A recent shortage of rice on supermarket shelves in Japan has been pinned on the large number of tourists visiting the country as well as hot weather exacerbated by climate change. But farmers and agricultural analysts say there’s something else at play — a decades-old government program that pays farmers not to plant rice.

In the aftermath of the 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, photographer Rania Matar captured images of families whose homes were destroyed. Among her photos was one of a little girl she named Barbie Girl. Matar never saw her again until late last month, when Israel prepared to invade Lebanon once again, and she posted the image on her Instagram page.

Germany’s dachshund clubs say a new animal protection law could effectively outlaw their beloved sausage dog, whose long body and short legs can cause painful spine problems. Farmers are outraged with proposals in the law for how they should raise their livestock. Now, a culture war is brewing in Germany’s cities and hinterlands, with dachshunds, cows and their humans as unlikely standard-bearers. 

Almost a year into Israel’s campaign to eradicate Hamas in Gaza, life there continues to be dire. Some 42,000 have been killed, according to health officials, and those who have survived lack basic necessities like shelter, food and clean water. Health care and humanitarian workers say they struggle to provide care in the face of daily Israeli bombardments and red tape.

In host Marco Werman’s latest conversation with National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek, Salopek arrives at the shores of Incheon in South Korea. He explores an old fort there connected to the US invasion of South Korea in 1871 — a history largely unknown by many in the US and one that impacted the Korean Peninsula’s history for decades to follow.