The World

Indonesia is set to inaugurate Nusantara as its new capital this weekend. It will replace the current capital, Jakarta, which has a population of about 30 million people and is beginning to slowly sink into the sea. Also, two days of ceasefire negotiations over the war in Gaza wrapped up today with the participants planning to reconvene next week in Cairo, Egypt. And, a new study reveals that islands in the Scottish Hebrides may be the only place on Earth to have a detailed record of how the Earth entered into a deep Ice Age hundreds of millions of years ago. Plus, Iranian-Israeli singer Liraz Charhi releases a new song calling on people across the Middle East to talk to each other more.

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Mohammad Shabani's suicide note is analyzed by a handwriting expert and Fariba Nawa gets the results. She follows the ripple effects of the new information, and Mohammad's best friend tries to make sense of what it means.

The World Health Organization has declared the mpox outbreak on the African continent to be “a public health emergency of international concern.” Following the recording of Sweden’s first case of a new variant of mpox, there is a race to get vaccines into the arms of the most vulnerable Africans. Also, highly anticipated negotiations are underway in Qatar to broker a ceasefire in Gaza. And, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found that Ukraine was responsible for the 2022 sabotage of the Nordstream pipelines in the Baltic Sea that was initially blamed by many on Russia. Plus, a 16th-century-old privately owned Turkish bathhouse goes on sale for $2 million.

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The Biden administration is flooding the zone in the Middle East with high-level diplomats ahead of a key meeting on Thursday. Getting a ceasefire for Gaza is the immediate goal. But this is also about bringing down the temperature in a region that's on edge after Israel assassinated two top leaders from Hezbollah and Hamas. Also, the British prime minister has vowed to come down hard on rioters involved in violent far-right protests in the UK last week. Some offenders have already been sentenced to time in prison. But British prisons are already at 99% capacity. And, German authorities issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian national named Volodymyr Z. His last name is protected by Germany privacy law, but he's a suspect in the explosions that destroyed the natural gas pipeline running beneath the Baltic Sea. 

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The Ukrainian military has invaded Russia's Kursk region. The incursion has prompted the Russian military to pull some of its troops out of eastern Ukraine to defend itself. Host Marco Werman speaks with Wall Street Journal reporter Yaroslav Trofimov about what's happening on the ground inside of Kursk and how Russian officials and citizens are reacting. Also, the humanitarian situation in Sudan has reached a breaking point. That's especially true in parts of Darfur, which might be experiencing famine, according to the latest report by international experts at the Famine Review Committee. As The World's Halima Gikandi reports, each side of the conflict blames the other for the bleak conditions. And, wrapping up our Olympics coverage: The International Olympic Committee and France tried to minimize the environmental impact of the 2024 Summer Games, foregoing air conditioning, creating a greener Olympics Village — even cleaning up the Seine. But climate change calls the future of the Olympics themselves into question. The World's Gerry Hadden brings us the story.

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Greece is on fire. About half of the country is on red alert, after dozens of fires broke out — including several close to the capital, Athens. A prolonged drought and soaring summer temperatures are making it hard for authorities to contain the blazes. Also, Russian leader Vladimir Putin is threatening to restart production of intermediate range nuclear weapons. This is in response to plans by the US to position long-range missiles in Germany. And, we have a wrap-up on the Olympics in Paris, where the closing ceremony and final events took place on Sunday.

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Russian strikes in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region have killed around a dozen people and injured 37 others. It comes as Ukraine's incursion into Russian territory continues into its fourth day. Also, Japan Meteorological Agency has issued its first-ever advisory warning of the risk of a huge earthquake along the Pacific coast to help focus people on earthquake readiness. And, with tensions high across the Middle East, we talk to people in Israel, Lebanon and Iran as they face the possibility of a full-blown war. Plus, dark skies are getting harder to find, but some places, like in Denmark, are are now trying to protect their dark nighttime skies by fighting light pollution.

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Episode 9 is almost ready. But not quite.

Authorities in Austria have canceled a series of Taylor Swift shows after learning of an alleged ISIS plot to attack the music venues along her much-hyped Eras Tour. Also, after preparing themselves for an evening of violent far-right protests, police in the UK encountered peaceful anti-racism rallies overnight. And, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been sworn in as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government. Plus, thousands of bagpipe enthusiasts have gathered for the annual bagpipe festival in a village in Bulgaria.

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Hamas has a new leader, Yahya Sinwar, who is said to be one of the main planners of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Also, US Ambassador Rahm Emmanuel will skip the ceremony in Japan this week that remembers the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, because of a decision by Tokyo to exclude Israel. And, China agrees to crack down on some precursor chemicals used by cartels to make fentanyl. Plus, young musicians from South America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East convene at New York City's Carnegie Hall for World Orchestra Week.

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