The World

The Biden administration announced plans to overturn former President Donald Trump’s travel ban on refugees and travelers from many Muslim-majority countries. And, as President Biden and his foreign policy team get to work, one country presents some big challenges: China. Also, the rumor mill heated up on Thursday after a London newspaper reported the Summer Olympics would be called off. But officials with the International Olympic Committee say that the games are on schedule.

A year after the first lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, there are two different narratives: one of heroism and teamwork, and another about loss and pain. And, after four years of the US reneging on international agreements and rolling back domestic environmental regulations, what does the Biden-Harris administration have to do to regain trust and lead the world on climate action — as Biden has promised to do? Also, starting this year, the Spanish government is now paying for 16 weeks of paternity leave for new fathers.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced school systems around the world to piece together patchworks of in-person, remote and hybrid learning programs. What’s the latest science on children and COVID-19? As part of The World's regular series of conversations on the pandemic with Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health and as a special in our podcast feed, reporter Elana Gordon moderated a discussion with Harvard education expert Meira Levinson and epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch.

US President Joe Biden used his inaugural address to send a message to the world, taking the opportunity to directly repudiate Trump's “America First” policy. And, Biden outlined his top priorities on Wednesday including the environment, calling climate change one of the "cascading crises" America faces as he takes office. Also, in stark contrast to former President Trump's policies and approach, the Biden administration marks a major shift in the US pandemic response globally.

Guatemalan soldiers forcefully prevented a large group of migrants who were attempting to walk across the country and eventually reach the US. The tough stand taken by Guatemala at its border is in large part because of policies put in place during the Trump administration. Also, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Tuesday that the Chinese Communist Party has “committed genocide” against the Uighur ethnic group. Also, 12 bottles of Bordeaux red wine are now back on Earth after aging for the last year aboard the International Space Station. 

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has been declared the winner of the recent election and will begin his sixth term in office. But, the main opposition candidate is calling the election fraudulent. And, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s work and activism profoundly shaped the US, but it also has had a huge global impact. Also, Italian authorities are calling for proposals of a new, historically accurate recreation of the iconic Colosseum floor, after over a millennium of having a bare arena.

China, which had no deaths from COVID-19 on its mainland for eight months, has responded to reports of 500 new cases by locking down 28 million people. Also, for the first time in its 30-year history, an Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem, has called Israel an "apartheid regime" in a new report. And, the first place many of us go answers about any given subject is Wikipedia. The online encyclopedia, which is curated by volunteers  and open to all, turned 20 on Friday.

A now-viral photo shows New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim cleaning up the Capitol rotunda after the mob rampage. Rep. Kim speaks with The World’s Marco Werman. Also, China is the biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, but at the same time, it's at the forefront of renewable energy innovation and has some of the world's largest conservation projects. And, a group of artists in Istanbul turned an abandoned apartment building into a multistory art installation.

Donald Trump was impeached for a second time Wednesday as the House of Representatives debated whether to remove the US president. And, Canadian authorities are considering designating the Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist group founded by a Canadian, as a terrorist organization in the wake of the crisis at the US Capitol. Also, the European Union's Food Safety Authority said on Wednesday that mealworms are safe for human consumption.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that Cuba will be re-designated a state sponsor of terrorism. And, on Thursday, millions of Ugandans will go to the polls to vote for president in an election that has been marked by violence and the arrest of opposition figures. Also, so-called “‘edible public spaces” can come in a lot of different shapes and sizes, ranging from a community garden to a 5-acre forest to a citrus tree on the side of a road.