State of the World from NPR

Cambodia and neighboring Laos have become centers for stealing money via bogus investment opportunities, romance scams and other online cons. The U.S. Treasury Department says Americans were scammed for $10 billion dollars in 2024 alone and the worldwide estimate is four times that. Many countries have had enough. We hear about the consequences being forced on the scammers.

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It is a war for control over some of the world’s richest mineral reserves and the violence is heightened by long-standing ethnic and political tensions. In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, government forces and local militia groups are fighting M23 rebels backed by neighboring Rwanda.

This is one of the ...

According to the Gaza peace plan President Trump negotiated between Israel and Hamas, Palestinians will not be displaced from the territory. This is a pivot from Trump’s earlier position that Palestinians should leave and move to other countries. But powerful people in Israel’s government don’t like this change. We go to Israel’s parliament, where those who say Israel should...

It has been four years since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting a war the Kremlin believed would end in a matter of days with Ukraine capitulating. Now after years of death and destruction, the war grinds on with no end in sight as U.S.-sponsored peace talks appear to be at an impasse. NPR has correspondents in both Kyiv and Moscow and we hear from the...

In Mexico, chaos erupts after a major drug cartel leader is killed in a military raid. Armed men set fire to banks, businesses and vehicles in retaliation. We get the latest from Mexico.

And we meet the one of t...

According to the 20-point peace plan for Gaza brokered by President Trump, “No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return.” But while a border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has technically reopened, few people have been allowed to use it so far. We go to Gaza to meet some of the few people who have been able to return and they report a harrowing and...

President Trump announced billions of dollars to rebuild Gaza at the meeting of his newly created organization in Washington, D.C. Foreign policy experts try to define Trump’s vision of international affairs.


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Israel’s military says it’s planning a new barrier along the eastern border of the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank. Palestinian farmers and shepherds say existing walls and the construction of Jewish settlements are keeping them from reaching and working their fields.

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Kyiv residents venture onto the city’s frozen Dnipro River for a favorite past-time of ice fishing. The activity is a much-needed respite in Ukraine as the Russian invasion enters a fifth year.

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In Old Cairo, shoppers prepare for the holy month of Ramadan, a time of fasting and prayer. In Beijing, the Lunar New Year brings the Year of the Fire Horse, which represents action and risk-taking, but many people say they just want stability in this sluggish economy.

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Syria’s Jewish community fled the country’s repressive Assad regime. Now, a new government is encouraging their return by giving back ownership of synagogues and other property. Jane Arraf is there as one Jewish group turns the key on a synagogue’s door in the northern city of Aleppo.

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Cuba hasn’t received an oil shipment since December. The shortage has grounded air travel, and disrupted food production, hospitals and schools. Venezuelans stage open demonstrations in the streets that only weeks ago could have meant jail time.

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Ever since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, experts say Russia has stepped up its hybrid war on Western Europe. Attacks on critical infrastructure or using drones to shutdown airports are meant to undermine support for Ukraine. We go to Poland to see one such attack.

And in Kyiv, Ukrainians are getting through Russian attacks that have shut down the power grid in the c...

The United States has been conducting military operations in Syria for more than a decade. Their mission has been to attack ISIS militants and to protect Syrian oil fields. With ISIS weakened and a new government in Syria, the U.S. may pull out the troops it has stationed in Syria. But doing so might hurt some U.S. allies. We hear from NPR reporters who cover the Pentagon ...

While there has been political turmoil in the U.S. over the latest release of photos and emails in the “Epstein files”, the consequences in the U.K. have been more concrete. There, a prince had already been stripped of his title over his connections to the late accused sex trafficker. Now a member of the House of Lords has been forced to step down. We get the latest from Lo...