World Story of the Day

As many as 6 million pilgrims have made their way to the Mexican capital to pay homage to the Virgin of Guadalupe on Thursday. One woman has turned the country's most revered religious icon into a cartoon characterization, using it to build a multimillion-dollar company.

Many Syrians fled their country and took refuge just across the border, planning to wait out the war. But now, a growing number are working with smugglers to get to northern Europe. The Syrians say they see no end in sight to the civil war and want to start a new life.

The polio outbreak in Syria has spread to four cities, and new cases are suspected each day. But U.N. agencies responsible for combating the outbreak can work only with the Syrian government. This limitation has hobbled vaccination efforts in rebel-held regions, where the virus was first detected.

In 2000, Auliya Atrafi paid thousands of dollars and risked his life to escape Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. He spent 12 years in England, but recently returned to his homeland, where he is trying to readjust to — and change — life in a conservative society.

A fifth century Byzantine monastery in Turkey is finally slated for renovation. But the government wants to turn it into a mosque. It's just one of several conversions of historically Christian sites that the government is considering, a move the country's dwindling number of Greeks decry.

In a spate of robberies in Rio de Janeiro, young boys — some only 10 years old — descend on tourist beach areas, robbing and harassing people. The attacks come despite anti-crime efforts in the run-up to the World Cup and Olympics. It's a phenomenon that had not been widely seen since the country's crime-ridden 1990s.

Afghanistan is a poor country with very expensive weddings. There is no alcohol, the sexes are completely segregated, and the families may negotiate over the dowry right up to the last minute.

China has declared a sprawling air defense identification zone that covers disputed islands controlled by Japan. It also sent its lone aircraft carrier for trials in the South China Sea. The moves are being closely watched in the Philippines, a key U.S. ally that has seen its own territorial dispute with China.

There's increasing anger in the Philippines that the rescue and recovery work following Typhoon Haiyan has been disrupted by the bitter rivalry between the country's political clans.

The London mayor has been urging people to get around by bike for years. And this year, 14 London cyclists have been killed — a higher casualty count than that of the British military in Afghanistan. In each fatal accident, a heavy truck was involved.