The World

Hamas took over 250 hostages from Israel on Oct. 7, including 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin. His parents, Rachel Goldberg and John Polin, have become high-profile advocates for bringing Israeli hostages home from Gaza. We hear from Hersh’s parents in an interview with “Israel Story,” a radio show and podcast in Tel Aviv.

Israel has signaled that it's planning to expand operations in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza. About a million Palestinians are crammed into the city near the Egyptian border after repeatedly being told to move south, and now they say they have nowhere left to flee. The World’s host Carolyn Beeler speaks to Yousef Hammash, who works with the aid group the Norwegian Refugee Council, and moved there months ago with this family.

In El Salvador, the official results of Sunday’s presidential elections are still not in, but that didn’t stop President Nayib Bukele from declaring victory on social media — and he looks slated to win. He was up for reelection, in a country that doesn't allow reelection in its constitution. Bukele is extraordinarily popular. But many say the future is concerning.

The town of Pazarcık and its surrounding villages were devastated during the earthquakes in Turkey last year. Displaced survivors are spending the winter in tents and containers. They say aid is limited and they've been overlooked by the government, due to their cultural identity. 

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have all experienced military coups in the past few years. They say the regional trade organization is not helping them fight terrorism but rather imposing severe sanctions on them. Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman reports from Ghana on the implications of their withdrawals.

In the months since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, Iran has increased its cyber-hacking operations, according to Gil Messing, the chief of staff at Tel Aviv-based Check Point Software. The “Click Here” podcast talks to Messing about the latest.

In Colombia, one company is introducing visitors to the city of Medellín by taking them around on wheelchairs that are pulled by electric handbikes and can reach speeds of about 25 mph. The tours are led by people with disabilities and are part of a broader effort to make the city more accessible to all, led by a very persistent businessman. Manuel Rueda reports.

​​​​​​​Over the course of nearly two years Russia has committed countless violations, crimes, and atrocities in Ukraine. However, as of now, the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for only one crime of “deportation of children from Ukrainian occupied territories into the Russian Federation.” The issue of kidnapping Ukrainian children is ongoing, as thousands of kids are still in Russia, separated from their families and their homes.

The Haitian population of Miami has remained unchanged since the beginning of the century, with about 30,000 people. But little remains of the neighborhood that Maria and Viter Juste founded in the 1970s that came to be known as Little Haiti.

Venezuela has been ramping up nationalist propaganda campaigns as a border dispute intensifies over Essequibo, a remote region that is rich in oil and gold. The push to take it over began in early December with a referendum asking voters if this territory should be turned into a Venezuelan state. Manuel Rueda reports from Caracas on how this issue plays into upcoming presidential elections in Venezuela.