Treasure Islands
NEED TO KNOW Treasure Islands CARIBBEAN The Council of the European Union recently deemed the Caribbean countries of Antigua, Barbuda, and Belize […]
And the Winner Is …
NEED TO KNOW And the Winner Is … MIDDLE EAST On Sunday, the warship USS Carney, based in the Red Sea, shot […]
Faltering Resolve
NEED TO KNOW Faltering Resolve UKRAINE/ RUSSIA The admission shocked Ukrainians who have shown little but resolute courage as they tried to […]
Tragedy Redux
NEED TO KNOW Tragedy Redux SUDAN In 2003, rebels in Darfur, the western region of Sudan, took up arms against the central […]
Germany Divided
NEED TO KNOW Germany Divided GERMANY The far-right, xenophobic Alternative for Germany political party has long concerned observers who fear a resurgence […]
Hitting Pause
NEED TO KNOW Hitting Pause ISRAEL/ GAZA Diplomats worked overtime into Tuesday morning to extend the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian […]
Rapprochement
NEED TO KNOW Rapprochement VENEZUELA As post-pandemic inflation gripped the global economy and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused energy costs to spike, […]
Hot Top of the World
NEED TO KNOW Hot Top of the World NEPAL United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres recently journeyed to the foot of Mount Everest […]
New Beginning
NEED TO KNOW New Beginning NETHERLANDS In a surprise announcement in July, after 13 years in office, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte […]
Prelude and Epilogue to War
NEED TO KNOW Prelude and Epilogue to War GEORGIA Russian soldiers, currently occupying some 20 percent of the former Soviet republic of […]
Mirror Image
NEED TO KNOW Mirror Image WORLD In the West, there has been staunch support for Israel since the attack on Oct. 7 […]
Pardoning Politics
NEED TO KNOW Pardoning Politics SPAIN Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party achieved a political masterstroke to remain […]
No Exit
NEED TO KNOW No Exit NORTH KOREA North Koreans face hunger, forced labor, shortages of medicine and other supplies, and no freedom […]
Shattering Glass, Splintering Peace
NEED TO KNOW Shattering Glass, Splintering Peace EUROPEAN UNION Eighty-five years ago, the Jewish cemetery in Vienna was one of the main […]
Hooray for Nollywood
NEED TO KNOW Hooray for Nollywood NIGERIA In the Nigerian-produced film for Netflix, “The Black Book,” actor Richard Mofe Damijo plays an […]
Teasing a Detonator
NEED TO KNOW Teasing a Detonator ISRAEL/ WEST BANK, GAZA After the Palestinian terror group Hamas killed about 1,400 Israelis on Oct. […]
Young Bloods
NEED TO KNOW Young Bloods ECUADOR Ecuador, just a few years ago, was an oasis of relative prosperity and peace in the […]
The Grudge Match
NEED TO KNOW The Grudge Match MADAGASCAR A Madagascan court recently postponed the first round of the country’s presidential election by a […]
Importing a War
NEED TO KNOW Importing a War EUROPEAN UNION Police in Europe recently arrested alleged terrorists for supposedly planning attacks in connection with […]
Pick Your King
NEED TO KNOW Pick Your King MALAYSIA Malaysia has a unique form of constitutional monarchy. Every five years, nine sultans convene at […]
The Calamity Next Door
NEED TO KNOW The Calamity Next Door EGYPT Most Egyptians are sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians as Israeli forces devastate […]
Bracing for the Storm
NEED TO KNOW Bracing for the Storm LEBANON Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recently deployed drones to strike at Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia […]
Books and Bombs
NEED TO KNOW Books and Bombs SOMALIA A locally filmed, 10-part television series about Mogadishu high school students called “Arday” hit the […]