Mechanical elephants replace real ones for ceremonies in South India

Out of Eden Walk: Raising a glass to global wine

An Italian city takes on sub-par pasta

How cremations are helping to heat homes in Denmark

Celebrating Eid al-Fitr in one of Islam’s holiest cities

Remembering Margareta Magnusson, the author who introduced us to ‘Swedish death cleaning’

First animated feature made by, for and about Muslims hits US and Canadian theaters this weekend

Buddhist monks on national Walk for Peace receive flowers, tears and gratitude along a NC highway

Sabbath observance is dwindling on the islands of the Outer Hebrides

Out of Eden Walk: The origin story of the human species is still being written

A new way to help Asian American teens handle college admissions stresses

This country’s paternity leave could be a model for the US

‘Dobre Dobre’: A cookbook that highlights Polish and Jewish baking traditions

In South Korea, it’s getting harder to push for human rights in North Korea

Amid divorce and war, a Palestinian-Israeli actor finds himself ‘between the river and the sea’

Small talk on the Eden Walk

Shinto forest bathing as an antidote to global crises

Evangelical churches flourish among Indigenous communities in Ecuador

In one of the world’s most secular countries, some Gen Z Christians are finding faith again — but not at church

A rapper finds peace and a channel for his activism through hip-hop and Islam

Tibetans in Massachusetts celebrate 14th Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday

Immersive shrine installation comes with chanting and controversy

In the city of its birth, Jews reject Zionism

In Haiti, a pastor helps his shattered community heal

Some Russians push back against a church building spree in Moscow

This family in Syria has kept the centuries-old tradition of Sufi whirling dervishes alive

In Damascus, stand-up comedians test the limits under a new government

A family remembers a relative who died in the Holocaust with a ‘stumbling stone’ in her German hometown

Concerns grow over suspicious candidates in Mexico’s 1st judicial election

Uber partners with Chinese firm to launch robotaxis in Middle East

After Assad’s fall, a revered Shia shrine in Syria faces a new era of uncertainty

Community, conversation, music: How people are tackling eco-anxiety around the world

Christians in historic town in Syria reflect on new moment in the country

Trump kicks off Middle East visit with talk of a ‘golden age’ 

‘The pope put us on the world’s radar’: Residents of Peruvian city talk about Pope Leo XIV’s impact on their diocese

How Pope Francis’ legacy will influence the selection of the next pope 

Spain tests AI-based speed limit system

Vietnam celebrates 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon

The lawyers in Russia representing political prisoners despite the risks 

‘Nowhere is safe’: The teenage guitarists who fled Afghanistan — and are now in limbo

‘Make America go away’: Canadians head to the polls amid tensions with US

How can we assess public opinion in Russia during wartime?

The life and legacy of Pope Francis

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff who ministered with a charming, humble style, dies at 88

For more than a century, a synagogue known as the ‘Carnegie Hall of Brooklyn’ has been home to the US’ greatest cantors

Young girls in Kenya find safe, empowering coaches at Nala Track Club

New cookbook highlights Nigerian homecooking 

Ukrainian military chaplains tend to soldiers and others at risk amid the ongoing fighting

How a deeply Buddhist Bhutan keeps religion and politics from mixing

A Baha’i temple in Uganda’s bustling capital offers a rare respite

South Korea says it sent babies abroad for adoption ‘like luggage’

Crimean Tatars mark Ramadan while in exile from the Crimean Peninsula

More Italians are raising chickens

Japan moves to shut down the Unification Church 

Construction underway on the world’s longest tunnel immersed underwater

30 years since Japan’s worst domestic terrorist attack, the cult group behind it is ‘ongoing problem,’ officials say

Skepticism in Ukraine over potential ceasefire deal 

In wartime Ukraine, Jews embrace their Ukrainian-Jewish identity

Island nation fights the sea to keep its land

Many Argentine Catholics pray for long-awaited papal visit