The new year means old traditions for many around the world

Music heard on the air for December 31, 2013

What motivates women to commit acts of terror?

In Palau, scientists hope they’ve found a coral reef to save all coral reefs

A new church, without religion, is gaining popularity in London

After a fire killed 112, the new warrants issued could help to restore faith in the Bangladeshi court system

We remember some of the world’s musicians who died in 2013. Can you?

Amateur Night in Harlem draws competitors from around the globe

Iranian officials are active on social media yet Iranians are banned from using them

A late bell, silent prayers and the world’s largest fireworks show greet the new year

Get well soon Michael Schumacher

In Syria, 2014 looks to be more of the same

In 2013, the presidents of Iran and the US spoke on the phone for the first time in 34 years

What will it take to secure the Winter Olympics in Sochi?

Japan’s homeless are being recruited to clean up the radioactive debris at Fukushima

He’s the other politician with a white mother and a black Kenyan father

Women are finally cleared for flight in Sochi

A Canadian church gets shipped to a small town in Louisiana

The terrorist attacks in Russia have roots that go back centuries

Music heard on air for December 30. 2013

Chinese leaders are told to kick the habit

A South African teen receives an unexpected gift from America

Climate change brings a new wrinkle to life on Palau’s islands: Fear of the sea

Turkey’s political turmoil may be tied to its relations with Iran

Egypt’s government escalates campaign to uproot the Muslim Brotherhood

After years of protests by locals, the US is moving its Okinawa military base

Check out these four ‘must see’ foreign films of 2013

Music heard on air for December 27, 2013

‘Tookah’ is an inspiring new album from Iceland’s Emiliana Torrini

For Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, a new law aims to end ‘betrayal’ in the military

Three months after the Westgate Mall siege, Kenyans have some answers — and more questions

Mikhail Kalashnikov and his AK-47 take a bow

On a long downward slide, scientists say 2013 was an up year for Arctic Ice

Peru has a new love affair with its hairless dogs

Lima’s stressed-out are turning to Zen Buddhism

This Spanish developer helped rebuild Lima and now he’s betting big on remaking Detroit

US solar panel manufacturers get a gift from the US military

So far there are few signs of any progress in ending the violence in South Sudan

Is Sudan saying ‘I told you so’ to South Sudan?

I can’t promise you this photo will change your life, but it did for the photographer

Why is the Yasukuni Shrine so controversial?

Beer brews up a following in France’s wine country

Music heard on the air for December 26, 2013

This Antarctic expedition is chilling while it waits for rescue boats to free ship from pack ice

This rebel unit in Syria was a major player, now they’re disbanded

What do you preach to a church full of Jews on Christmas?

Music heard on air for December 25, 2013

There’s French pastry … and then there’s the Kougelhof

Edward Snowden is OK with what he’s given up to start a debate on surveillance

He helped win World War II and was rewarded with chemical castration

No good news out of South Sudan on this Christmas Eve

Music heard on air for December 24, 2013

Canada’s most notorious mobster dies

A French photographer travels to the Arctic north to document an ancient reindeer migration

China plans to put its journalists to the test — literally

Sydney Harbour Bridge offers tourists an unusual birds’ eye view

This Christmas celebration involves music, tamales and piñatas

Video: Learning to Succeed

Interactive Feature: Global Fertility Map

Infographic: Cancer Deaths vs. Funding in Low- and Middle-Income Countries