State of Ukraine

Syria's trying to emerge from a multi-layered financial crisis since opposition fighters toppled the regime late last year and formed a government. It's been given a boost by the US lifting most sanctions, but efforts are hampered by a lack of liquidity.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

EU foreign ministers meet ahead of Friday's Trump-Putin talks in Alaska, with Brussels insisting any peace deal must include Ukraine. And Al Jazeera's Anas al-Sharif was killed in an Israeli airstrike that also took out the broadcaster's crew in Gaza City.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Much of the attention on the world's plunging birth rate is on east Asian countries like Japan and South Korea. But Latin American countries, like Chile, are also seeing a decline in fertility. We go to Chile's capital to understand the personal decisions behind the countries plummeting birth rate trend.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A photo of an emaciated child in Gaza has gone viral, with many in Israel claiming it depicts false information. Our producer in Gaza meets the child and his family, we hear about how he is doing now and about the food insecurity many in Gaza are facing.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In Africa's most populous country more than a third of residents have no access to electricity. Even those connected to the nation's crumbling power grid cannot rely on it. And the situation isn't improving. We go to Nigeria to see how people cope with the lack of access to power.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A Palestinian activist who helped make the Oscar-winning documentary "No Other Land" was shot dead in a suspected Israeli settler attack in the occupied West Bank. We go to his community to hear about the man and the incident that lead to his death.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Trump Administration's worldwide tariff wars continue. A top priority for Trump has been resetting U.S. trade relations and earlier this year his administration had vowed “90 deals in 90 days”. But as the August 1st deadline came and went, what emerged wasn't a flurry of deals but a wave of new tariffs. We hear from reporters around the world about how countries are reacting to the news and what the impact could be.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

With anniversary of Jane Austen's birth approaching in December, her fans are donning gowns and tailcoats at costume balls across Britain.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The threat of 50% US tariffs on some goods have Brazilian growers and producers are on edge. Heavy metal hero Ozzy Osbourne has a hometown farewell in Birmingham, England.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump wants to bring shipbuilding back to the U.S. to counter China and boost American jobs. The ambitious goal will require rebuilding infrastructure and retraining a workforce. And in Paris, twenty years of discouraging car traffic and planting trees is yielding cleaner air and revitalized river banks and public spaces.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Mermaids, giants and huge eyes look up from the waters near Talamone, Italy. It's one fisherman's way of protecting fishing grounds from the damage of trawling nets. Artists' sculptures are sunk to the bottom of the Mediterranean sea along with concrete blocks to break the nets of the trawlers that devastate marine life.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Doctors warn that even with immediate food aid, the toll of malnutrition and starvation on children in Gaza may already be permanent. And we hear the Venezuelans deported from the U.S. to El Salvador describe beatings, sexual abuse, and near-total isolation inside the notorious CECOT mega prison.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A deepening hunger crisis is gripping Gaza, with more than 120 deaths from starvation reported — most of them children. As Gaza's humanitarian crisis deepens and ceasefire talks stall, French President Emmanuel Macron says his country will formally recognize a Palestinian state— becoming the first G7 nation to do so.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Israel warns Gazans that a visit to the sea could cost their lives, denying them a rare refuge and relief from heat. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Concedes to Protesters' Demand that Anti-Corruption Watchdogs Remain Independent.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The southern African nation's garment industry is being gutted by U.S. tariffs. And United Nations peacekeeping and UNICEF are amongst the agencies facing major cuts after a new U.S. funding rollback.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In Gaza, one of the last relatively safe zones is now under fire, as Israel expands its military ground operation into the central city of Deir al-Balah. And we visit the tiny desert village in Chile that fills with music for Fiesta de La Tirana.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Many injured in Gaza while seeking food at distribution sites are sent to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. NPR speaks with Dr. Nick Maynard, a British surgeon volunteering there.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

China has nearly cornered the market in rare earth minerals, which are a necessary component to much of our technology today. But China sources some of those rare earths and other heavy metals from neighboring Myanmar. And the ramped up in production there is causing downstream environmental concerns in Thailand. We go to Thailand to understand the issue.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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The U.S. once controlled the market on rare earth minerals, sought after for the production of cell phones, computers, electric and hybrid vehicles, and more. But in the last few decades, China has cornered that market and surpassed the US. We explore how.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

