World

This infographic illustrates the distances driven by various rovers on the surface of Earth’s Moon and Mars. Of the vehicles shown, the NASA Mars rovers Perseverance and Curiosity are still operational and moving across the surface; the figures shown for those two are distances driven as of Oct. 11, 2026. As of that date, Perseverance exceeded the distance record held by NASA’s Opportunity rover, which came to a final halt in 2018 at about 28.1 miles (45.16 kilometers) driven. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover on behalf of the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio.

On World Teachers’ Day, government institutions, development partners, United Nations agencies, and civil society organizations convened in Baghdad to strengthen coordination and accelerate the implementation of Iraq’s National Education Strategy 2022-2031, with a strong emphasis on teacher development as a cornerstone of quality education. More than 50 participants attended the meeting of the Education Sector Coordination Group (ESCG), hosted at Al-Farahidi University and chaired by H. E. Dr. Haider Abed Dhahad, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research for Scientific Affairs. Mr. Wim Riepma, Head of Cooperation at the Delegation of the European Union to Iraq, participated as Co-Chair. UNESCO serves as the Secretariat of the Group. Discussions focused on advancing national education priorities, including continuous professional development for teachers, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), inclusive education, school feeding programmes, and climate-resilient learning. Marking World Teachers’ Day, participants underscored the central role of teachers in improving learning outcomes and building resilient education systems.

Guided by the FIVB Strategic Vision 2032, the FIVB Board of Administration met to advance key priorities for the Global Volleyball Movement, focusing on strengthening good governance, improving regulations, supporting National Federations and creating new opportunities for the next generation of athletes. The meeting opened with a review of activity since the previous Board of Administration meeting, highlighting progress in youth volleyball, Continental Championships and international collaboration.

Four years after losing his leg in a blast during a counter-insurgency operation, Toman Kumar stood on top of the podium in Gwangju as a World Archery Para champion. Now, as he prepares for his first continental Games at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games, the Indian compound archer is facing another major challenge – and doing so with a remarkable transformation behind him. Forced to adapt to a completely different life after his injury, he found a new direction through archery and, less than five years after taking up the sport, has established himself among the world’s leading para archers. “I had never thought I would do sport after the injury,” said the 31-year-old Kumar, who comes from Nawagaon, a rural village in Balod district in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh. “I had never played sport before either. Nobody in my village played sport.”Kumar joined India’s Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in 2017 before undergoing training with its elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) unit in 2021. That same year, he was caught in an improvised explosive device blast during a Naxal operation and had his left leg amputated.

12 October 2026, London - The World Gold Council (WGC) and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate efforts to improve transparency, governance and formalisation in the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) space. The partnership will address corruption, gold smuggling, and illicit financial flows while reducing environmental and social harms, and promoting economic development in gold-producing countries. The agreement establishes a framework to strengthen ASGM governance, improve traceability and support the responsible integration of artisanal gold into formal global supply chains. The organisations will work together to support EITI implementing countries in advancing formalisation efforts and responsible sourcing initiatives. The organisations will collaborate on publications, guidance documents, pilot projects, knowledge-sharing initiatives and international convenings.

The new series Carrie updates the Stephen King book for the digital age, and plays with what we think we know in some surprising ways. Streaming on Prime Video, it follows a young Carrie who has led a sheltered life with her overbearing mother. But as Carrie enters high school, she has a rough go of it. The signposts are familiar – the showers, the prayer closet, the prom, the pig's blood – but showrunner Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass) builds out the world around those events. Amazon supports NPR and pays to distribute some of our content. Looking for more TV and movies inspired by Stephen King? Check out these episodes: Glen Powell is 'The Running Man' in the latest Stephen King adaptation A new generation is down to clown in 'IT: Welcome to Derry' 'The Long Walk' is a long walk to nowhere Dance with Tom Hiddleston through 'The Life of Chuck' Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour: Letterboxd / Facebook Our weekly newsletter Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show's perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

Tania Kendrick is a civil servant in the UK’s Cabinet Office, working on relations between the UK and the European Union Analyse this Tania Kendrick has moved from physics into policy, working within the UK government’s Cabinet Office. (Courtesy: Tania Kendrick)

Updated October 12, 2026 09:56AMThe 2026 Ironman World Championship was eagerly anticipated as a return to one day of racing for men and women for the first time in seven years. But despite sharing the same course, the men’s and women’s pro races could not have been more different. Vincent Luis of France took the men’s title in his first-ever Ironman World Championship, clocking a time of 7:47:27 in a race that saw aggressive pacing and multiple lead changes from start to finish. Meanwhile, the women’s race was a steady drumbeat that devolved into noisy chaos in the final miles, with American Taylor Knibb coming out on top with a 8:36:29 finish.

PSI’s Deputy General Secretary Lina Jamoul responded to the World Bank’s new ‘Public Workforce Performance and Prosperity’ report, arguing that it ignores the role of unions, the damage austerity has done to public services and communities, and that growth can come by investing in public services and paying decent public sector wages. About 20 years ago, young doctors from Togo graduated from medical school in France. In France they could earn 5,500 euros a month. In Togo they would earn 300 euros a month. Most of them stayed in France. Some went home because they wanted to fight for their country, and they built a union. The National Syndicate of Hospital Practitioners in Togo (SYNPHOT) is a PSI-affiliated union. SYNPHOT has raised pay to 700 euros. But it’s focused on more than just members’ pay (important though that is). It’s also a force for good for the people. SYNPHOT asked 576 community members about their health needs, it listened, and it took those needs to its 5,000 members – asking how medical practitioners and specialists could be doing things differently to help the health of the whole of the people.

The cars that compete in Formula 1® are unlike any other race cars on earth. They’re like a supercomputer on wheels, gathering massive amounts of data in real time – and sending it to engineers around the world. Those experts use that information to fine-tune the car in pursuit of every last iota of speed and performance. On the latest episode of GM’s YouTube Series “What Makes Fast,” we get an inside look into exactly how that data is collected, and how it’s shared with engineers around the globe as the car is competing on the track.

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BiteTheBytes has unveiled World Creator 4, the next major version of its GPU-based terrain-generation software for game development, motion graphics and VFX work. The release, due next month, will introduce a new core architecture, enabling the software to scale from generating conventional terrain to complete planetary environments.

As cities and regions confront rising demand, rapidly changing global contexts, and decarbonization goals, energy sovereignty has become a defining urban priority. This conversation explores what are the different possibilities when designing an efficient energy mix through renewables, decentralized systems, and context-specific strategies shaped by geography, resources, and long-term resilience. With a focus on energy security, new energy models, investment, and the clean transition, the conversation shows why there is no single path forward, but rather a need for diversified, reliable, and future-ready solutions. As cities and regions confront rising demand, rapidly changing global contexts, and decarbonization goals, energy sovereignty has become a defining urban priority. This conversation explores what are the different possibilities when designing an efficient energy mix through renewables, decentralized systems, and context-specific strategies shaped by geography, resources, and long-term resilience.