Series, there are a few international players — including a current superstar — who will be stepping up to bat. And, as Halloween approaches, we hear about the discovery of a previously unknown short story by the author of "Dracula." An amateur historian stumbled on the spooky tale, which had disappeared from public record for more than a century, in the archives of a Dublin library.

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People in the former Soviet republic of Georgia overwhelmingly seek membership in the European Union. But the EU has put those hopes on ice, accusing the government in Georgia of rolling back democratic freedoms. This weekend, Georgian voters head to the polls in a crucial election for the country, caught between pressures from Russia and Europe. Also, younger workers in Portugal are leaving the country in droves, with rising rents and falling wages pushing them out. The government introduced new tax breaks to try to reverse the trend. But it might be too little, too late, to halt brain drain in Portugal. And, a deadly attack took place on Wednesday in Turkey's capital at the headquarters of a Turkish aerospace and defense company.

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More than a year after the attack of Oct. 7, the Israeli military is still operating in the Gaza Strip. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel again this week, urging the Israeli government to find a way to end the war and bring the remaining hostages home. But it's not clear at this point what Israel's leaders are hoping to achieve. Also, Mexico's new president wants to address the problem of childhood obesity. She's going after junk food. And, the birth rate in Japan has fallen dramatically. The government is deeply concerned about what that means for the country's future, and its economy. But the government's incentives to Japanese families, aimed at encouraging them to have kids, don't seem to be working.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin's government is being squeezed by international sanctions, and he himself faces an arrest warrant for war crimes. But that isn't stopping Putin from hosting a summit this week. Among those invited to the BRICS gathering in Russia are the leaders of China, India and Turkey. Also, the United Nations is calling for an investigation into reports about the killing of dozens of Afghan migrants near Afghanistan's border with Iran. The Iranian ambassador to Afghanistan denied that the killings took place. And, years of war in Ukraine are weighing heavily on the minds of the country's youngest people. Children's books are helping some of them process what they're going through, or just offer a temporary escape.

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Whoever wins the November election will be inheriting an enormous foreign policy challenge in the Middle East. The most important US ally in the region — Israel — is fighting a multifront war with no end in sight. So, how would Kamala Harris and Donald Trump differ in the ways that they approach the region? Today, we speak with two foreign policy advisers on the Middle East, including one who's worked with Trump and the other with Harris. Also, Cuba just suffered its second blackout in less than 24 hours. There are numerous reasons for the crisis, but an aging power grid has been a problem for years. And, Jonquel Jones won the MVP for helping the New York Liberty capture its first-ever WNBA finals Sunday night in overtime. People in the Bahamas are celebrating, too. Jones left her home country as a teenager to pursue her basketball dreams in the US.

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Bangladesh has issued an arrest warrant for the country's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Also, a bespoke press is now focusing solely on Asian American literature to counter discrimination among that demographic. And, the FBI has announced charges against Ryan James Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder for Team Canada, for allegedly running a drug trafficking ring and being involved in the murders of four people. Plus, a walk along the demilitarized zone that divides the Korean Peninsula.

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The Israeli military says it has killed Hamas' leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. Also, the governor of La Rioja province in Argentina has put an alternate currency called "chachos" into circulation. And, Italy passes the most restrictive law against international surrogacy in the West. Plus, the US now has a new Arctic ambassador.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has outlined a five-point "victory plan" to his nation’s parliament. Also, Turkish authorities have revoked the license of independent radio station Açık Radyo — or Open Radio — taking it off the air today. And, the Dominican Republic has deported more than 10,000 Haitians in the last week, the first of many planned weekly deportations. Plus, a UK-based group is rewilding a herd of long-horned animals resembling cattle into the Scottish Highlands to fill the ecological role once played by an extinct wild ancestor of today's grazing livestock.

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Israel’s attack on a hospital complex in central Gaza, which led to a massive fire that killed at least four people and injured many more, has renewed calls for Israel to uphold international humanitarian law. Also, Canada has expelled India’s top diplomat in the country along with five others, with India responding in kind and expelling six Canadian diplomats. And, the first people to be intercepted at sea by the Italian navy under a controversial migration deal are on their way to Albania to have their asylum claims processed. Plus, 11 months after the National Zoo in Washington sent three pandas back to China, a new pair of bears has arrived. They’ll make their public debut in January.

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The United States has the highest number of international students in the world. Last year, the number of students who came to America were almost back to prepandemic levels at over 1 million. Many come in the hope of staying and living the American dream. But that's not so easy. On the flip side, some American students seek to expand their horizons by studying abroad. We hear about how going to school overseas can support working abroad. And, one US student shares his love for Japan and his desire to stay there in the long term.   

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