The World

This year's Nobel Peace Prize has been announced: the honor goes to Nihon Hidankyo, a group of survivors of the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They united in 1956 to speak out about the suffering caused by nuclear warfare. We'll hear some of their stories. Also, a Ukrainian missile strike in Russian controlled territory last week killed several North Korean military officers, according to officials in Ukraine and South Korea. The Kremlin calls those reports "fake news." But we'll hear why experts who have been closely following Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion think it's plausible. And, Friday is the International Day of the Girl, so designated by the UN to address the particular challenges many girls face worldwide. We hear the story of a South Asian film called "Maya: Birth of a Superhero," bringing viewers into a virtual reality designed to alleviate the shame and isolation that accompany menstruation in some cultures.

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Iranians have been on edge, waiting for retaliation ever since Tehran attacked Israel with waves of ballistic missiles. Officials in Israel have hinted they might target Iran's gas or oil infrastructure. Or they might go even further. We'll hear how Iranians are viewing the standoff. Also, Argentina's president, Javier Milei, garnered votes by promising to fix his country's economy. But since he took office in December, the poverty rate has increased. He says it's just a rough patch; critics aren't so sure. And, hear about the musical collaboration behind a new Afrobeat album called "Lagos Paris London." 

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As Hurricane Milton nears Florida's west coast, the State Assistance Information Line has opened 24/7 phone lines in English, Spanish, and Haitian-Creole. Today on The World, how language and storm preparedness intersect for immigrant communities. Also, Turkey has blocked the instant messaging platform Discord. This comes amid public outrage over Discord users responding to the recent murder of two women in Istanbul by cheering on the violence. We'll get a better understanding of how Discord works, how people use it, and what's motivating Turkey's objections to it. And, have you ever wondered how an elephant's trunk works, and what that wrinkly pachyderm skin might have to do with it? Wonder no more.

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Israel is expanding its ground incursion into southern Lebanon and Israeli air strikes continue to target Beirut's southern suburbs. About a million Lebanese have been displaced in recent weeks and many in Lebanon are feeling abandoned by the international community. Also, British Canadian scientist Geoffrey Hinton has been called "the godfather of artificial intelligence" because his research laid the groundwork for advancements in AI. But that doesn't mean he's a proponent. In fact, he's known for speaking out about the dangers of the technologies he helped invent. We'll hear his reaction to Tuesday's announcement that he's won the 2024 Nobel Prize in physics. And, Tunisian President Kais Saied has claimed a second term in a landslide election that critics say was rigged, with his closest challenger getting only 7% of the vote. We'll get analysis on the state of Tunisian democracy, given that this largely predicted scenario has come to fruition.

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It's been one year since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that stunned the world. It forever changed the course of both large-scale global events and individual life stories. We'll step back and look at the impact of Oct. 7, 2023 — from the fate of the 100 Israeli hostages still unaccounted for, to the transformation of life in Gaza over the last 12 months. Also, during Argentina’s dictatorship, in the late 1970s, state terror led to the killing and disappearance of roughly 30,000. But since then, there's been an effort to hold those responsible to account, and memorials acknowledging the crimes of the past serve as constant reminders throughout the country. But Argentina’s new libertarian President Javier Milei is now closing government investigations into the crimes of the past and looking to roll back lawsuits that achieved justice for the victims of the dictators. And, housing prices are on the rise in Russia, and in big cities like Moscow, it's creating financial strain for people struggling to pay their bills. But the Russian government has taken aggressive action by creating subsidized programs to get more Russians into new homes. Just one catch: they have to be willing to move to the wilderness. We'll hear what it's like to do just that.

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Lebanon's facing a massive crisis right now. More than 2,000 people have been killed in the past two weeks amid Israel and Hezbollah's war. Also, with flights to Iran, Lebanon and Iraq canceled, many travelers are stranded in Turkey, a regional transit hub. Our reporter takes us to the scene, as we hear how people stuck-in-transit are thinking about the escalation of war in the Middle East, and how they're feeling about its impact on their lives. Also, Japan shut down all 54 of its nuclear reactors after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Only a dozen reactors have been restarted since then. The national government wants to more than double that figure by 2030, saying it’s essential to meeting energy and climate goals. But hurdles abound. And, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam just acquired a botany book by an author and illustrator named Maria Sibylla Merian, who was accused of exploiting native knowledge of enslaved people without credit. The German artist embarked on a self-funded voyage to Suriname in 1699 as a 52-year-old divorcee driven by relentless curiosity about the lives of insects. 

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While the eyes of the world are focused on Israel's invasion of Lebanon and war against Hezbollah, we have the latest from Gaza. It's almost a year since Hamas militants attacked several sites in Israel and the start of the persistent strikes on Gaza. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, and there's increasing concern about humanitarian needs of the people. Also, Taiwan has been hit by heavy rains as Typhoon Krathon hits the island. The storm has shut down the country, and there are reports of casualties. We have the latest from Taiwan. And, hurling is a popular national sport in Ireland. It's played with a ball and sticks that are made from ash trees. But a disease has decimated the numbers of ash trees. Now, there could be an alterative solution — bamboo.

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Hunger in Haiti is reaching famine levels. Nearly 6,000 people in Haiti are starving, with nearly half the country's population of more than 11 million people experiencing crisis levels of hunger or worse as gang violence smothers life in the capital of Port-au-Prince and beyond. Also, Israel and Iran continue trading threats in the wake of Iran's missile attack. Meanwhile, Israeli forces and members of Hezbollah are battling on the ground in southern Lebanon. Israel announced the death of one soldier. Palestinian officials say 51 people were killed in an Israeli strike there. And, Argentines battle over the future of higher education. Students and teachers are holding a general strike this week to protest massive budget cuts. And Argentine President Javier Milei has vowed to veto a new congressional bill that would fund university budgets over the next year.

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Iran has launched a barrage of missiles at Israel. The attack comes just days after the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of Hezbollah. Israelis are being warned to shelter in place. We have the latest updates on that story. Also, Mexico inaugurates a new president. Claudia Sheinbaum is the first woman to hold the country's highest office. She's promised to carry out the vision of her predecessor, but she also has an opportunity to build a legacy of her own. And, music producer Joe Boyd has worked with a long list of big-name acts: Pink Floyd, R.E.M., and many more. In his new book, he charts the interconnectedness of music, around the world and across generations. 

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Israel's attacks in Lebanon escalated over the weekend, beginning with Friday's strike that shook south Beirut, killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Sources say that a ground operation may be imminent. We get the latest on those developments and their implications within the region and beyond. Also, Hurricane Helene has brought massive devastation to the southeastern United States. Part of what people there are struggling with is the fallout from mudslides linked to deforestation. This is something we're seeing more and more, not just with Hurricane Helene but in flooding events worldwide. And, in Sweden, an ancient language that's a remnant of Old Norse sounds nothing like the modern Swedish language. But there's been a grassroots effort to save the language, spoken today by only an estimated 2,500 people. This week marks a milestone in that effort: the publication of the first-ever book of Elfdalian grammar written in English.

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