This is the official poem of 2016

Muslim environmentalists give their religion — and their mosques — a fresh coat of green

Putin plays it cool, but Russia is worried about a US cyberattack

This is the Long Island house the US is letting the Russians keep

India’s demonetization deadline approaches, causing stress and confusion

Water is scarce in Damascus, and so is faith in a new ceasefire

A village’s first female chief ended illegal logging with spies and checkpoints

Oh, for fox sake: Thousands of Londoners join petition to ban ‘fox cull’

The little-known link between Princess Leia’s iconic hairstyle and the Mexican Revolution

Syria’s new ceasefire will not mean peace

This American soccer coach was criticized for being too American

Why you need to know about Guatemala’s civil war

On the way to the US, children seeking asylum are often put in Mexico’s detention centers

Indonesia’s rapidly disappearing forests, in four charts

Delightfully bad tourism slogans from around the world

After Trump’s victory, a city debates offering ‘sanctuary’ to undocumented immigrants

There’s an intriguing theory that illiterate miners invented the alphabet

Dare you to say Austria’s word of the year five times fast

Cuba is a four-letter word to many Americans. But not to its island neighbors.

A tribute to world musicians we lost in 2016

Winning over hearts and minds one pu pu platter at a time

North Korea’s highest ranking defector has no regrets

Remembering the Russian woman who traveled to war zones to save children’s lives

You think you know the refugee story? This documentary might change your mind.

Rio’s best café lets you pay what you want

Celine Dion is an unlikely savior of Montreal’s classic Jewish deli

A French beekeeper makes mead in the Paris catacombs

Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’ was born 30 years ago — and ‘world music’ grew with it

25 years ago the Soviet Union fell — and Russians are still reinventing themselves

Israel is still smarting over the UN resolution condemning its settlements

The next generation takes a dance from Hawaiian history into the future

Anne Frank’s diary inspired some victims of Guatemala’s civil war to tell their stories

How to deflect a ‘hijab grab’ and other lessons from a Muslim black belt

2016 was rough. Listening to Bach helped.

This Republican holds out hope for a Trump conversion on climate change

Will a new nuclear arms race undo decades of teamwork between the US and Russia?

This woman was attacked for speaking Swahili. In court she forgave her attacker.

For this Venezuelan, Christmas isn’t Christmas without hallaca

In sanctuary cities, immigrants find themselves with few real protections from federal officials

Why Gimli Manitoba is the place to enjoy Icelandic cake

Halfway through med school, undocumented students worry Trump will derail their progress

A Trump-filled Christmas in cartoons

Syrian parents in Turkey worry their kids are losing their culture

Sweden tries to curb buy-and-throw-away culture through tax breaks

This lost Native language of Massachusetts is waking up again

One man is planting mangroves in Indonesia to stave off tragedy

As Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal wind down, resettlement program is considered a success

What it’s like to be the victim of a Russian online smear campaign

When Canadian citizens sponsor Syrian refugees, things can get complicated

Germany finds itself in the center of the cyberstorm

Pozole, songs and the things that survived colonization

Nigeria seizes shipment of fake plastic rice as food prices soar

Germany struggles with the issue of deportations

A Russian online journal targets ‘senior decision makers’ in the US

Why Montreal has a Charlie Brown Christmas tree

A bubbly secret: the Burgundy wine that rivals its fancier cousin, Champagne

Syrian refugees in Canada face their first month without state money

Protecting Indonesia’s forests, one doctor’s appointment at a time

Turkey’s fraught history with headscarves

High-tech sewing machines are bringing a century-old Massachusetts textile mill back to life