Immerse yourself in the most compelling and consequential stories from around the globe. The world is changing in big ways every day. State of the World from NPR takes you where the news is happening — and explains why it matters. With bureaus spanning the globe, NPR reporters bring you facts and context from the ground so you can cut through the noise of disinformation. NPR's State of the World, a human perspective on global stories in just a few minutes, every weekday. Support public media by joining NPR+ at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/"target="_blank" >plus.npr.org</a>. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including sponsor-free listening for State of the World.

State of the World from NPR

Kherson is a city in southern Ukraine whose population numbered in the hundreds of thousands before Russia’s invasion of the country.  Just a fraction of those people live there today.
Russia occupied Kherson for a few months in the early days of the war and ever since Russian forces withdrew across the Dnipro River, the city has largely been under siege with frequent shelling and drone attacks.  But a limited ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine this past weekend gave residents of Kherson a break from fighting.  Allowing them to walk the streets and see friends again.
We go to a temporarily peaceful Kherson to hear how residents are living under the constant threat of bombing and drone attacks.

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We visit a Ukrainian city under siege

Many places in the Persian Gulf like Dubai, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, have spent decades modernizing and inviting investment from around the world. But that effort has been stymied by wars that have landed on their doorstep– including conflicts in Yemen and Iran.
We go to Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, to hear how these wars are threatening the kingdom’s plans for the future.  And we hear how other Gulf states are worried about the possibility of renewed attacks on Iran and the retaliation that could follow.
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Gulf Arab states struggle under the cloud of war

With his crooked cowboy hat, thick black beard and oversized belt buckles, Carín León looks every bit the macho Mexican superstar singer that he is. But beneath the swagger is a romantic with a talent for heartbreak. Proving that even the toughest hombres have a soft spot and a song for every wound.  We go to Leon’s hometown of Hermosillo, Sonora to meet the singer.
  
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A macho Mexican superstar sings songs full of emotion

Politician, activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado has returned to Venezuela. She led the opposition to authoritarian leader Nicholas Maduro and fled Venezuela in 2025 after more than a year in hiding.
This is Machado’s first time back in her country following the U.S. arrest of Maduro in January.  We hear how her presence is putting pressure on the U.S.-backed Venezuelan regime to hold elections.
And with this year’s ‘super El Nino’ expected to bring flash floods and landslides to Kenya, thousands of workers in Nairobi have been preparing. A youth employment group called the Green Army is clearing drainage systems and waterways to try and prevent flooding this winter. But there are tradeoffs to this large-scale cleanup effort.
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Venezuela’s popular opposition leader returns to the country

Israel has held an important election– its first since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks on that country.
The vote is a referendum on the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu who was in power when the attacks occurred and presided over the military responses that followed.  And so far, there is no clear winner.
With more than half the votes counted neither Netanyahu nor his center-right challenger Gadi Eisenkot have the majority needed to form a government.  We hear what happens now and an analysis of what it means.
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The Israeli election is deadlocked

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a very limited ceasefire to help a Ukrainian city that’s been under Russian occupation for nearly five years.  We hear about the horrific conditions residents have been living under in the city of Oleshky.
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Why Ukraine and Russia agreed to a ceasefire in just one city

We look at unexpected election results in different parts of the globe, in which the youth vote played a major role.
In Brazil, the leftist incumbent in his 80’s cinched a stunning come-from-behind win.  And in Serbia a student movement that emerged from years of anti-corruption protests toppled the long-time leader.
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Surprising election results in Brazil and Serbia

The Russia-Ukraine war is sometimes compared to the static, deadlocked, trench warfare of World War I.  
Yet it’s also been the defining conflict of the 21st century, dominated by drones that have created a so-called “kill zone” along the front line.  We hear about what the kill zone is like and what it means for the future of warfare.
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Drones make the Russia-Ukraine war front line a ‘kill zone’

Chinese manufacturers have not had it easy these past few years, with U.S. tariffs as well as the wars in Ukraine and Iran pushing up their costs and shrinking profits.  
But there is one sector that is thriving despite all of this, the manufacturers of this Chinese tile-game, called mahjong. It’s been trending in the U.S. and that has given a boost to one mahjong manufacturing hub.
We go to eastern China to understand the global implications of this trend.
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Why a game gaining popularity in the U.S. is giving Chinese factories a needed boost

In the Israeli occupied West Bank, dozens of Americans have been detained, including a politician running for Congress.  
Settler violence and detentions by the Israeli military have been on the rise for years in the Palestinian territory, which is occupied by Israel. But according to two Israeli lawyers, this is the largest mass detention of activists there in a decade. 
A team from NPR witnessed the detention of a group made up primarily of American and Israeli rabbis, activists and U.S. Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander. They had been helping Palestinian families harvest their olives to try to prevent attacks by Israeli settlers.
We hear from our reporter who witnessed the event and one of the American rabbis who was detained. 
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