Conservatives will be officially sworn into power in Spain this week for the first time in nearly eight years. Since 2004, the country's Socialists have legalized gay marriage, liberalized abortion laws and presided over the country's biggest-ever financial boom — and now downturn. The new year is likely to be marked by extreme austerity and diminished expectations.

A new exhibit at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., features photos of Cixi, a teenage concubine turned empress who ruled China for 43 years. The portraits were taken as a diplomatic effort — an attempt to revive the reputation of a dying dynasty.

The death of North Korea's mercurial and enigmatic leader was announced Monday by state television. Kim's iron rule and nuclear ambitions for his isolated Communist nation dominated world security fears for more than a decade.

Paul Bremer headed the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and was seen as one of the chief architects of how much of the war played out. Today, he stands by his decisions but believes the U.S. pullout of troops in premature.

As troops withdraw from Iraq, it's a bittersweet day for Brandeis University Professor Kanan Makiya. On April 9, 2003, Makiya watched the fall of Baghdad on television from the Oval Office, alongside President George W. Bush. The former Iraqi exile was an outspoken critic of Saddam Hussein's crimes against the Iraqi people and had advised the President on the invasion of Iraq. Makiya tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz he believes the war was worth it for the Iraqi people — but perhaps not for the Americans.

Vaclav Havel, the Czech playwright who led a revolution to bring down the country's communist regime, died Sunday morning. Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright remembers Havel as a friend, an artist and someone who brought opportunity and possibility back to the Czech people.

There were a lot of lasts at Contingency Operating Base Adder in southern Iraq as U.S. troops prepared to leave: the last briefing, the last patrol, the last hot meal. The base was the main staging ground for all troops exiting the country, and it was the last U.S. base to close.

2011 has been a year of social and economic upheaval in Greece. In exchange for bailout money to stave off default, the government is imposing harsh austerity measures. Reporter Joanna Kakissis says the task is especially daunting because Greeks have lost all trust in their civic institutions.