The world in stories: 13 favorite messages from 2023

Witnessing, up close and often at great risk, is the essence of a broadcast, and in 2023 our correspondents submitted 80 from 37 countries, capturing the human experience from virtually every angle: the good, the bad and the heartbreaking. .

In a year marked by conflict, dozens of reports came straight from war zones: from a rare trip through Gaza, where we saw a city completely disfigured; from a destroyed kibbutz in Israel, where more than sixty people were murdered on October 7; and from the West Bank, where there is no sleeping at night.”

And we received several poignant messages from Ukraine, where stoic faces began to succumb to the emotional toll of war. The consequences of that war are felt worldwide, from Bali, where Russians and Ukrainian expats try to get along, to cities in Poland and the Czech Republic that have been turned upside down by the fighting.

In six broadcasts from Afghanistan we examined the aftermath of a new war, which had only recently ended; we also rushed to the remote site of a devastating earthquake that added to the misery of an already battered country.

Not long ago, the Kabul neighborhood known as the Green Zone was abuzz with the soundtrack of a multibillion-dollar war effort in Afghanistan. Armored vehicles rumbled through the streets as the thump-thump-thump of American helicopters echoed through the air.

But today there is a different kind of commotion in the neighborhood: the Taliban are coming in and making this neighborhood their own.

– By Christina Goldbaum

Italy has fallen hard for ‘Mare Fuori’, a television melodrama about the inmates of a youth prison who pass the time making out – without stabbing each other every now and then.

The show’s costume designer, Rossella Aprea, said that since there was no uniform in a real Italian youth prison, she could use her imagination. “Lots of black, super tight crop tops,” she said. “Skin, skin, skin.”

– By Jason Horowitz; photos by Gianni Cipriano

Baseball caps with the New York Yankees logo can be found all over Brazil. But many Brazilians have no idea what that logo stands for.

“Is it American football?” asked Carlos Henrique, 20, who was selling the caps on Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro. But the answer didn’t matter nearly as much as the popularity of the cap, his bestseller. “I just know it gets attention,” he said. “And it looks good on everyone.”

— By Jack Nicas; photos by Dado Galdieri

Subway rides in Seoul are free for people over 65, which is why some retirees spend their days riding the train to the end of the line.

“You read and doze off,” said Jeon Jong-duek, 85, a retired math professor. “There isn’t a corner of Seoul I don’t go to.”

— By Victoria Kim; photos by Chang W. Lee

Swimming in Paris is a fully-fledged cultural experience, offering an intimate glimpse into the French psyche, which can be seen almost naked in the swimming lanes, changing rooms and (usually mixed) showers.

Take the Piscine des Amiraux, built in 1930. It’s a long, thin pool, with walls covered in white subway tiles. Look up and you’ll see a skylight, above two rings of balconies with the green doors of individual changing rooms on either side. You hang your belongings on anchor-shaped hooks and when you have finished swimming, a cabin boy will come and open the door for you.

It all feels like swimming back in time.

– By Catherine Porter; photos by Dmitry Kostyukov

Toddlers squealed, the sea roared and a portable speaker played a love song. Perched on a giant inflatable hot dog, a child paddled through the shallow water. This could have been any beach, anywhere on a summer weekend if you closed your eyes tight enough to block out the moon’s light. But it was midnight in Dubai.

“Dubai is very beautiful at night,” says Mamadoto Momo, a Senegalese lifeguard who works on the beach from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

— By Vivian Nereim; photos by Andrea DiCenzo

What you need to understand about a sniper mission is that from the moment it begins to the moment it ends, everything you do is in service of killing another human being.

But almost no one says that. So it was a bit startling when a soldier decided to explain his moral calculations when killing Russian troops: he said the quiet part out loud.

– By Thomas Gibbons-Neff; photos by David Guttenfelder

In Himalayan Buddhism, the religious roles of nuns have long been limited by rules and customs. But one sect is changing that, by combining meditation with martial arts and environmental activism.

“Kung Fu helps us break gender barriers and develop inner confidence,” says Jigme Rabsal Lhamo, a Buddhist nun. “It also helps to care for others during crises.”

— By Sameer Yasir; photos and video by Saumya Khandelwal

The sheep rushed over the hill and emerged through the low mist where the green earth met the gray sky, and ran to the fields below.

They were ready for their big moment: Shetland Wool Week had finally arrived.

— By Megan Specia; photos by Andrew Testa

While the government’s crackdown on neon signs stems from safety and environmental concerns, the campaign evokes the fading of Hong Kong itself: the sad allegory for the decline of an electric city, the literal extinguishing of its brash flash.

“Neon is a kind of city emblem, an embodiment of Hong Kong’s stories,” says Cardin Chan, who heads a group dedicated to preserving condemned signs. “But it’s not just neon that’s undergoing a transformation. It’s the whole city, right?”

– By Hannah Beuk; photos by Anthony Kwan

In the Austrian state of Carinthia, where the law favors light-colored local bees, honey producers judged the risk of eradication to be “too dark.”

“It’s racial fanaticism,” says Sandro Huter, a beekeeper who was told to replace his dark queens with light gray queens.

— By Denise Hruby; photos by Ciril Jazzbec

South Africans are enjoying a second consecutive World Cup victory, creating a racial unity that even Hollywood couldn’t make up for and an escape from the country’s troubles.

“It’s about more than just rugby,” says Francois Pienaar, captain of the team that won South Africa’s first Rugby World Cup in 1995. “It’s about a nation. It’s about hope. It’s about building a future for everyone in our country.”

—By John Eligon; photos by Joao Silva

A bleak, snow-covered plot near the Black Sea is the final resting place for more and more Wagner mercenary soldiers, a testament to the enormous losses Russia suffers during its invasion.

“Lord, have mercy,” a priest sang as he blessed the bodies of fallen Russian soldiers with incense, his cassock buffeted by an icy wind.

– By Valerie Hopkins; photos by Nanna Heitmann