Our most read and commented on Europe posts ranged from Great Power Politics and the future of European Construction to well, British Royal tops and bottoms. But readers had something to say - and much of it very personal - about just about everything.
The Best and Worst Countries to Be a Woman - and the Worst. In one of our two most-read posts of the year, Europe fared well, but Canada topped the list for the best country in which to be a woman.
In Letter to Friends, Slain U.S. Ambassador Expressed Hope. This was a very personal post by Harvey Morris, our Europe blogger, on his friend J. Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador slain in Benghazi, Libya.
‘Fragile' Australian Radio Hosts Get Counseling After Nurse's Death. This heart-rending story demonstrated how truly small our global village has become, touching on the tragedy of a suicide in Great Britain and a mistake in Australia and engendered worldwide interest, generating more than 200 comments.
U.N. Report from Rio on Environment a ‘Suicide Note'. This was our report on the best of the Web coverage of the Rio+20 talks. A follow up of sorts after the Durban climate conference generated almost 100 comments: Ignoring Planetary Peril, a Profound ‘Disconnect' Between Science and Doha
Why Socialist Europe Is Better for Families than America. This post relating the story of an American mother of two living in France and posted another site started a debate that included more than 150 comments on the relative virtues of the French and American social and economic systems. The comments were among the smartest we've read on the Web.
The Future of the Euro: Jack Ewing Answers Readers' Questions. In answer to our Ask About the Euro post, which generated 50 questions and comments, the IHT's chief European economics correspondent wrote a primer on the currency and its future.
It was one of many posts on our most popular European theme of the year, including this one: Europe's Economy Is Eating Its Young - And Things Are About to Get Worse and this one: Greeks Unite Against Lagarde After ‘Tax-Dodgers' Jibe and this one: Subtext: Germany Threatens Europe, Again.
Olympics Spectacle Stirs Great British Pride. What Did You Think? A lot.
Canada's Latest Iranian Caper. Harvey's posts on Mideast affairs, though not technically about Europe, touched on Europe's most sensitive foreign interests. This one generated near ly 100 comments.
Harvey's analysis of Syria was especially original and insightful, based on his decades of knowledge of the region: What Syria Looks Like From Tehran and a post explaining the roots of Russia's support of Syria,
And then there was this. Topless Royal Photos Expose Public's Bottomless Fascination. What more is there to say.
Happy 2013.
