The World

After more than 700 uninterrupted years of boys-only belting, Spain’s La Escolania de Montserrat Choir is finally mixing things up. Beginning this September, a select group of girls will be allowed to join the boys at the altar, singing the liturgy at Saturday afternoon and Sunday masses. Choir organizers are calling it a revolution.

More than 20,000 Japanese Canadians were forced from their homes during World War II. They were incarcerated, while, back home, much of their property was forcibly sold by the government. Redress came 44 years later, but much of what was lost is gone forever.

The culinary contributions of Taiwan are often overshadowed by other cuisine from the region, especially China. Now, a new cookbook highlights some of the ingredients and flavors that make Taiwanese cooking unique.

Moroccans continue digging out victims from this month’s 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the Atlas Mountains. The death toll now stands at nearly 3,000 people. Many more have been left homeless. Morocco’s government has so far only accepted aid from a handful of countries, but Moroccans overseas are stepping up. In Spain, they’re collecting supplies to send to victims, but it isn’t always easy.

Despite prevailing narratives of coral bleaching and decline, the reefs of American Samoa have been particularly resilient to warming temperatures that have laid waste to other corals. Scientists there are finding out why, and looking for ways to use this knowledge to help reefs in other parts of the world.

Pope Francis recently praised Russian historical figures in a speech to Russian youth. To members of Ukraine’s Greek Catholic community, these comments were deemed "painful" amid the ongoing war with Russia, and put a spotlight on their needs and concerns.

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.