There is perhaps nowhere in the world where people strip down with such gusto as they do on the banks of the Ganges during the Kumbh Mela. On Feb. 10, some 30 million pilgrims converged on a narrow strip of riverfront in …
Must-Reads from Around the World
North Korea conducts its third nuclear test, Venezuela cuts the price of its national currency and planned peace talks in Afghanistan are in danger of collapse
The Committee to Save the Planet: Who Watches the Asteroids?
A group of astronomers have appointed themselves planetary defenders, watching the skies and tracking potentially catastrophic asteroids
North Korea Confirms ‘Successful’ Nuclear Test
North Korea conducted its third test of a nuclear device Tuesday, raising fears of conflict in Northeast Asia and new questions about whether the regime can be stopped in its decades-long effort to develop nukes
The Long Way Home: Chinese New Year Travel Gets Worse
China has spent billions of dollars upgrading its rail infrastructure, but migrants, students and others complain that the system is less accessible to them now than it was before
The Path of Pope Benedict XVI
Declaring that he lacks the strength to do his job, Pope Benedict XVI announced he will resign Feb. 28 – becoming the first pontiff to step down in 600 years. His decision sets the stage for a mid-March conclave to elect a new …
‘We Did Not Predict This’: Top Algerian Minister Discusses January Hostage Crisis
In his first interview with a Western journalist since last month’s devastating hostage siege—which killed dozens of foreign oil workers, including three Americans—the country’s Minister of Energy and Mines told TIME that …
‘A Sense of Duty’: Germany Reacts to Pope Benedict XVI’s Resignation
The mayor of Marktl am Inn, the tiny village in Upper Bavaria where Pope Benedict XVI was born, is surprised to hear his village’s favorite son will be stepping down, but says it won’t be bad for business. “I saw him last …
Who Will Be the Next Pope? Bookmakers Place Their Bets
Just hours after Pope Benedict XVI’s surprising Feb. 28 resignation, bookmakers have already started placing odds on his successor
The Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI: Is It Health? Or Politics? Or Both?
The election of the new pope will have an element that few past conclaves did: the influence of the still-living old pope
Must-Reads from Around the World
Chinese workers may be heading to Greenland to tap mineral deposits, the IMF gives Argentina a deadline to comply with its rules on reporting inflation statistics or else face repercussions and Scotland will have to renegotiate …
Pope Benedict XVI To Resign, Citing ‘Advanced Age’
Pope Benedict XVI will resign on Febraury 28 at 8pm Rome time.
Year of the Snake: Scenes from Chinese Lunar New Year
Dragon dances, fireworks and festive decorations usher in Chinese Lunar New Year, the Year of the Snake. Here are scenes from celebrations in China and elsewhere in the world.