The World

A group of Tibetan Buddhist monks, living in exile in India, are doing a “sacred arts tour” this month in the US. They’re demonstrating an ancient artistic and spiritual practice, creating big, colorful sand mandalas. They say Buddhist traditions like this are under threat because of Chinese government policies in their historic homeland of Tibet.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sent energy costs surging, European leaders scrambling for alternative suppliers of gas, and redirected flows of Russian oil toward Asia. Some European countries also burned more coal in response to the energy shock. But the most transformational long-term change will be in increased investments in renewable energy, according to International Energy Agency chief energy economist Tim Gould.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine upended energy markets and sent prices through the roof. As Europe weaned itself off of Russian fuels, it turned to Norway. The country is now the largest exporter of natural gas to Europe.

​​​​​​​Tensions have escalated between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The neighboring countries are now in a serious dispute over water rights. The Dominican government sealed the border and stopped issuing visas to all Haitian citizens until the dispute is resolved. 

Since the Yemen war began in 2014, Western journalists have been telling the world about the fighting, the human toll and the geopolitical underpinnings of the conflict. Many reports, even today, contain no Yemeni perspective. A new project is inviting Yemenis from across the country and in the diaspora to talk about their own experiences of war and daily lives. Host Marco Werman speaks with Nuha Al-Junaid, the Yemeni woman coordinating The Yemen Listening Project.

Faculty and students who are opposed argue that the move puts the state's flagship university at risk of offering a subpar education, especially in terms of producing graduates who can compete in the international workforce.

​​​​​​​In Hamburg, Germany, an international tribunal makes rulings on the UN’s Law of the Sea, which deals with marine territorial rights and navigation, and requires states to prevent and control marine pollution. This week, a coalition of small island states is asking the court to rule on an unusual case: that greenhouse gas pollution is covered under this law of the sea. 

​​​​​​​Some years back, an American in Spain became homeless after a string of bad luck. Now, he’s helping others who’ve hit a similar rough spot. Especially other foreigners with an entrepreneurial spirit.

Five decades after the 1973 coup in Chile that toppled the government of Salvador Allende and brought General Augusto Pinochet to power with help from the US, people in Chile are deeply divided about what the coup anniversary means today.

​​​​​​​Supporters of newly elected Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo say that the nation’s courts have long favored the elites including some former military members. But now under Arévalo, whose victory is under dispute, they say that they hope for change, including for the victims of war crimes committed during Guatemala’s civil war.