In Venezuela's presidential elections, incumbent Nicholas Maduro fights a movement against him lead by Maria Corina Machado, who's been barred from the race. In Russia, Russian American journalist, Alsu Kurmasheva, is sentenced to prison in a case similar to that of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

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Olympic Opening Ceremonies are typically held in stadiums. For the 2024 Games, Paris is taking the event to the heart of the city, in and along the River Seine. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley has this preview.

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Like many other countries, South Koreans are turning away from organized religions. But DJ Yoon Seong-ho is using his beats to attract new followers to his Buddhist faith.

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A play about witches is selling out in Ukraine's capital Kyiv. And even though the plot takes place centuries ago, the play's takeaways and parallels to today resonate with Ukrainians. We hear from actors and audience members.

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Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison on charges of espionage. His employer and the U.S. government have said he is innocent and the trial is a sham. We hear the latest from Moscow and reaction from the U.S.

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Artificial Intelligence makes it possible to resurrect deceased loved-ones in the form of a very convincing video and audio imitation. Some companies in China are beginning to provide this as a service. We hear about the practice and the ethical questions it raises

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In Kenya, protests that began in response to tax increases have grown into a movement demanding the president's resignation. Scores of protestors have gone missing since the anti-government protests began a month ago. Human rights groups fear that the security forces are behind these disappearances. We hear from young protestors.

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Ever since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7th, Israel had detained thousands of Palestinians from Gaza. We hear the story of one radiologist who says he endured beatings and mistreatment during seven months in Israeli detention.

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Every five years China's Communist Party holds a meeting in secret called the "third plenum". And while it may sound arcane, there are a lot of important policy decisions that have come out of this meeting. Our correspondent in Beijing tells us what is at stake for the meeting this week.

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The United States Justice Department says it has foiled at least four assassination plots sponsored by foreign governments on U.S. soil. One of the targets of those assassination attempts is Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist and activist who Iran allegedly tried to have killed in New York. We hear how knowing she is at such risk has turned Alinejad's life upside down.

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In the latest escalation of tensions between the two, China seized a fishing vessel from Taiwan while it was in Taiwanese territorial waters. This is seen as Beijing sending a message that it plans to assert more control over Taiwan, which China claims as it's own. Our correspondent travels to a small Taiwanese island near where the boat was seized and finds residents who know they would be on the front line of any future military action that could erupt between China and Taiwan.

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