The World

South America is seeing a record number of wildfires, and a smoky haze hung in the air in cities like São Paulo this week. The World's Carolyn Beeler reports from western Brazil, where climate change is fueling unprecedented flames in the Pantanal wetlands. Plus, video has emerged of North Korea's Kim Jong-un touring a uranium enrichment facility. Analysts say these images will help experts estimate with more accuracy how much nuclear capability North Korea has achieved. And a new book from Atlas Obscura compiles delightful stories of the living creatures whose behavior ranks right up there with the wonders of the world. 

Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air.

Authorities in Belarus have granted amnesty to several dozen political detainees in recent weeks. These are opposition figures, part of the movement that protested the reelection in 2020 of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko over his authoritarian domestic policies. We hear from a political adviser to the opposition about the prisoner releases, and the reaction in opposition communities in Belarus and in the diaspora. Also, a severe drought in southern Namibia has led to food shortages. So, the country's Ministry of Environment announced a controversial plan: to cull wildlife in order to feed people in urgent need of sustenance. Plus, an influential pastor in the Philippines was just arrested after a two-week standoff between police and his supporters. And, a bicyclist has broken a world record. Lael Wilcox just became the fastest woman to circumnavigate the globe by bike. 

Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air.

Mexico's Senate has just approved a controversial judicial reform; the country's judges will now be elected by popular vote. Protesters flooded the Senate floor to voice their objection to the reform. Also, Russia's use of drones supplied by Iran indicates that Russia is coordinating with Tehran significantly more closely than in the past — even the recent past. And, Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam has brought nonstop rain, and the resulting flooding and landslides have killed at least 64 people. 

Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air.

An Israeli strike on a humanitarian zone in southern Gaza left a giant crater in the ground where Palestinian families had been living in tents. We have an update on the latest news, as well as perspectives on loss of civilian life in Gaza, even in designated safe zones. Also, around a half a million people cross the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama every year in the hopes of reaching the United States. They leave behind untold volumes of waste. And all that pollution is threatening a local ecosystem. Plus, Australia has a plan to ban children from using social media entirely. We look at how that is expected to work and what the new policy aims to achieve.

Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air.

Ukrainian civilians, under relentless Russian bombing, are fleeing the key logistics and transit hub of Pokrovsk. A Ukrainian journalist explains why the fall of Pokrovsk might jeopardize Ukrainian control of the entire Donetsk region. Also, a housing shortage in Ireland is ranked the worst globally. We learn why. And, water shortages are driving discontent in Cuba and other Caribbean countries. Plus, a final wrap-up of the Paris Paralympics.

Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air.

The Israeli military has conducted intense operations in the occupied West Bank over the past 10 days, launching air and ground attacks, and leaving a trail of destruction. Also, France tries to redefine rape after a man in the south of the country went on trial for drugging his wife and then inviting dozens of men to rape her, over the course of nearly a decade. And, Europe grapples with a rise in xenophobia even though it’s in need of more foreign workers. Also, farmers in Kenya are breeding butterflies for export abroad. Plus, what is the sound of a glacier crying?

Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air.

Automakers like Volvo and Volkswagen are making big changes to their business models as demand fluctuates for electric vehicles. Also, the athletics community across East Africa mourns the death of Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who was reportedly killed by her partner. And, a discussion about euthanasia and how and when it’s used around the world. Plus, a collection of 1,984 copies of George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984" hopes to find a permanent home on the Scottish island where Orwell lived.

Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air.

A new report finds that Incompetence, dishonesty and greed led to the deaths of 72 people in the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in the UK. It also says the deaths were avoidable and blames several manufacturers and successive British governments. Also, the Pope is on a trip across Southeast Asia. And, the head of Lebanon's central bank has been arrested after more than a year of damning revelations of alleged financial crimes. Plus, a group of people in the Canary Islands is embracing a centuries-old language used to communicate across long distances: whistling.

Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air.

Three German states held elections this weekend, with the far-right AfD Party making big gains. Also, both major US presidential candidates say they oppose the proposed takeover of US Steel by Nippon Steel of Japan. But the CEO of US Steel and a majority of the company’s shareholders are in favor of the sale. And, a military partnership between Egypt and Somalia has Ethiopia alarmed. Plus, an online story about a hot new singles scene in a Spanish supermarket chain has exploded into a flirting frenzy in grocery stores across the country.

Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air.

For Labor Day, we have a special show with reprisals all focused on the theme of transportation — including getting around on foot. Thor Pedersen, a former UN soldier originally from Denmark, went on a decadelong adventure that took him to every country in the world. He never took an airplane. Also, research shows that flight turbulence has increased as climate change has warmed the planet. One researcher explains that the increase in bumpy flights could be caused by changes in wind speed at high altitudes due to warmer air from carbon emissions. And, lithium is in soaring global demand, because it’s used in electric car batteries. This is good news for the economy of Chile, which meets a third of the world’s lithium needs. Experts say there's a big financial opportunity for the region, but it comes at an environmental cost.