Scripture and Strictures
NEED TO KNOW Scripture and Strictures AFGHANISTAN Three years after the US quit Afghanistan, the country’s ultraorthodox Islamic rulers, the Taliban, have […]
Metastasis
NEED TO KNOW Metastasis SWEDEN Criminals in Sweden are making big money selling strawberries at roadside stands. These allegations might seem silly, […]
Cutting the Gordian Knot
NEED TO KNOW Cutting the Gordian Knot GERMANY Twenty-five years ago, Germany was famously called the “sick man of Europe.” In the […]
New Man, New Plans
NEED TO KNOW New Man, New Plans JAPAN When Ishiba Shigeru was running to become leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, […]
Bullets and Ballots
NEED TO KNOW Bullets and Ballots MOZAMBIQUE Catholic bishops in the southern African country of Mozambique recently urged electoral observers to be […]
Escaping the Shadow
NEED TO KNOW Escaping the Shadow MEXICO When Andrés Manuel López Obrador left office on Sept. 30, he had recorded around 3,000 […]
Shapeshifting
NEED TO KNOW Shapeshifting MIDDLE EAST A year ago, after Hamas broke through a Gaza border fence on the morning of Oct. […]
Putting a Hand Out
NEED TO KNOW Putting a Hand Out CUBA In the early period of Cuba’s communist regime, the island was remarkably safe. Violent […]
‘The War of Liberation’
NEED TO KNOW ‘The War of Liberation’ TUNISIA Tunisian fruit seller Mohamed Bouazizi immolated himself in protest against his country’s uncaring, corrupt […]
Hoping For a Thaw
NEED TO KNOW Hoping For a Thaw BULGARIA Freedom of information advocacy group Reporters Without Borders once concluded that Bulgarian media mogul […]
Maxed Out
NEED TO KNOW Maxed Out LAOS A UNICEF official recently toured Laos to see the devastation wrought by extreme floods. “Classrooms filled […]
The Cooling Welcome
NEED TO KNOW The Cooling Welcome MIDDLE EAST Life has never been easy for the 12 million Syrian refugees who fled their […]
Disaster Management
NEED TO KNOW Disaster Management AUSTRIA Austrian politicians running for parliament before elections on Sept. 29 paused their campaigns recently after flooding […]
Sunshine and Bullets
NEED TO KNOW Sunshine and Bullets JAMAICA Three million tourists have visited the luscious Caribbean island of Jamaica this year, including 1 […]
The Acceleration
NEED TO KNOW The Acceleration LEBANON Starting on Sept. 17, hundreds of pagers and two-way handheld radios exploded in homes, supermarkets, buses, […]
The Depths
NEED TO KNOW The Depths MYANMAR In the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar, casualties from natural and manmade disasters are mounting. Typhoon […]
On the Sidelines
NEED TO KNOW On the Sidelines AFRICA Last month, Samuel Nduwimana was in agony in a hospital in Bujumbura, the financial capital […]
All or Nothing
NEED TO KNOW All or Nothing SRI LANKA The People’s Liberation Front (JVP) in Sri Lanka was founded as a revolutionary Marxist-Leninist […]
Base Instincts
NEED TO KNOW Base Instincts CZECH REPUBLIC The right-wing Freedom and Direct Democracy Party’s political billboard in Wenceslas Square in the capital […]
A Little Shot of Democracy
NEED TO KNOW A Little Shot of Democracy KASHMIR/ INDIA The Indian government recently announced that local elections in the disputed region […]
The Ghosts of Leaders Past
NEED TO KNOW The Ghosts of Leaders Past PERU The recent death of Alberto Fujimori, 86, who served as president of Peru […]
No Day After
NEED TO KNOW No Day After CAMEROON Cameroonian President Paul Biya is 92 and has ruled his Central African country for 42 […]
Mother Russia
NEED TO KNOW Mother Russia RUSSIA For Russia to remain a great power in the world, the world needs more Russian babies. […]
Rich, Dark Earth
NEED TO KNOW Rich, Dark Earth AMAZON RAINFOREST If the fabled fountain of youth exists, modern society might be destroying it. In […]