World news wrap: A sad story just keeps getting sadder
LONDON -- Your top world news stories of the week include financial crises on two different continents, a globe-trotting religious figurehead who has strong opinions about pretty much everything, diplomats failing to solve the world's problems, and a sad story that just keeps getting sadder.
1. Iran nuclear talks go nowhere fast
At the beginning of the week, negotiators from Iran, the U.S. and its partners stared down a second deadline in their already-extended efforts to see Tehran rein in its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
At the week's end, it was clear America and its partners no longer see eye-to-eye on some very key issues, and there's new recognition by officials (speaking privately) that the talks could yield no final deal.
2. Greece backs down
After raising the ire of European creditors by showing up to a meeting without a plan to tackle his nation's debt, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras presented EU officials with a new "serious and credible" road map out of his nation's economic crisis on Thursday.
This weekend, the 28 member states of the EU will mull that plan, which is aimed at pulling Greece back from the brink of bankruptcy and keeping the Mediterranean nation in the eurozone.
3. Capitalism takes a bite in China
China responded to a dramatic hemorrhaging of stock values in the only way the Communist Party could: by directly intervening in the nation's adventure in capitalism.
Hundreds of thousands of small-time investors who were lured into trading by government propaganda have learned the hard way that what goes up, sometimes comes down. While the markets rebounded, thanks in part to the dramatic government measures, many Chinese have seen their savings disappear in just weeks.
4. Syrian refugee crisis is too big to fathom
The United Nations humanitarian agency said this week that more than 4 million people have fled the civil war tearing Syria apart from within. It is now the worst refugee crisis since the war in Afghanistan prompted a mass exodus a decade ago.
Neighboring countries including Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, and relief organizations are struggling to cope with the seemingly endless tide of displaced people, and CBS News' reporting from inside Syria makes it all to clear there's no end in sight to the bloodshed.
5. Pope Francis on South American soil
The pontiff from Argentina returned to his native continent for the first time as leader of the world's Catholics, with stops in Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay.
True to his mission, Pope Francis has used his visits to shine a light on "the lowly, the exploited, the poor and underprivileged" in each nation.
He urged the world at large to "say no to an economy of exclusion and inequality, where money rules."