Economics
Zimbabwe's stone sculptors struggle to keep carving
International art collectors purchased many of Zimbabwe's massive stone carvings. But buyers stopped coming in 2000 after conflict over land reform policies led to violence. Some sculptors are still trying to keep their art alive.
Microfinance was meant to help the world’s poor, but in Cambodia, it’s plunging people deeper into debt
‘This is not a peaceful country’: Violence and poverty soar in Costa Rica
Indian women do less paid work. It’s bad news for the economy.
The Liberian women who took on their traffickers and won
Liberia has been on and off the State Department's human trafficking watch list for years. In this desperately poor country, people accept jobs from agents to work as domestic servants in other countries. Usually, they are trapped, earning little money and subject to abuse. But several hundred Liberian women used social media to escape their traffickers in 2022.
New banking services tackle barriers faced by migrants
Some startups throughout the Americas are establishing loans geared towards migrants. Among them is Galgo, which helps migrants buy motorbikes in order to earn money with delivery apps like Uber Eats.
Is it time for Senegal to end its romance with the French baguette?
The war in Ukraine has interrupted the delivery of wheat to Senegal, and that’s shaking up a big part of that country's culture.
Women in Afghanistan are devastated by the Taliban’s ban on beauty salons
The Taliban have given all women’s beauty salons in Afghanistan one month to close down. The ultraconservative group, which took power by force in 2021, has consistently chipped away at women’s rights and freedoms in the country.
Sierra Leone elections: Familiar faces vie for voter trust as economy stagnates
Incumbent President Julius Maada Bio will face off against against main contender Samura Kamara on June 24. As the country prepares for this crucial election, voters are looking at issues like economic stagnation, corruption and national security.
‘Open lines of communication’ are crucial to improving relations with Beijing, Amb Nicholas Burns says
US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns was in the room this week when Secretary of State Antony Blinken sat down with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Amb. Burns spoke with The World’s Marco Werman about Taiwan, Ukraine and why US and Chinese military leaders have stopped talking to one another.
Raw materials, or sacred beings? Lithium extraction puts two worldviews into tension.
Lithium extraction in Bolivia poses more than environmental questions: It illustrates how notions about raw materials can be at odds with Indigenous relations with the land.
El Salvador's bitcoin experiment rides on choppy seas as currency fluctuates
The bitcoin cryptocurrency has seen its ups and downs lately, gaining and losing 10% of its value in just the past week. Nowhere is this volatility felt more intensely than in El Salvador, which became the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender in 2021.
Pandemic recovery will require much focus and attention, Dr. Atul Gawande says
The COVID-19 pandemic has killed about 7 million people worldwide, ravaging health care systems and economies. Dr. Atul Gawande, head of global health at the US Agency for International Development, spoke with The World's Carolyn Beeler about how pandemic recovery "will require as much focus and attention as it did when it first started."
Indian billionaire businessman Gautam Adani faces scrutiny
Indian businessman Gautam Adani is one of the world's wealthiest people. Now, his methods for acquiring the enormous wealth and close ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi are being investigated by India's Supreme Court.