From the brutal rampage in the Middle East of the self-described Islamic State to Europe's fumbled handling of the refugee crisis, international news sparked conversations around dinner tables and across auditoriums around the world last year.
To help make sense of it all, each week the WorldPost asked an expert to shed light on a hot topic making headlines around the world.
As 2016 begins, refresh your memory on the crucial events of last year with our favorite interviews from 2015.
"We certainly need a counter-narrative, and it’s going to take a good deal of planning and coordination to come up with it," said Dr. Hussein Ibish about the fight against ISIS. (Photo: The Washington Post via Getty Images)
No group dominated the headlines last year quite like the self-described Islamic State. Dr. Hussein Ibish discussed the fierce debates over the group's relationship to Islam, the role religion plays in its success and the best way of analyzing it to guarantee it's defeated. He argued: "If we just stop fretting about the relationship of ISIS to the religious base of its ideology and accept that it's a bunch of extremists who come out of a tradition that they manipulate to justify their crimes and their ambitions, it’s not so complicated."
Despite several mass shootings, including the tragedies in Charleston and San Bernardino, the United States did not see any meaningful change in 2015 when it comes to gun control. The lackluster response sets America apart from other wealthy nations, according to Harvard University professor David Hemenway. "In most countries, when there have been big changes in gun laws, it was because of mass shootings," he said. Not so in the U.S.
Mourners gather in front of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church,where Dylann Roof murdered nine black people. "In most countries, when there have been big changes in gun laws, it was because of mass shootings," Harvard University professor David Hemenway said. Not so in the U.S. (Photo: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Author and Human Rights Watch special advisor Fred Abrahams reflected on Albania's tragic recent history, its fascinating transition and its struggle for change. "I think North Koreans would feel at home there," he said about communist Albania.
As one of Mexico's leading investigative journalists, Anabel Hernández has dedicated the past decade to investigating her country's drug war -- one of the most dangerous projects a reporter could embark on. Hernández spoke about the misconceptions surrounding Mexico's drug war, the role the U.S. plays in its neighbor's violence and why we shouldn't assume that drug cartels are behind the disappearance of the missing 43 students.
"He tried to silence the violence," Mexican journalist Anabel Hernández said about President Enrique Peña Nieto. "If you follow official figures for disappearances, for kidnappings, for homicide, you know that deaths remain at very, very high levels in Mexico. (Photo: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The discovery of plane debris in the Indian Ocean in August raised hopes of finally solving the mystery of the Malaysia Airlines plane that vanished in March 2014. David Gallo, director of special projects at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, explained the science behind reconstructing what happened to the fateful flight. "The ocean is a great record keeper," Gallo said.
Europe struggled to cope with the influx of more than one million migrants and refugees last year. While the number of people seeking a better life on the continent shows no signs of decline, European nations have been fiercely divided over how to address the humanitarian crisis. Hein de Haas, a professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam, believes that the debate over migration policy is surrounded by myths and lacks facts. "As a matter of framing, the real crisis is not about migration or refugees. The real crisis in Europe is the incompetence of Europe to come to a common response," he said.
Days after Russian President Vladimir Putin committed his air force to a bombing campaign in Syria, a weather forecaster on Russia's state-owned Rossiya24 TV channel used her screen time to outline the perfect weather conditions for Russia's bombers. Nataliya Rostova, a visiting scholar at the University of Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, explained how the broadcast was just the latest example of how the Russian government uses the mass media to sell domestic and international political decisions to the public.
"The Russian media portrays anything going on from the point of view of Vladimir Putin," journalist Nataliya Rostova said. (Photo: Artyom Korotayev via Getty Images)
The Nigerian extremist group Boko Haram stepped up its suicide attacks in 2015, particularly those bombings involving girls and women. Gender and radicalization researcher Elizabeth Pearson said the group's use of female suicide bombers suggests it will go out on a limb when it wants.
On Nov. 9, Myanmar held its first national election since the country embarked on a transition to democracy. The vote marked a landmark victory for pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League For Democracy. "There's a change in atmosphere now," said Aung Zaw, the founder and editor of Burmese news organization The Irawaddy. "People want to exercise their rights. They are enjoying their freedom."
Also on HuffPost:
Jan. 1 - 5
A family holds cutouts as they usher in 2015 in Lingbao, China, on Jan. 1.
Jan. 5 - 12
Hundreds of thousands of people flood the streets of Paris to express support in the wake of two deadly terror attacks in the city. On Jan. 7, masked gunmen killed 12 people at the offices of satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Several more people were killed at a Jewish supermarket two days after.
Following the tragedies, social media users around the world used the hashtags #JeSuisCharlie, or "I Am Charlie," and #JeSuisJuif, or "I Am Jewish," to show solidarity.
Jan. 12 - 19
A man takes a picture with his cell phone through heavy snow at the Dark Hedges in Antrim county, Northern Ireland, on Jan. 13. The site was a filming location in the popular TV series "Game of Thrones."
Jan. 19 - 26
Vehicles sit parked at a delivery center at the Hyundai Motor Company's factory in Asan, South Korea, on Jan. 20.
Jan. 26 - Feb. 1
Arif, a 10-year-old Syrian Kurdish refugee, poses at the Rojava refugee camp in Sanliurfa, Turkey, on Feb. 1. As the Syrian civil war rages on and the self-described Islamic State grabs territory, millions of Syrians have been forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in other parts of the country or in neighboring states.
Feb. 1 - 9
A man bikes along a snowy way near the village of Gemering, Germany, on Feb. 3.
