Left to right: Barbies in India; Maya softball players in Mexico; walking on a frozen fountain in the mountains of Pakistan, where efforts are underway to revive the ancient art of glacier mating. Anushree Bhatter for NPR, Bénédicte Desrus; Diaa Hadid/NPR hide caption
Images from some of our most popular global stories of 2023 (left to right): A woman from Brazil's Awa people holds her bow and arrow after a hunt; an artificial intelligence program made this fake photo to fulfill a request for "doctors help children in Africa" â AI added the giraffe; researchers are learning that a stranger's hello can do more than just brighten your day. Scott Wallace/Getty Images, Midjourney Bot Version 5.1. Annotation by NPR, David Rowland/AP hide caption
The world may be out of the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, but humans still share the globe with countless pathogens. Here are some of the ways viruses shaped 2023. Olivia Taussig-Rees for NPR hide caption
In 2019, NPR covered the story of Renee Bach, an American missionary who said she was called by God to serve the children of Uganda. Now HBO is presenting her story in the documentary series White Savior. Julia Rendleman for NPR hide caption
Back in March, four or five goats scrambled along the streets of San Francisco and became instantly famous as videos of their runabout were posted on social media. What became of the runaway ruminants? screengrab by NPR via u/kevin1760/Reddit hide caption
A gull picks up a discarded protective face mask from the shoreline in the marina on August 11, 2020 in Dover, England. Leon Neal/Getty Images hide caption
On Friday, World Health Organization director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated: "With great hope, I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency." Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Four or five goats scrambled across San Francisco last week, captured in videos posted on social media. So how do goats fare in urban settings? screengrab by NPR via u/kevin1760/Reddit hide caption
First graders from The Friends School of Atlanta share their hopes for the world. The Friends School of Atlanta hide caption