World Story of the Day

The American actress has stepped down as a goodwill representative for Oxfam International. She came in for criticism after agreeing to serve as a spokeswoman, and appear in a Super Bowl ad, for an Israeli company that produces at-home soda-makers in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict includes a shadow war in which Israel turns to Palestinian informants to gather intelligence. Palestinian Abed Hamed el-Rajoub was imprisoned for fighting against Israel, but while in jail, he secretly gathered information from fellow Palestinian prisoners.

Typhoon Haiyan was one of the strongest storms ever recorded at landfall when it struck the Philippines late last year. More than 6,000 people were killed and millions more were displaced, and authorities are still struggling with clearing away debris, rebuilding houses and counting the dead.

On Jan. 25, 2011, millions of Egyptians took to the streets of Cairo to demand President Hosni Mubarak step down. Now those who led the revolution have all but disappeared, and iconic Tahrir Square is a bitter place for many — a reminder of a momentary high in a battle they say they have lost.

This week in Iran, international inspectors are stepping up surveillance of the country's nuclear program. The inspections are at the heart of a landmark deal that freezes Iran's uranium enrichment in exchange for billions of dollars in relief from sanctions, but they are just a first step.

Federal forces are backing away from a plan to disarm the civilian militias that are defending their communities from ruthless drug traffickers. In the western state of Michoacan, it's unclear how long the fragile peace will last.

German farmers protested Wednesday against a free trade deal with the U.S. that could lift restrictions on American meat sold in Europe. The farmers say they are worried not just about poor quality meat but about unfair competition.

The former prime minister, who had been in a coma after suffering a massive stroke in 2006, died on Saturday. Sharon's career spanned the birth of the nation and most of its essential turning points. Israelis had a love-hate relationship with him that was beginning to soften only shortly before his death.

A race is on to save Britain's beloved crimson phone booth, threatened not by habitat loss or climate change, but by the ubiquity of cell phones. The country had 92,000 payphones in 2002; now, it has just 48,000. But devotees are finding new uses for the booths.

The Rev. Kelvin Apurillo rode out Haiyan on the second floor of his parish church. Two-thirds of his parishioners are now dead, missing or have left, and he's struggling to make sense of the destruction. In the majority Roman Catholic country, the church has played a key role in relief efforts.