Feb. 9 - 16
Ukrainian soldiers play football on a road leading to the embattled town of Debaltseve on Feb. 15. Tensions between Ukraine and Russia continued to mount after fighting broke out between the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed separatists in the country's east. Some 8,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
Feb. 16 - 23
Rescuers save a woman whose car had rolled into the water in Auckland, New Zealand, on Feb. 17. The two police officers who pulled the woman to safety said they were just doing their job.
Feb. 23 - March 2
People celebrate Daeboreum, a holiday marking the first full moon of the lunar new year, in Seoul, South Korea, on March 1.
March 2 - 9
College students attend the Mynavi Shushoku job fair in Tokyo on March 8.
March 9 - 16
The Russian Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft lands near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, as it ends a six-month tour of the International Space Station, on March 12.
March 16 - 23
Hundreds of people made the St. Patrick's Day pilgrimage to the top of Slemish mountain in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, on March 17. According to Irish legend, Patrick tended herds on the mountain as a boy in the 5th century.
March 23 - 30
On March 24, a Germanwings commercial flight carrying 150 people from Barcelona, Spain, to Dusseldorf, Germany, crashed in the French Alps with no known survivors. Andreas Lubitz, one of the flight's pilots, had a history of mental illness, and prosecutors said he appeared to have crashed the plane deliberately. In this photo, an investigator passes by scattered debris at the crash site two days after the tragedy.
March 30 - April 6
Revelers take part in a giant pillow fight to celebrate International Pillow Fight Day in London's Trafalgar Square on April 4.
April 6 - 13
A girl poses with a man disguised as a wall in Shanghai, China, on April 10.
April 13 - 20
People launch Kongming lanterns during the Water-Sprinkling Festival in China's Xishuangbanna autonomous prefecture on April 13.
April 20 - 27
A man climbs on top of building debris after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal and triggered a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest on April 25. The earthquake, which killed over 8,500 people, was the worst to hit Nepal in over 80 years.
April 27 - May 4
Police secure Baltimore's Mondawmin Mall after protesters and police clashed violently at the funeral of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old who died in police custody on April 19. Following the protests at Gray's funeral, Maryland's governor activated the National Guard and declared a state of emergency that lasted 10 days.
May 4 - 11
A man cheers as his home-made rocket takes off at the Bun Bang Fai Rocket Festival, marking the beginning of the rainy season on May 10 in Yasothon, Thailand.
May 11 - 18
Investigators work near the wreckage of an Amtrak Northeast Regional train from New York to Washington, D.C., that derailed in Philadelphia on May 13. At least seven people were killed and 200 injured.
May 18 - 25
A couple celebrates in Ireland's Dublin Castle Square after the majority of the country voted to change its constitution to legalize same-sex marriage in a May 23 referendum. The new marriage equality legislation went into effect on Nov. 16.
May 25 - June 1
North Korean defectors wearing the country's military uniforms dance at a "unification expo" in Seoul, South Korea, on May 29. The exposition commemorated the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 35-year-long colonial rule.
June 1 - 8
A Turkish soldier carries a Syrian girl as she enters Turkey at the Akcakale border crossing on June 6. Over 4 million Syrians have sought refuge in neighboring countries to flee airstrikes and fighting in the country.
June 8 - 15
A hippopotamus walks along a flooded street in Tbilisi, Georgia, on June 14. Tigers, lions, jaguars, bears and wolves escaped from a zoo after heavy flooding destroyed their compounds that day. At least 10 people, including three zoo workers, were killed.
June 15 - 22
Parishioners attend a service after a gunman killed nine people at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17. Investigators found that the shooter, Dylann Roof, posted photos of himself wearing symbols of white supremacy, including a Confederate flag, on social media.
June 22 - 29
In Turkey, shepherds guide small cattle through Mount Nemrut toward Kiyiduzu village for milking on June 25.
June 29 - July 6
A man jumps from a diving platform in Cologne, Germany, on July 2.
July 6 - 13
A bull charges at a participant during a bull run at the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, Spain, on July 7.
July 13 - 20
A hot air balloon flies over the outskirts of Minsk, Belarus, during the second International Aeronautics Championship on July 18.
The moon rises over Glastonbury Tor in Somerset, England, on July 31.
Aug. 3 - 10
A rainbow appears over Beijing on Aug. 3. Air pollution levels in and around the city progressively worsened throughout the year, to the point that the government had to issue two "red alerts" for pollution within weeks of each other in December 2015.
Aug. 10 - 17
Actors film a battle scene in Fangyan, China, for "The Last Noble," a series set during the second Sino-Japanese War, on Aug. 13.
Aug. 17 - 24
Police officers Greg Casem and Dominica Fuller console a child at a candlelight vigil held in honor of Jamyla Bolden in Ferguson, Missouri. Nine-year-old Jamyla was killed in her bed on Aug. 19 when someone fired several rounds into her home.
Aug. 24 - 31
A Spanish Civil Guard officer helps villagers during a fire in Cabreiro, Spain, on Aug. 30.
Affluent Americans may want to double-check how much of their bank deposits are protected by government-backed insurance. The rules governing trust accounts just changed.
Former NBA guard Darius Morris has died at the age of 33. He played for five teams during his four NBA seasons. Morris played college basketball at Michigan.
Ohtani tagged Braves ace Max Fried for a two-run shot in the first inning, then hit a solo shot in the eighth as the Dodgers prevailed in a battle of NL favorites.
Budgeting apps can help you keep track of your finances, stick to a spending plan and reach your money goals. These are the best budget-tracking apps available right now.
