Nelson Mandela will be remembered around the world as the emblematic face of the struggle against apartheid.  Perhaps more than any other individual, Mandela, who died on December 5, 2013 at age 95, embodied the effort to scrap apartheid in South Africa and bring the nation’s exclusive white rule to an end. Upon his death, he is known for his character and its transformation of a nation. Yet, throughout most of his life, Mandela was a controversial and divisive figure.

In an attempt to force better care and treatment of animals, “A US animal rights group is calling on a New York court to recognise a chimpanzee as a legal person, in what is believed to be a legal first” (BBC, December 4, 2013).

On December 1, after years of preparation and hard work, China reported landing a robotic vehicle on the moon (BBC, December 14, 2013). The lander touched down in a lunar region about which little is known (ibid.). Many wonder about China’s lunar ambitions (BBC, November 29, 2013).

According to a quietly revealed U.S. plan, the Vatican and an international coalition would control some of Jerusalem’s most holy sites (WorldNetDaily, December 15, 2013). “The exact composition of the international mandate is up for discussion… but [U.S. Secretary of State] Kerry’s plan recommended a coalition that includes the Vatican, together with a group of Muslim countries such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia” (ibid.).