State of the World from NPR

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Street markets light up for Ramadan in Cairo and the Lunar New Year in Beijing Feb 16, 2026

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In Old Cairo, shoppers prepare for the holy month of Ramadan, a time of fasting and prayer. In Beijing, the Lunar New Year brings the Year of the Fire Horse, which represents action and risk-taking, but many people say they just want stability in this sluggish economy.
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Storied newspaper makes deep cuts, and closes many international bureaus Feb 13, 2026

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The Washington Post laid off most of its foreign correspondents, including some of the last American and Western journalists working in authoritarian countries.
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NATO coordinates an Arctic defense plan Feb 13, 2026

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NATO launches the mission in response to Russian and Chinese ambitions in the high North, and to President Trump’s threat of a U.S. takeover of Greenland. Japan’s last pair of giant pandas returns to China.
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Syria’s New Government Returns Property to Syrian Jews Who Left Decades Ago Feb 11, 2026

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Syria’s Jewish community fled the country’s repressive Assad regime. Now, a new government is encouraging their return by giving back ownership of synagogues and other property. Jane Arraf is there as one Jewish group turns the key on a synagogue’s door in the northern city of Aleppo.
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U.S. oil blockade roils life in Cuba. Venezuelans test new freedoms Feb 11, 2026

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Cuba hasn’t received an oil shipment since December. The shortage has grounded air travel, and disrupted food production, hospitals and schools. Venezuelans stage open demonstrations in the streets that only weeks ago could have meant jail time.
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The special phrase helping Cubans to get by Feb 09, 2026

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Cuba is in economic crisis. Its ally, Venezuela, is no longer sending oil, and the Trump administration is applying pressure. Life for Cubans is hard, but if they express their opinions they can get in a lot of trouble. So they’ve found other ways to tell you what they think, and a single phrase is doing a lot of the work. Our correspondent in Havana tells us what it is.
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What is the environmental impact of the Winter Olympics? Feb 06, 2026

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As the Winter Olympics get underway in Milan and across the Italian Alps, our correspondent looks back at a bold pledge made by the organizers: that these games would be sustainable. They said they would slash the event’s carbon footprint and protect sensitive mountain ecosystems. Environmental groups say that’s not what is happening.
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Russia’s Hybrid War on Europe Feb 05, 2026

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Ever since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, experts say Russia has stepped up its hybrid war on Western Europe. Attacks on critical infrastructure or using drones to shutdown airports are meant to undermine support for Ukraine. We go to Poland to see one such attack.

And in Kyiv, Ukrainians are getting through Russian attacks that have shut down the power grid in the coldest months by holding dance parties on ice.
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Will the U.S. withdraw military forces from Syria? Feb 04, 2026

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The United States has been conducting military operations in Syria for more than a decade. Their mission has been to attack ISIS militants and to protect Syrian oil fields. With ISIS weakened and a new government in Syria, the U.S. may pull out the troops it has stationed in Syria. But doing so might hurt some U.S. allies. We hear from NPR reporters who cover the Pentagon and the Middle East about what the move could mean.
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Fallout in the U.K. over the Epstein files Feb 03, 2026

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While there has been political turmoil in the U.S. over the latest release of photos and emails in the “Epstein files”, the consequences in the U.K. have been more concrete. There, a prince had already been stripped of his title over his connections to the late accused sex trafficker. Now a member of the House of Lords has been forced to step down. We get the latest from London.
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