World News

Nearly eight months ago, Israel reacted to the attacks of October 7th by invading Gaza with the goal of destroying Hamas. Our correspondent in Tel Aviv examines how close they are to achieving that goal but looking at Hamas' capability on three fronts: on the battlefield, in continuing to govern and controlling the narrative.

For more coverage of all sides of this conflict, go to npr.org/mideastupdates

As the summer travel season begins, thousands of bags will likely go missing. But not at one particular airport in Japan that makes a stunning claim: it has never lost a piece of luggage.

International courts investigating alleged war crimes have made headlines often in recent months. An arrest warrant has been issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin; arrest warrants have also been requested for senior Hamas and Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

What are these courts, where did they come from, and how did they come to decide the rules of war?

On today's episode, we travel from the battlefields of the U.S. Civil War, through the rubble of two world wars, to the hallways of the Hague, to trace modern attempts to define and prosecute war crimes.

Taiwan has developed a large language model artificial intelligence chat bot to compete with a product from China because of fears regarding national security. And North Korea sends garbage-filled balloons over the border into South Korea, escalating a long-standing balloon battle between the Koreas.

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The Biden campaign plans a summer of outreach to Black voters. Pope Francis apologizes for using a homophobic slur to refer to gay men during a private meeting. South Africa holds national elections.