World in Progress

Despite reaching retirement age, work never stops for civil servants in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Many civil servants are well past 70, sometimes even over 100 years old. They hold on to their jobs and their salaries. In Japan, some seniors also choose to continue working part-time jobs – to boost their pensions and because they believe it helps stave off dementia.

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Since the pandemic, hunger and poverty are even worse for most of the 6 million indigenous people in the country. Many children lost years of education and their future looks bleak. But there are also many who try to help.

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Education is key, but what if the education on offer doesn't take into account local languages or the students' needs? That's what a remote region in India is grappling with. And mobile teams in Kenya with a more hands-on approach want to help those who weren't able to get any formal schooling in rurual areas in the country's north.

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In South Korea, anti-feminism is on the rise as many young men feel they are losing out in society. And highly skilled Iranians leave in droves to get away from bleak economic and political prospects - to build a better future for themselves and their daughters.

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June 19th, or Juneteenth, is the day where the US commemorates the end of slavery. Dealing with the remnants of slavery is still an issue, even today. We visit Mount Vernon, home to first president George Washington, who held slaves. We also talk about today's ongoing racial profiling. The US Justice Department has just launched an investigation into Louisiana State Police.

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Lebanon's crisis has devastating effects on education: Many parents can no longer afford to pay for school fees, and more and more children have dropped out. Community health workers are important for people all over the world, especially in rural areas where doctors and nurses are few and far between. We hear from one brave woman in Zambia who's trying to make a change in people's lives.

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Argentina made history by becoming the largest Latin American country to legalize abortion. Although now legal, finding a doctor who is willing to perform the procedure is a different matter altogether. In other Latin American countries, the procedure is still banned outright.

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Does facial recognition really make our lives safer? And what about our right to privacy? In the US, a private company has already started compiling a huge database, pulling photos from Facebook and Instagram. In the UK images of customers entering stores are matched against a watchlist of registered shoplifters and rioters. And it goes far beyond just facial recognition.

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Mama Dschun was born in 1928 in the south of Iran. She witnessed the rise and fall of Persian rulers, lived through the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq war. She was deprived of an education by her father and was supposed to marry a cousin she was promised to when she was just a kid. But Mama Dschun survived it all and thrived.

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Refugees fleeing from the war in Ukraine run the risk of falling into the hands of human traffickers. RT (formerly known as Russia Today) has a huge influence on Latin America. And why Iraq's farmers are barely making a living anymore.

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