Accessibility links
World News and International Headlines NPR world news, international art and culture, world business and financial markets, world economy, and global trends in health, science and technology. Subscribe to the World Story of the Day podcast and RSS feed.

NPRWorld

Many Stories, One World

Tuesday

Israel will invade Gaza's Rafah 'with or without' a hostage deal, Netanyahu says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel will enter Rafah, the city in southern Gaza where more than a million displaced Palestinians have taken shelter, "with or without a deal" to free the remaining hostages. Leo Correa/Pool/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Leo Correa/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

Israel will invade Gaza's Rafah 'with or without' a hostage deal, Netanyahu says

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the vow Tuesday amid the negotiations mediated by Egypt that seek to reach a cease-fire deal that could see the release of some or all of the remaining hostages.

World Court refuses to ask Germany to stop Israel weapons exports

The UN's highest court has declined to order Germany to end its military aid to Israel, finding there was as yet not enough evidence for the court to compel Germany to chance its policies.

World Court refuses to ask Germany to stop Israel weapons exports

Listen · 1:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1248246851/1248246852" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A proposed Russia-style 'foreign agents' law sparks protests in country of Georgia

A controversial draft bill in the small former Soviet republic of Georgia's parliament targets the country's civil society. Critics say the bill shows Kremlin influence.

A proposed Russia-style 'foreign agents' law sparks protests in country of Georgia

Listen · 4:16
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1248246830/1248246831" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Middle East

The story of an Israeli businessman and a Palestinian tailor in Gaza

Two men were in business together until Oct. 7. The Israeli looks forward to a day when that trade will resume, while the Palestinian hopes he'll survive a war in which he has lost everything.

The story of an Israeli businessman and a Palestinian tailor in Gaza

Listen · 3:48
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1248246844/1248246845" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Culture

Iranian rapper receives death sentence for songs criticizing the establishment

In Iran, popular rapper Toomaj Salehi, whose fiery lyrics helped galvanize an anti-government movement among young people, has been sentenced to death. He was charged with "corruption on earth."

Iranian rapper receives death sentence for songs criticizing the establishment

Listen · 3:40
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1248245576/1248246895" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A freed Israeli hostage waits with hope for her husband, still held by Hamas in Gaza

Aviva Siegel, who was held hostage in Gaza for 51 days, and whose husband Keith remains in Hamas captivity, spends time with her eight-year-old granddaughter Yali Tiv at her daughter's home on Kibbutz Gazit on March 26. Aviva has been staying with her daughter in northern Israel since being released in November. Tamir Kalifa for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Tamir Kalifa for NPR

The Picture Show

A freed Israeli hostage waits with hope for her husband, still held by Hamas in Gaza

Aviva Siegel, 63, was taken hostage by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, along with her husband Keith. She was released after 51 days, but he was not. On Saturday, Hamas released a video showing Keith alive.

An Agonizing Choice: Whether to Flee Southern Gaza Ahead of Assault

On Monday a morgue in Rafah filled up with the bodies of 25 people killed in Israeli airstrikes. Hospital records show 15 of them women and children. Anas Baba for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Anas Baba for NPR

State of the World from NPR

An Agonizing Choice: Whether to Flee Southern Gaza Ahead of Assault

Israel has been public with it's plan to conduct an assault on the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza, absent a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Such a military operation could be catastrophic for more than a million Palestinian civilians there, many having fled there from fighting elsewhere in Gaza. We hear the voices of people who are weighing the risks of staying and wondering where they can go.

An Agonizing Choice: Whether to Flee Southern Gaza Ahead of Assault

Listen · 5:04
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1196980659/1248221715" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
A top U.N. court won't order Germany to halt weapons exports to Israel

Presiding judge Nawaf Salam (fourth from left) arrives to read a decision at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday. Peter Dejong/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Peter Dejong/AP

Middle East crisis — explained

A top U.N. court won't order Germany to halt weapons exports to Israel

Nicaragua brought the case arguing that by providing arms to Israel, Germany is failing to prevent possible genocide against Palestinians in Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.

Donkeys take center stage at an annual festival in Colombia

A donkey's owner makes last-minute adjustments ahead of the costume competition at the annual Donkey Festival in San Antero. Andrés Ríos for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Andrés Ríos for NPR

Donkeys take center stage at an annual festival in Colombia

Every year, the town of San Antero celebrates the hardworking pack animals that haul crops and supplies for farmers who can't afford trucks or motorcycles. There's even a donkey beauty pageant.

Donkeys take center stage at an annual festival in Colombia

Listen · 3:53
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1247784105/1247800349" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
As pro-Palestinian protests spread, more university leaders weigh police involvement

An Atlanta police officer takes down tents on the campus of Emory University after a pro-Palestinian demonstration Thursday in Atlanta. Mike Stewart/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Mike Stewart/AP

Campus protests over the Gaza war

As pro-Palestinian protests spread, more university leaders weigh police involvement

As college administrators face growing unrest on campuses, a growing number are grappling with whether to bring in law enforcement to quell the demonstrations.

As pro-Palestinian protests spread, more university leaders weigh police involvement

Listen · 4:42
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1247629479/1248014502" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A U.S. diplomat tells NPR why she resigned in protest over the policy in Gaza

A Palestinian man walks on building rubble in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on April 22. AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

A U.S. diplomat tells NPR why she resigned in protest over the policy in Gaza

As protests against the U.S. policy in Gaza unfold on college campuses across the country, the State Department is facing its own protests too.

A U.S. diplomat tells NPR why she resigned in protest over the policy in Gaza

Listen · 6:16
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1247952972/1247983010" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Mexico is taking Ecuador to the top U.N. court over storming of the Mexican Embassy

Police attempt to break into the Mexican embassy in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, April 5, 2024, following Mexico's granting of asylum to former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, who had sought refuge there. Dolores Ochoa/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Dolores Ochoa/AP

The Americas

Mexico is taking Ecuador to the top U.N. court over storming of the Mexican Embassy

Mexico is taking Ecuador to the top U.N. court Tuesday, accusing the nation of violating international law by storming the Mexican Embassy in Quito.

Gérard Depardieu will be tried for alleged sexual assaults on a film set

Actor Gerard Depardieu addresses the media during the press conference for the film 'Saint Amour' at the 2016 Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. Axel Schmidt/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Axel Schmidt/AP

Europe

Gérard Depardieu will be tried for alleged sexual assaults on a film set

French actor Gérard Depardieu will face a criminal trial in October over the alleged sexual assaults in 2021 of two women on the set of a film, prosecutors announced Monday.

Monday

History

This ancient amber in Lebanon offers a glimpse into Earth's history

Lebanon offers a glimpse into history, with a treasure trove of specimens that have been sealed away for millennia in ancient amber.

This ancient amber in Lebanon offers a glimpse into Earth's history

Listen · 7:48
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1247936384/1247936385" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript