World Story of the Day

The historic apology — and the unprecedented settlement — has been years in the making. A Harvard graduate student helped bring about the settlement for the surviving Mau Mau victims of torture and abuse at the hands of the British.

Latin American cities rank as the most violent in the world. The region suffers from sky-high homicide rates, drug wars and gang violence. NPR is examining the region's turmoil in a series of reports, beginning with a look at the rampant kidnapping problem in Venezuela.

King Juan Carlos is suffering his lowest ever approval ratings. Some Spaniards roll their eyes at his high-flying lifestyle and now question the future of the monarchy.

Uganda has lost one generation to a brutal, decades-long war. Now, a second generation is jeopardized by a strange disease known as nodding syndrome, which affects only children in parts of Africa and has no known cause.

Environmentalists are focusing on big corporations to prevent the destruction of rain forests cut down for paper products. With help from some unlikely characters, they've scored a success against one of the world's largest paper companies.

Niccolo Machiavelli is synonymous with political deceit, cynicism and ruthlessness. He called his most famous work, The Prince, a handbook for statesmen. An exhibit in Rome celebrates the 500th anniversary of what's still one of the most influential political essays in Western literature.

In 2011, police detained Ai Weiwei for 81 days. Now, he's released a song that's turned the experience into a heavy metal protest song, along with a dystopian nightmare video. The lyrics are explicit and angry. Ai says his music is for the many political prisoners who remain jailed.

The deadly collapse of a textile factory in Bangladesh has heightened awareness about cheap clothes. Many Americans have become used to inexpensive clothing, but the garments are also discarded at a remarkable rate: Billions of pounds of clothing are recycled each year; nearly half is exported.

Shunning the formalities of his office and focusing on poverty, Pope Francis is drawing a sharp contrast between his 2-month-old papacy and those of his predecessors.

Egypt's capital has been associated with protest and political upheaval. But an arts festival attempts to clear away the dust and revitalize a once-glorious cultural hub.