The World

Boris Johnson has less than a month to go as Britain’s prime minister. Two candidates are trying to convince Conservative voters in the UK that they’re the right ones to fill his shoes. Who are they and what do they stand for? Also, in today's show, The World concludes its series looking at how wars end. Plus, Serena Williams announced this week that she is stepping away from professional tennis. And, a global dance movement for people with physical disabilities is filling theaters, getting TV time and spawning international competitions.

Ukraine and Russia are trading blame for shelling and fighting around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Russia currently occupies the site, while Ukraine is attempting to take back the territory. Also, tens of millions of tourists are overwhelming Venice, Italy. Authorities want to impose a fee on visitors who just come for the day. Plus, there’s a museum in Sweden dedicated to showing off some of the world's greatest product failures. And, the duo Afro Andean Funk. We hear about their debut album, “The Sacred Leaf.”

A Russian air base was attacked in Crimea on Tuesday. While it is not yet clear exactly who was behind the attack, it marks an escalation in the nearly six-month conflict between Russia and Ukraine. And the sudden death of author, playwright and filmmaker Biyi Bandele is a monumental loss to Nigeria's film industry. He is being mourned around the world. Also, rain is pummeling South Korea this week. At least nine are dead — and more are missing — in flooding that has put parts of the capital Seoul underwater. Plus, in the 1990s, artists like Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias and Shakira became crossover successes by releasing English-language albums. Now, a new crop of artists including Bad Bunny, J Balvin and Ozuna are changing the rules of the game.

In Cuba, a fire at a key oil terminal on the coast in Matanzas is out of control, causing explosions, injuring hundreds and killing a firefighter. The implications for Cuba's electric grid are also dire. And, millions of Kenyans take to the polls to vote for the country's new leader on Tuesday. For the first time, the election has largely been framed as a discussion about Kenya's haves and have-nots. Also, dozens of police officers in Colombia have been killed while on duty this year. The attacks intensified after the leader of the drug cartel the Gulf Clan was extradited to the US in May. The group is also attempting to demonstrate its strength as President Gustavo Petro takes office. Plus, rents are soaring in Istanbul.

On the heels of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to Africa, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also heads to Africa. His itinerary takes him to South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Rwanda. And the popular imagination about how wars end is often what the United States experienced with World War II, with cheering crowds and definitive winners and losers. But that's not typical. A five-part series explores various conflicts around the world to better understand how wars end. And fighting in Gaza between Palestinian militants and Israel over the weekend led to the killing of dozens of Palestinians, including 15 children. Israelis were also injured in the fighting. Plus, South African singer Moonchild Sanelly gets a boost from Beyoncé. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi on Friday. It comes after a Russian proposal, leaked by Ukrainian intelligence, suggests the Kremlin is seeking help from Turkey to evade Western sanctions. And Sri Lanka's financial crisis has led to shortages of essential drugs and medical equipment, such as catheters, morphine and common antibiotics. For the past few months, donations have been keeping the country's health system running, but doctors warn that they can't last forever. Also, ahead of Kenya’s presidential election, Sauti Sol, one of Kenya’s biggest bands, is trying to rally youth to get involved. Plus, classical music is not dead — it’s alive in Iceland, with wünderkind Gabríel Ólafs.

In Moscow on Thursday, WNBA star Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison on drug charges. Griner was detained at the airport back in February, after security found vape cartridges with cannabis oil in her luggage. Last month, Griner pleaded guilty but said she packed the vape cartridges by mistake. And Kenya's presidential election is one week away, and polls show that the biggest issue for Kenyans is the high cost of living — especially when it comes to food. The prices of staple foods have risen more than 100% in some cases. Also, an empowered economy minister just took office in Argentina, with the mission to fix complex political and economic problems. Plus, the cheetah reappears in India after its local extinction 70 years ago. 

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it might “make sense” to extend the lives of Germany’s last nuclear power plants. The war in Ukraine, and Russia’s slowdown of gas deliveries to Germany have put Europe’s largest economy in a bind. And, amid Sri Lanka’s financial crisis and fuel shortage, people can’t afford enough fuel for cars and motorbikes. Many commuters in Colombo, the country’s largest city, are turning to bicycles. Also, the UN's nuclear chief Rafael Grossi has said that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine "is completely out of control" and issued a plea to Russia and Ukraine to allow international experts to visit the plant. Plus, 19-year-old Letsile Tebogo from Botswana broke the 100-meter U20 world record in Colombia on Tuesday, crossing the line in 9.91 seconds.

US President Joe Biden has announced that the US has killed al-Qaeda’s top leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan. Zawahiri was on the US' most-wanted list for about two decades and he had a $25 million bounty on his head. And, the pandemic took a huge toll on schools in India, particularly in rural areas. But a growing number of young people from big cities who are in the tech industry are volunteering in small-town schools. Also, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned at a nuclear treaty conference in New York that  "luck is not a strategy” and urged treaties to prevent nuclear annihilation. Plus, surfing scientists in Spain are hunting down microplastics.

The port of Odesa is now open and shipping Ukrainian food to other parts of the world. But getting the first shipment of thousands of tons of corn to reach Lebanon on Monday is a perilous journey that must pass several inspections in the Bosphorus Strait. And people in an Italian seaside town stood by and did nothing as a Nigerian man was killed in broad daylight on a busy street last week. This isn't the first such attack in a country where anti-immigrant sentiments are growing. Also, on Sunday, the women's Tour de France concluded in the Vosges mountains, marking the end of the race's triumphant return after 33 years.