More families around the world are choosing to have fewer children or none all. Many countries, including the U.S., now face a rapidly aging population that could begin to shrink. We look at why this is happening and what it could mean for the future.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Clearing out a closet, attic or garage can be a chore. Old photographs, clothes and books can create clutter, or take up space that's sometimes needed for something else. But every so often, the heirlooms or mementos that you find retain some value: if that's emotional value, it can be hard to part with them. If it's financial, that can make it easier, as Willem Marx hoped it would be with his childhood stamp collection in London.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Millions of Syrians fled their country during the civil war that lasted more than a decade. Now the dictator has been deposed and the country is trying to recover. Many ex-pat Syrians, including a large number in Turkey, are looking at what they have left in Syria and deciding whether to return. This reporting was sponsored by the Pulitzer CenterLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Russia ratcheted up air attacks by drones and missiles on Ukraine this week. The increase comes as President Trump has expressed frustration at Russian President Vladimir Putin's seeming unwillingness to enter talks to end the war. Trump indicated the U.S. would resume shipments of weapons to Ukraine that had previously been suspended. Our correspondent in Kyiv gives us the latest.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Our correspondent goes back to Syria six months after the ouster of dictator Bashar Al-Assad to see the country's growing pains in its new era.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is 86 years-old and his political power is weakened following the short war with Israel. Our correspondent explores who, or what, could replace Khamenei upon his death.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A typewriter recently discovered in a basement in upstate New York holds important clues about the origins of Chinese computing. And brings up questions about language and culture.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the fertile central region, the fights between herders and farmers for land access has become violent. We go to one village where over 160 people were killed in what villagers say was an effort to drive them off their farms.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The reality of China's efforts to lead in two important tech sectors. In artificial intelligence, control of the data needed to train new models could dictate where the industry is able to expand fastest. And a price war in China's electric vehicle industry.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

An NPR journalist in Gaza describes his harrowing experience seeking food from a distribution site run by private American contractors. He found himself facing Israeli military fire, crowds fighting for rations, and masked thieves.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

With a shaky truce between Israel and Iran holding, activists say the Iranian government is hunting for people it suspects of collaborating with Israel. Iranian state media reports hundreds have been taken into custody in the last two weeks and some are fleeing into neighboring countries, including Turkey. We hear from some. And, during the air war with Israel, one young Iranian woman turned to Chat GPT for information and comfort.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Russia attacked Ukraine with over 500 drones and missiles over the weekend, it was the largest air assault since the Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine over three years ago. The barrage included targets in Western Ukraine, a region far from the front lines that doesn't often see bombardments. We get the latest from our correspondent in Kyiv.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ever since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the majority of western countries have been working to marginalize Russia by imposing sanctions and moving away from dependence on Russian oil. This week NATO announced most member countries would dramatically increase defense spending, a move they said was meant to counter threats posed by Russia. But Russia is eager to show it still has many partners around the globe and quash talk of a possible economic recession at home. Our correspondent takes us to an international conference in Saint Petersburg where the Russian government is putting it's best face forward.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As part of a broader crime wave in Peru that began during the COVID-19 pandemic, gangs have begun targeting private schools in poorer neighborhoods for extortion. We hear how administrators and parents are dealing with the threats. And in London's West End, you don't need a ticket to witness the soaring signature song for the musical Evita. It is performed nightly in the street. We attend a recent performance.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

NATO is wrapping up it's meeting and most members are pledging to increase defense spending to counter threats posed by Russia. Among the countries expanding their military is Germany, which is aiming to field the largest army in the European Union with massive investment. Our correspondent in Berlin shows us how Germany plans to accomplish that goal.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran on social media and the agreement was immediately tested. We'll hear the latest. And China has been watching developments in the war closely because gets much of its crude oil imports from Iran through a "dark fleet" of vessels to evade American sanctions.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The U.S. entered Israel's war against Iran over the weekend, dropping bombs and firing missiles on three Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities. We hear from some experts on whether they think the attacks were successful in damaging or destroying Iran's ability to make a nuclear weapon. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long had sights on attacking Iran but until recently that ambition seemed to be sidelined by President Trump. Now Netanyahu's basking in the moment after the U.S. joined in on the war against Iran. For more coverage of all sides of this conflict, go to npr.org/mideastupdates Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As Israel and Iran continue missile attacks against one another, we look at how countries in the Middle East are viewing the conflict. Whether that war could spread and if other powers in the region are bracing for a wider conflict. And we hear from some residents of Tehran weighing the decision of fleeing the Iranian capital as President Trump commanded or staying and taking their chances.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Though low tech, table top war games can give experts an understanding of how a real-world conflict could play out. With increased global instability there is increased demand for these exercises, even among those with access to classified information. We watch one such war game.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says Iran is "marching very quickly" toward a nuclear weapon. The U.S. intelligence community says Iran suspended its nuclear weapons program decades ago. We hear from two NPR correspondents who are watching this very closely to find out who is right.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The war between Israel and Iran shows no signs of slowing down. There were traffic jams in Tehran with people fleeing after President Trump suggested on social media everyone there evacuate. We talk to a longtime Iran analyst about where the war might go and what the U.S. role in the conflict might be. And we go to the neighboring countries in the region to see how people are reacting to missiles flying overhead. For more coverage of all sides of this conflict, go to npr.org/mideastupdates Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For days Israel has been attacking Iran with airstrikes, which they say is an effort to degrade Iran's nuclear capabilities. Iran has been responding by firing missiles at Israel. We'll hear what has been hit and what targets may be next. And we compare the two countries' ability to defend against these types of attacks.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy