Global Scan

Children watch as an aid convoy of Syrian Arab Red Crescent drives through the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, Syria March 5, 2018.

Aid reaches Ghouta but retreats after shelling; Syria continues air and ground attack

Aid trucks reached Syria's eastern Ghouta region on Monday for the first time since the start of one of the war's deadliest assaults, but the government stripped some medical supplies from the convoy and pressed on with its air and ground assault.

Aid reaches Ghouta but retreats after shelling; Syria continues air and ground attack
People burn a sign depicting a U.S. flag and a picture of U.S. President Donald Trump as they take part in an anti-U.S. rally in Peshawar, Pakistan, January 5, 2018.

The US is cutting security assistance to Pakistan over terror groups

The US is cutting security assistance to Pakistan over terror groups
The leader of ANO party Andrej Babis signs books for a supporter during an election campaign rally in Prague, Czech Republic September 28, 2017.

The Czech Republic's Trump is in the lead for prime minister

The Czech Republic's Trump is in the lead for prime minister
Maria hits Puerto Rica

Puerto Rico is ‘100 percent without power’ after Hurricane Maria makes landfall

Puerto Rico is ‘100 percent without power’ after Hurricane Maria makes landfall
Mexico quake

Death toll continues to rise in Mexico quake

Death toll continues to rise in Mexico quake
Photographer Carlos Barria holds a print of a photograph he took in 2005, as he matches it up at the same location 10 years on, in New Orleans. The print shows Errol Morning sitting on his boat on a flooded street September 5, 2005, after Hurricane Katrin

5 stories to make you smile and think

From newlyweds who spent their honeymoon providing food for refugees in Calais, to what Jimmy Carter really wants to be known for, and how David Foster Wallace is remembered by his little sister. Thoughtful stories for the week ahead.

5 stories to make you smile and think
Dean Parker, a commercial housepainter and avid surfer from Florida, traveled to northern Iraq to fight with the Kurdish Peshmerga against ISIS.

Some foreigners fight for ISIS, but this American joined the fight against it

One day, Dean Parker was watching the news on TV. The next he was packing up body armor and preparing to fight with Kurdish forces against ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria. Now he's looking for a flight home — and knows he has some explaining to do to the FBI and Homeland Security.

Some foreigners fight for ISIS, but this American joined the fight against it
US President Barack Obama meets Britain's Prince William

Prince William's US trip seems more political than regal

When British royalty comes to the US, Americans go a little nuts. But this trip by Prince William has the Brits scratching their heads. Meanwhile, at least one British parliamentarian is looking to the US for ideas on how to deal with anti-abortion protesters. And the Chinese government is hunting for a corrupt Chinese official who was obsessed with gold.

Prince William's US trip seems more political than regal
The World

Take a trip through London at night — with the lights off

Nights during a blackout in a big city offer a scary vision to some. But this new video shows how London's architecture would be set off by the night sky, if city lights weren't obscuring the view. Meanwhile, across the Channel, France has decided to pay foreign victims sent to Nazi camps in French trains. And China asks for US help to crack down on corrupt fugitives, in this weekend's Global Scan.

Take a trip through London at night — with the lights off
Russian doping control center

Russian athletes won big in Sochi and a new TV documentary says doping may be the reason

More than five dozen Russian athletes are currently suspended from competition for using performance-enhancing drugs — and that may be the tip of the iceberg. Meanwhile in Canada, bear attacks may be on the rise due to climate change. And Americans are questioning the grand jury system that they inherited from England, in today's Global Scan.

Russian athletes won big in Sochi and a new TV documentary says doping may be the reason
The Orion capsule

When NASA's newest spaceship takes off Thursday, it'll be back to the future

Ever since NASA mothballed the Space Shuttle, it hasn't flown a spaceship. That will change on Thursday morning, when it test-launches the Orion space capsule, which is designed for possible Mars travel . Meanwhile, South Korea intends to rankle North Korea with another large Christmas tree in the DMZ. And a new ranking of government corruption gives the US middling marks.

When NASA's newest spaceship takes off Thursday, it'll be back to the future
Syrian refugee food distribution

What happens to displaced refugees when the World Food Program goes broke?

More than a million Syrian refugees could face hunger and death in the near future because the UN is running critically short of funds to provide food relief. And today is Giving Tuesday around the globe —have you donated to a non-profit yet? And Iranian cyber-attackers have infiltrated dozens of Western businesses in 16 countries. All that and more, in today's Global Scan.

What happens to displaced refugees when the World Food Program goes broke?
Mass Indian wedding

A wealthy Indian tycoon just threw a mass wedding for 111 fatherless women

For Indian women without a father in the picture, planning their wedding can be hard, and financially impossible. But a wealthy diamond tycoon is stepping in and helping out. Meanwhile, Saint Hoax has new protest images and an Australian journalist finds a way to clamp down on hateful comments from teenage boys.

A wealthy Indian tycoon just threw a mass wedding for 111 fatherless women
Stanford heat mirror

Could mirrors reduce the need for air conditioning around the world?

Air conditioning is responsible for some 15 percent of building energy use. What if that could be eliminated completely — using mirrors? Scientists at Stanford University think they may have found a way. That story and more in today's Global Scan.

Could mirrors reduce the need for air conditioning around the world?
Chinese office workers take a smoke break

China considers telling its 300 million smokers to put 'em out in public

China is the world's largest tobacco market — and that's partially because it's so cheap and easy to get. But now the country's government is looking to ratchet up the restrictions. That story and more in today's Global Scan.

China considers telling its 300 million smokers to put 'em out in public