State of the World from NPR

Russia’s war in Ukraine has raised tensions not only in Europe, but also in Asia. Ties between Russia and neighboring Japan are at their worst in decades. Tokyo would like more support from Washington, but as we hear, some Japanese are concerned they may not get it.

And ancient Egyptian mummies were once used as medicine. But why? Chemists are trying to find out what it was in the mummification process that had medicinal properties.

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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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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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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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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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