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Amid the flurry of retrospectives prompted by Nelson Mandela's death, writer Kevin Roose reminds readers not to forget the social context within which Mandela struggled. Roose suggests reading the novel, Cry the Beloved Country, to understand the systematic racial oppression of South Africa under apartheid.

Ozy co-founder Carlos Watson talks about a rising star in soccer who could turn things around for England in the 2014 World Cup, and a Bahraini woman who calls herself an "accidental activist."

The high-tech system can essentially override human error and slow a train that is going too fast. Congress mandated that all trains have it by 2015, but only a few passenger and freight railroads will be ready by then. And after a deadly train crash in New York, few in Congress may be willing to vote for a delay.

Goli Taraghi writes about life in Iran — about love, loss, alienation and exile. She is particularly equipped to the task, as her own exile from the country began in 1980 at the outset of the Iranian Revolution. She discusses her latest collection of short stories, The Pomegranate Lady and Her Sons.

The new zone overlaps with some of the same area China laid claim to in November. The U.S. said the South Korean approach avoids confusion and threats to civilian airlines.

As they mourn the iconic anti-apartheid leader who shepherded South Africa to multiracial democracy, South Africans are experiencing mixed emotions. Some feel at peace with Nelson Mandela's death. Some are in disbelief, and some are anxious about a future without his guidance.

Most revolutionary political figures consider compromise a dirty word and a sign of weakness. Yet Mandela consistently preached pragmatism, and many of his defining moments involved acts of flexibility, reconciliation and magnanimity.

Thousands of protesters are calling for the ouster of their president, who wants closer ties with Russia. Ukraine has seen daily protests for more than two weeks now.

There's no question that people have mixed motives when they send out their cards. No doubt they want to put the best face on their own lives, offering an annual report marked more by pride, perhaps, than honesty. Christmas cards may be self-serving and smug, but they're also well-meant attempts to connect.

Fast-food workers across the country protested their low pay this week, while President Obama decried the nation's growing wealth gap, calling it "the defining challenge of our time." Meanwhile, the nation's capital city passed a new minimum wage law.