Conflict

‘Patriots’: A play about 1990s Russia debuts on Broadway

Conflict

The intersection of billionaires and politics is the topic of a new play, “Patriots,” by Peter Morgan, the writer of “The Crown.” And like that Netflix series, it’s based on real characters.

US urges restraint and deescalation as Israel and Iran trade attacks

Israel-Hamas war

US National Security Council spokesman on heightened tensions between Iran and Israel: ‘We don’t want to see this conflict widen and deepen’

Israel-Hamas war

‘Sacred refuge:’ This cultural center provides a safe space for Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem

Israel-Hamas war

‘I have to work to help my family’: Child laborers in Raqqa face dangerous conditions

Syria dispatches
Rows of people kneeling in prayer

Tens of thousands attend Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem

Israel-Hamas war

On April 5, the final Friday in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan this year — a special time for Muslims worldwide — more than 3,500 Israeli police were deployed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Here, an estimated 57,000 Muslims attended Friday prayers. 

man in front of bookcase

Sharing the national burden in Israel

Israel-Hamas war

In Israel, most Jewish men are drafted into three years of military service soon after they graduate from high school. Jewish women serve two-year stints. The ultra-Orthodox community has been exempt. But this is beginning to change. Israel’s Supreme Court just ruled that religious seminaries called yeshivas are being cut off from government funding because they don’t send students into the military.

Riot police check spectators' bags as they guard an area at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall prior to the concert of the rock group Picnic and the symphony orchestra Tavrichesky, in St. Petersburg, Russia, March 27, 2024.

Central Asians in Russia face increased scrutiny, discrimination after mass shooting 

Race

Russia has detained four suspected shooters in the Crocus City Hall mass shooting. The suspects are all from Tajikistan. Now, there are reports in cities across Russia that people from Central Asia are experiencing a rise in harassment, mistreatment and xenophobic behavior.

The sun rises over a Mosque on the Persian Gulf in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 9, 1990.

Saudi Arabia’s conservative clerics have a new relationship with the government under Mohammed bin Salman

Lifestyle & Belief

Social change in Saudi Arabia has long been deemed impossible due to the influence of the conservative clerical establishment. But as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman supports new cultural attractions, experts are wondering whether the power of these clerics has diminished. Raihan Ismail, professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford University, spoke to The World’s host Carolyn Beeler about what role the clerics play in Saudi society today.

People inspect the site where World Central Kitchen workers were killed in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, April 2, 2024.

Aid worker says they can’t operate after 7 World Center Kitchen staffers are killed in Israeli strike

Israel-Hamas war

An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed seven aid workers from the relief group World Central Kitchen (WCK) overnight. Among the dead were three British nationals, an Australian, a Polish national, an American Canadian dual citizen and a Palestinian. The World’s host Carolyn Beeler speaks to Sean Carroll, the CEO of ANERA, which works closely with WCK, about the incident.