Reporter Jamie Fullerton tried the Vande Bharat, India’s newest overnight train, and documented the experience. Would you take a trip on this train? Let us know in the comments.
#GlobalNews #IndiaNews #SleeperTrain #Trains #InternationalNews
“It’s not easy for immigration right now.”
After three years in the U.S., Anderson Costa (@anderson_costa_usa ) is giving up on his American Dream and returning to Brazil. GBH News chronicled Costa’s last week living in Framingham, MA, as he said goodbye to friends that felt like family and to a city that felt like home.
For more, visit the @GBHNews website or YouTube channel.
The World’s Hannah Chanatry brings us an overview of how the Iran war is affecting oil supply across multiple nations in Africa.
#globalnews #iranwar #oilmarket #africanews #internationalnews
The village of Mawlynnong, in India’s Meghalaya state, has well-trimmed shrubbery and pretty churches, and according to Indian travel media, it is “Asia’s cleanest village.” The Indian press gave the village that title in 2003, then in 2015, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the village in a radio address.
Modi said Mawlynnong’s “mission of cleanliness” gave him confidence that India would “become clean through the efforts of fellow citizens.”
But now, villagers are trying to find a way to welcome visitors, while also maintaining their own community spirit.
According to Mawlynnong’s village committee, during peak tourism periods, up to 1,000 tourists can visit its trash-free paths in a single day. But in January, the villagers decided to ban tourists from visiting on Sundays, so the primarily Christian village could experience quiet rural life again and have time to attend church; which, at the same time, is being held up as an example of sustainable rural tourism management.
By simply being impeccably clean and neat, Mawlynnong stands out in India.
India’s government has tried to change mindsets about public spaces, launching a huge nationwide public sanitation campaign in 2014. But from the streets of Mumbai to the mountains, across the country, people still often haphazardly throw trash on the ground, and spitting and urinating in public is common.
🎧Listen to the full story by Jamie Fullerton
đź“ą Photos and videos by Jamie Fullerton for The World
Cuba is facing a major energy crisis due to a US-imposed fuel blockade. The shortage is affecting day-to-day life, from transportation to education. The World’s Tibisay Zea has the story.
#GlobalNews #Cuba #EnergyShortage #OilMarket #InternationalNews
What happens when you put cows on water? The World’s Joshua Coe reports from Rotterdam’s Floating Farm, co-founded by Minke van Wingerden, to see how a three-story barge with cows, cheese and micro greens could reshape how cities feed themselves in a changing climate.
#Rotterdam #Sustainable #GlobalNews #DairyFarm #Cows
Bangladesh just held its first free and fair elections in nearly 20 years after a student-led protest movement forced longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee the country. But the students who started the revolution didn’t win at the ballot box.
#GlobalNews #BangladeshNews #BangladeshPolitics #InternationalNews #Protests
While Sweden’s national dictionary defines fika as “coffee or tea with snacks” or, simply, a “coffee break,” this ritual is less about the caffeine and more about connection — with others, or even with oneself.
Fika has been hailed as a remedy for everything from loneliness to stress, but the definition can be both precise and flexible.
With years of experience as both a Swedish barista and investigative journalist, Elsa Henriksdotter has developed a keen sense of what fika is and what caffeination is for caffeination’s sake.
According to Henriksdotter, there are three key elements of a “pure fika”:
1. A hot beverage — preferably espresso-based
2. Something sweet to share — particularly kanelbullar, or Swedish cinnamon buns
3. Time set aside to pause with someone you care about to reflect on life
That pause is the essence of fika.
Henriksdotter describes the practice as a cultural workaround — a way to prioritize connection in a society that doesn’t always encourage spontaneous interaction. It might mean catching up with a close friend, visiting a grandparent — or even taking half an hour alone to reflect, she explained.
That idea of stepping back sits at the heart of Swedish coffee time. It’s not an escape from reality so much as a brief recalibration — a chance to slow down and reconnect.
🎧 To hear more of The World’s correspondent Joshua Coe's (@joshuacoe_journalist ) report, click the link in bio.
📸 Photos and video by Joshua Coe for The World
In many parts of India, elephants are seen as sacred animals and are considered important to religious rituals. #PETA is pushing to replace elephants in Hindu temples with mechanical ones. But do the locals approve?
#globalnews #indianews #elephants #hindutemple
Europe’s far-right movement has lost one of its most important figures with the defeat of Viktor Orbán in Hungary’s elections this week.
Orbán has been a transnational symbol for the populist right. During his 16 years in office, the Hungarian leader and his allies took control of state media, redrew electoral boundaries and installed loyalists across key institutions.
His loss now raises questions about whether a broader shift is underway for Europe’s populist right.
Click on the link in bio to hear The World’s Europe Correspondent Orla Barry (@orlaannebarry ) report.
The World’s global transportation correspondent Jeremy Siegel obtained an exclusive report from the nonprofit China Labor Watch, outlining 50 instances of worker abuses at BYD construction site in Szeged, Hungary. The full report is expected to be published later in the month, but for now, we have the latest.
#globalnews #hungarynews #workersrights #chinanews #electricvehicle
In South India, elephants have been part of religious ceremonies for centuries. Now, some temples are replacing them with machines.
In the state of Kerala, lifelike mechanical elephants are being introduced as an alternative to real animals used in Hindu rituals. Built from fiberglass and rubber, these elephants can move their heads, flap their ears, and even spray water from their trunks.
Animal rights efforts largely drive the shift. Organizations like PETA have been purchasing these mechanical elephants and donating them to temples, encouraging communities to move away from using live animals.
For many, the change is about ending cruelty.
Elephants used in ceremonies are often kept in captivity, exposed to heat, and sometimes chained for long periods. Activists argue that behaviors observed during rituals, such as repetitive head movements, are signs of distress rather than devotion.
Since 2023, at least 26 mechanical elephants have been introduced in temples across South India.
But the transition is not simple.
Some worshippers say the mechanical versions lack the emotional and spiritual presence of real elephants, and threaten long-standing cultural traditions.
At the same time, safety is also part of the conversation. Real elephants have caused injuries and deaths during festivals, raising concerns about the risks of keeping them in crowded public spaces.
For artists building these machines, demand is growing. Some believe that mechanical elephants may eventually become the norm.
For now, the debate continues. Between tradition, ethics and change.
🎧 Listen to the full story by Jamie Fullerton (@jamie_w_fullerton ) by clicking on the link in bio
📸 Photos by Jamie Fullerton for The World
