People walk through Vilnius, Lithuania, on Dec. 17. Lithuania’s national opera house had stopped showing Tchaikovsky’s 1892 masterpiece in solidarity with Ukraine over the war with Russia.
WORLD / Society
Dec 22, 2024
A cultural casualty of the war in Ukraine: ‘The Nutcracker’
Many in the art world oppose banning works on the basis of their nationality, believing that culture has the power to unite and should not be contaminated by politics.
An Afghan midwife prepares a report in the nursery section at a private hospital in Kabul on Dec. 10.  The Taliban's supreme leader is reportedly behind a ban on women studying midwifery and nursing at training institutes across the country, already among the worst in the world for deaths in childbirth.
WORLD / Society
Dec 16, 2024
Afghan student nurses crushed as Taliban block last hopes of a job
Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban have barred women from university and most jobs, and imposed tight restrictions on their lives.
Girls hold banners urging passersby to stop and pay their respects during a minute of silence honoring the victims of Russia's invasion at 9 a.m. in front of Golden Gates metro station in central Kyiv.
WORLD / Society
Dec 14, 2024
Observing a minute of silence for Ukraine's fallen soldiers
As fewer people stop to pay their respects during a 9:00 am ritual for victims of the war, a small activist group is pushing for a change.
Children stand next to the sea at the Kara Tepe camp for refugees and migrants on the island of Lesbos, Greece, in October 2020.
WORLD / Society
Dec 13, 2024
'Invisible' refugee children caught in Europe's migration red tape
In the first nine months of 2024, arrivals of unaccompanied children to the main entry points to the European Union were 8% higher, despite overall arrivals slowing.
A student at the University of Toronto campus. New immigration laws drastically reduce the number of foreign students in Canada.
WORLD / Society
Dec 12, 2024
Immigration whiplash hits Canada’s colleges in warning for economy
Concerns are mounting about damage to Canada’s reputation as a higher-education hub for talented young people who aim to join the workforce.
Najem al-Moussa, 36, his wife Bushra al-Bukaai, 30, and their five children at their home in Athens on Tuesday.
WORLD / Society
Dec 12, 2024
Syrian refugees in Europe fear being forced home after Assad's fall
"I consider my life to be here. Not just me, but my children," said one Syrian refugee who is living in Athens.
The village of Szolosgyorok, in Hungary
WORLD / Society
Dec 12, 2024
Some German retirees find low-cost refuge in Orban's anti-migrant Hungary
Expats may be drawn to Hungary by right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban's hard-line anti-immigration rhetoric.

Longform

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?