The World

Japan's central bank has raised interest rates for the first time in 17 years. It's a milestone in a long economic recovery and sign of something afoot in the Japanese economy. And, from "Stories From The Stage," Eson Kim tells a tale about how she was held up at gunpoint with her dad in the family's hardware store when she was 12 years old. What happened next forever changed her. Also, all but one of the 100 cities with the world’s worst air pollution last year were in Asia, according to a new report from IQAir. Climate change is playing a pivotal role in bad air quality that is risking the health of billions of people worldwide. Plus, the earliest Japanese inventor of karaoke dies at age 100.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed a landslide victory in the country's elections held over the weekend, which means another 6 years in the Kremlin. According to the Russian election commission, Putin won 87% of the vote, but most Western countries have said that the elections were neither free nor fair. And, US troops are being asked to leave Niger after the government there revoked a security accord with the United States. There are about 1,000 American troops in Niger working to stabilize the West African nation and fight militants operating in the region. Also, the Sunflower Movement in Taiwan was a student-led grassroots movement that, 10 years ago, stopped the rushed passage of a bill that would have tied the island closer to China. It is credited with changing Taiwan's political direction. Plus, 90-year-old jazz legend Abdullah Ibrahim heads out on a world tour.

The pandemic has been a global trauma with a silver lining of immense scientific and medical development. Michael Mina, a physician-scientist who spent the pandemic focused on immunology and epidemiology at Harvard University, tells us where the world is now and how prepared we are for the future. And, Russian American director Michael Lockshin began his film adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic novel, "Master and Margarita," before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Moscow. Now that it’s finally been released, Russians are crowding theaters to watch the cinematic send-up of state tyranny and it's hitting even closer to home. Also, Since Oct. 7, there has been an increase in violent settler activity across the West Bank, with more 260 Palestinians killed. There are also accusations of an increasingly blurred line between settlers and military forces. Plus, Berlin's techno scene is now on UNESCO's cultural heritage list.

As part of the effort to get more food and water into Gaza, the Jordanian Air Force is conducting air drops into the beleaguered territory. The World's Shirin Jaafari travels along on one of the flights to see what the logistics are like and what the air force thinks about delivering aid. And, French far-right groups say superstar Aya Nakamura is not the right performer for the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics this summer. Also, Russian President Vladimir Putin is looking to secure his fifth term in office; he's been in power as president or prime minister since 1999. Yet, some Russians are still trying to monitor the elections to point out irregularities and falsifications. Plus, Britain expands its definition of extremism.

Across northeastern Syria, makeshift refineries are a major source of income for local residents who have endured more than a decade of conflict. But this critical resource is also making people sick and destroying the environment. And, US and Caribbean officials have reportedly told Haitian leaders they have 24 hours to name a transitional council that will appoint a new Haitian prime minister. US State Department deputy spokesperson, Vedant Patel, talks about US policy options in Haiti and Gaza. Also, in Germany on Wednesday, a court is weighing whether to remove the far-right party Alternative for Germany's designation as a suspected far-right extremist organization by the country's spy agency, the BfV, or the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Plus, a remembrance of Egyptian musician Zakaria Ibrahim.

Ariel Henry, Haiti’s besieged prime minister, has agreed to resign once a transitional presidential council is installed. We hear how gang violence in the capital has made Port-au-Prince increasingly unsafe. And, the US House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill that would force Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a US ban. Also, Since Oct. 7, 2023, Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank have been barred from working in Israel. Tens of thousands in the West Bank who were doing building or agricultural jobs are out of work, and it's drastically impacting their daily lives and the lives of many shopkeepers as people tighten their belts. Plus, can endangered languages be saved? A new book has the answer.

Cyclists on the Gaza Sunbirds team have always dreamed of competing on the global stage at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. But amid the Israel-Hamas war, the athletes have pivoted to delivering food to community members in need. And, a new study says salmon populations produced in countries such as Norway, the UK and Canada are dying in large numbers. Warming waters and disease are seen as the main culprits for the depletion of farmed salmon. Also, in northwest Nigeria's Kaduna state, gunmen recently stormed into a rural town, rounded up 287 children and kidnapped them to a nearby forest. The circumstances differ from four day ago when Islamist militants kidnapped about 200 women and children elsewhere in Nigeria's rural north. We hear what's behind the most recent kidnapping and what it means for state security. Plus, the sound of "The Society of Snow."

Ten years ago Friday, flight MH370 took off from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, carrying 239 people headed to Beijing. During the flight, the plane changed course, turning south toward the Indian Ocean. Its transponder was turned off midflight and was never heard from again. But their families never stopped searching. And, celebrated Japanese manga creator, Akira Toriyama, has died at the age of 68 in Japan. He's best known as the creator of the "Dragon Ball Z" series, which was adapted for TV in the 1990s. Also, the International Criminal Court has been using an old resolution from the UN Security Council on the Darfur region in Sudan in 2005, to investigate ongoing atrocities in the current conflict there. US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Schaack confirms that the United States is supporting the ICC investigation. Plus, Saudi Arabia on foot.

On March 8, International Women's Day, voters in Ireland will decide if they want to replace a clause in the constitution that deems a "woman's place is in the home." The Irish government has proposed new wording that recognizes the value of the provision of care in the home "by members of a family." And, military regimes in the West African nations of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso recently severed ties from the regional alliance known as the Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS. Now, their militaries are uniting in an effort to jointly fight Islamist militants. Also, in part four of a yearlong investigative report on children's homes in Uganda by The World's Halima Gikandi, we hear about the tale of two different homes. Foodstep Uganda operates without approval using funds from many American donors; Ekisa Ministries has a different approach. Plus, would you relocate to a Scottish island for the princely sum of $190,000 a year?

Ukrainian American pastor Alex Zaytsev helped his parishioners evacuate from the strategic town of Avdiivka before it fell to Russian forces last month. They sought safety 40 miles east in Pokrovsk, but he says their new home is no longer safe. And, a United Nations team this week said it found convincing evidence that some hostages taken into Gaza on Oct. 7 were subjected to sexual violence, as well as hostages in captivity. Israelis are preparing for the worst, including the possibility that some of the female hostages may be pregnant. Also, Noah's Ark Children's Ministry Uganda was founded by a Dutch missionary couple 20 years ago. Reporter Halima Gikandi's yearlong investigation into children's homes in Uganda found several allegations of abuse and misconduct going back a decade. Plus, Colin Firth's shirt is sold at auction.