The Ghosts of the Sea
NEED TO KNOW The Ghosts of the Sea TRINIDAD & TOBAGO A bag containing $75,000 worth of cocaine recently washed up on […]
Kua takoto te Mānuka
NEED TO KNOW Kua takoto te Mānuka NEW ZEALAND Courses in the Māori language, te reo, are immensely popular in New Zealand, […]
Family Feud
NEED TO KNOW Family Feud HUNGARY Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whom the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs and others have described […]
Swimming With Crocodiles
NEED TO KNOW Swimming With Crocodiles ZIMBABWE A Zimbabwean court recently gave opposition leader Job Sikhala a suspended sentence of nine months […]
Forced Predictability
NEED TO KNOW Forced Predictability BELARUS Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko recently claimed that his security forces had captured Ukrainian and Belarusian “saboteurs” […]
Running Out the Clock
NEED TO KNOW Running Out the Clock UKRAINE/ RUSSIA Near the front line in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Ukrainian soldiers detail how […]
A Popular Resistance
NEED TO KNOW A Popular Resistance MYANMAR In Nam Hpat Kar in northern Myanmar, a towering golden Buddha statue stands above the […]
Disaster, in Slow Motion
NEED TO KNOW Disaster, in Slow Motion HAITI Feb. 7 is a treasured day in Haiti. In 1986, it was on this […]
Failing Grade
NEED TO KNOW Failing Grade SENEGAL Senegal is traditionally a “haven of stability and democracy” in West Africa, Agence France-Presse recently wrote. […]
Seeding Fury
NEED TO KNOW Seeding Fury EUROPEAN UNION In Italy, a sign on the front of a tractor flying the Italian tricolor in […]
The New Clique
NEED TO KNOW The New Clique WEST AFRICA Officials in the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria […]
Warm and Fuzzy Politics
NEED TO KNOW Warm and Fuzzy Politics INDONESIA Gen. Prabowo Subianto, 72, who is Indonesia’s defense minister, has pioneered the use of […]
The Delicate Dance
NEED TO KNOW The Delicate Dance JORDAN Jordanian lawmakers enacted a repressive cybercrimes law last year, to the alarm of human rights advocates […]
Havana Blues
NEED TO KNOW Havana Blues CUBA Storm waves recently flung jellyfish and seaweed onto the streets of Havana. After the storm, temperatures […]
Clinging to the Snake
NEED TO KNOW Clinging to the Snake GABON Hours after President Ali Bongo won reelection to a third term in Gabon in […]
An Election of One
NEED TO KNOW An Election of One AZERBAIJAN President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan recently ordered a snap presidential vote. He was slated […]
Skidding Off the Rails
NEED TO KNOW Skidding Off the Rails PAKISTAN Late last month, courts in Pakistan in different rulings convicted ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan […]
Phil Balboni’s Unrelenting Pursuit to Help People Know the World Better
For Phil Balboni, a self-described "journalist entrepreneur," the mission has always been clear: to help people better understand the world around them.
Growing Pains
NEED TO KNOW Growing Pains ARGENTINA Labor unions took to the streets a few weeks ago in Argentina to oppose recently elected […]
Word Play
NEED TO KNOW Word Play ISRAEL/ GAZA In a Jan. 26 interim ruling on whether Israel was perpetrating acts of genocide in […]
‘Hustle-bro Populism’
NEED TO KNOW ‘Hustle-bro Populism’ EL SALVADOR El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has drawn admiration and condemnation since he first took office […]
Self-Serving Justice
NEED TO KNOW Self-Serving Justice SLOVAKIA Thousands of people took to the streets in the Central European country of Slovakia late last […]
Target Practice
NEED TO KNOW Target Practice BALUCHISTAN Iran and Pakistan fired missiles and drones at each other this month ostensibly to kill separatists […]
Saving Stalin
NEED TO KNOW Saving Stalin GEORGIA The late communist dictator Josef Stalin is arguably the most controversial native son of the former […]