CNN.com - World

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 06:57 AM PST

In a birthday speech Thursday, Thailand's deeply revered king asked the nation to maintain the peace it has enjoyed "for a very long time" by working hand in hand.

Nelson Mandela dead at 95

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 01:55 PM PST

Nelson Mandela, the revered statesman who emerged from prison after 27 years to lead South Africa out of decades of apartheid, has died, South African President Jacob Zuma announced late Thursday. He was 95.

Yakushima, Japan's eco-paradise

Posted: 04 Dec 2013 08:04 PM PST

Fans of anime master Hayao Miyazaki may remember the mystical, moss-covered forest that serves as the setting for much of "Princess Mononoke", his epic about humans and the environment.

The world's best unknown hike

Posted: 04 Dec 2013 08:01 PM PST

I knew I was going to have to climb 538 stairs to get to Kamikura Shrine in Wakayama, Japan.

Google Street View maps Mount Fuji

Posted: 04 Dec 2013 08:03 PM PST

At the start of a three-month reporting stint in Tokyo, I'd thought vaguely to myself how I wouldn't mind climbing Mount Fuji when my assignment was done -- in the way that I've always vaguely wondered about running a marathon, but never got round to it.

American may win 'Arabs Got Talent'

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 10:17 AM PST

When all-American Jennifer Grout first stepped on stage to audition, nobody could have anticipated how this 23-year-old from Massachusetts would take the Middle East by storm.

5 African festivals not to miss

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 06:43 AM PST

African festivals celebrate everything from rose harvests to religious saints. Here are five festivals you shouldn't miss.

U.N. mulls CAR peacekeeping force

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 06:42 AM PST

Months after a coup escalated chaos and violence in the Central African Republic, the U.N. Security Council meets Thursday to discuss how to stabilize the country.

Yemen Defense Ministry attacked

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 06:46 AM PST

Multiple fatalities reported in an explosion and gun battle at the Yemen Defense Ministry in Sanaa, Yemen.

Toronto mayor: Tape claims a lie

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 06:48 AM PST

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, infamous for his admission to smoking crack and drinking too much, called allegations that he tried to buy an incriminating video from criminal suspects "an outright lie" on the Sports Junkies talk radio show in Washington Thursday morning.

Satellite images show N. Korea's labor camps

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 10:09 AM PST

North Korea is showing no signs of scaling back its fearsome labor camp system, with torture, starvation, rape and death a fact of life for tens of thousand of inmates, according to human rights group Amnesty International.

Robot camera captures lions

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 10:09 AM PST

CNN's Michael Holmes shares some amazing close-up photos of a group of lions in Botswana.

Peacekeepers heading to Central African Republic

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 10:16 AM PST

Months after a coup escalated chaos and violence in the Central African Republic, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved the deployment of African and French forces.

Top U.S. official tries to move Mideast peace forward

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 10:10 AM PST

John Kerry makes another push for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks Thursday when he hops between Jerusalem and Ramallah to address grievances from both sides.

Vatican setting up commission against sexual abuse of minors

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 05:26 AM PST

Pope Francis is creating a commission to prevent the abuse of minors and to support victims of abuse, Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley announced Thursday in Rome.

Toronto mayor: Accusations about tape "outright lie"

Posted: 05 Dec 2013 06:33 AM PST

Covering the rape case that changed India

Posted: 04 Dec 2013 01:11 PM PST

When I tell people outside India that I live in New Delhi, I'm almost always asked the now inevitable question: "Do you feel safe there?" or worse, "what's with the rape culture in India?"