Back to Basics
NEED TO KNOW Back to Basics MAURITANIA In 2019, the former president of the West African country of Mauritania, Ould Abdel Aziz, […]
Talking Trash
NEED TO KNOW Talking Trash NORTH KOREA The French first used balloons in war for reconnaissance during the battles that erupted after […]
Just Say No
NEED TO KNOW Just Say No CANADA Two years ago, officials in British Columbia decriminalized the possession of small amounts of drugs […]
Let the Games Begin
NEED TO KNOW Let the Games Begin FRANCE French officials are only fairly sure that the opening ceremony for the upcoming summer […]
Tinted Lenses
NEED TO KNOW Tinted Lenses ISRAEL/ GAZA STRIP Bombs and bullets are flying in the Gaza Strip even as both sides mull […]
Eye of the Beholder
NEED TO KNOW Eye of the Beholder RUSSIA Russian-American historian Yuri Felshtinsky recently told Times Radio that Russian elites are in a […]
Colonial Democracy
NEED TO KNOW Colonial Democracy NEW CALEDONIA Four people, including a security officer, died recently in riots in the French territory of […]
Becoming Besties
NEED TO KNOW Becoming Besties KENYA Western influence on the African continent has been waning in recent years, with many countries moving […]
The Misery of Zugzwang
NEED TO KNOW The Misery of Zugzwang ARMENIA Since the end of the Cold War, Russia has protected the former Soviet republic […]
Rightward Ho
NEED TO KNOW Rightward Ho EUROPEAN UNION Expect right-wing parties to win big when 400 million voters in 27 countries elect new […]
Irreconcilable Differences
NEED TO KNOW Irreconcilable Differences BELGIUM A few years ago, Belgium famously had no elected government for more than 600 days, as […]
The Inheritance
NEED TO KNOW The Inheritance NAMIBIA The southwest African country of Namibia has long been isolated geographically and politically. A former German […]
Into the Fire
NEED TO KNOW Into the Fire MEXICO At least nine people died and around 50 more were injured when a stage collapsed […]
An Open Race
NEED TO KNOW An Open Race ICELAND A 700,000-year-old glacier called Snæfellsjökull almost appeared on Iceland’s presidential ballot for June 1. “It’s […]
A Long Way to Fall
NEED TO KNOW A Long Way to Fall SOUTH AFRICA Since the racist apartheid regime in South Africa ended 30 years ago, […]
Stopping the Hopping
NEED TO KNOW Stopping the Hopping VANUATU Voters in Vanuatu, an archipelago in the South Pacific, will decide on May 29 whether […]
Tears and Cheers
NEED TO KNOW Tears and Cheers IRAN The funeral for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died along with the Iranian foreign minister […]
Bills Coming Due
NEED TO KNOW Bills Coming Due WORLD Ghana is pressing the African Union (AU) to leverage the worldwide African diaspora to bolster […]
Hearing the People
NEED TO KNOW Hearing the People CHILE Chilean truckers staged protests in the mining region near the capital of Santiago recently. The […]
Shuffling the Deck
NEED TO KNOW Shuffling the Deck MIDDLE EAST Leaders meeting at the 33rd Arab Summit in Bahrain recently denounced “Israel’s obstruction of […]
The Fertility of Chaos
NEED TO KNOW The Fertility of Chaos SUDAN On June 15, 2023, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its Arab allied […]
Mixed Messages
NEED TO KNOW Mixed Messages SRI LANKA Sri Lanka has been grappling with political and economic instability since the end of its […]
An Eye on the Fence
NEED TO KNOW An Eye on the Fence DOMINICAN REPUBLIC When President Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic assumed office in 2020, […]