The Other Front
NEED TO KNOW The Other Front UKRAINE As their fellow citizens battle the Russian army on the eastern front, Ukrainian authorities recently […]
The Puppetmasters
NEED TO KNOW The Puppetmasters ZIMBABWE Police in Zimbabwe recently arrested more than two dozen members of the Citizens Coalition for Change […]
Revolt of the Incas
NEED TO KNOW Revolt of the Incas PERU The Peruvian city of Juliaca recently felt like a warzone. “Burning pyres of rubbish […]
Lights Out
NEED TO KNOW Lights Out SOUTH AFRICA André de Ruyter launched investigations into corruption and organized crime at South Africa’s state-owned energy […]
Rumbles in the Household
NEED TO KNOW Rumbles in the Household CANADA French-speaking Canadians concentrated in the province of Quebec have long sought more autonomy from […]
Tanking Diplomacy
NEED TO KNOW Tanking Diplomacy RUSSIA/ UKRAINE A Russian company that makes materials for oil fracking, Fores, is offering more than $70,000 […]
Dirty Laundry
NEED TO KNOW Dirty Laundry THE PACIFIC Since Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant melted down in 2011 after an earthquake and tsunami […]
Straddling a Divide
NEED TO KNOW Straddling a Divide SERBIA/ KOSOVO Late last year, Serbia and Kosovo, the former Serbian territory whose majority ethnic Albanian […]
Held Hostage
NEED TO KNOW Held Hostage CYPRUS Workers in Cyprus went on a three-hour strike recently. The demonstration was a warning to the […]
Murder, and Other Disasters
NEED TO KNOW Murder, and Other Disasters ECUADOR Under the conservative government of President Guillermo Lasso, Ecuador’s economy grew 3.2 percent last […]
Playing Charades
NEED TO KNOW Playing Charades MYANMAR Two years ago, Myanmar’s generals staged a coup that ousted the Southeast Asian country’s civilian leaders, […]
Silent Gestures
NEED TO KNOW Silent Gestures RUSSIA Muscovites recently have been laying wreaths of flowers, stuffed animals, photographs and other mementos at the […]
Sharp Elbows
NEED TO KNOW Sharp Elbows MOROCCO Moroccan lawmakers recently voted to “reconsider” their North African country’s relationship with the European Union. The […]
Interior Thoughts
NEED TO KNOW Interior Thoughts AUSTRALIA Almost everyone ranks the Amazon, the Sahara and Siberia as among the world’s greatest, most gigantic […]
The Morning After
NEED TO KNOW The Morning After ETHIOPIA The war between Ukraine and Russia has understandably garnered much attention over the past year. […]
The Virtual Front
NEED TO KNOW The Virtual Front RUSSIA/ UKRAINE In the 1990s, many world leaders failed to understand the threat that cyberattacks posed […]
Twixt the Bear and the Dragon
NEED TO KNOW Twixt the Bear and the Dragon MONGOLIA In Mongolia, Dulamsuren Demberel worries about her family’s budget. The price of […]
The Celtic Conundrum
NEED TO KNOW The Celtic Conundrum IRELAND Three years after the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, officials in […]
Rags to Riches
NEED TO KNOW Rags to Riches BOTSWANA Sprawling, landlocked, relatively lightly populated Botswana enjoys a higher gross domestic product per capita than […]
A Reformer’s Fumble
NEED TO KNOW A Reformer’s Fumble SLOVAKIA Thirty years ago, the former communist country of Czechoslovakia split in two. The event was […]
Oiling the Hinges
NEED TO KNOW Oiling the Hinges MIDDLE EAST Natural gas is changing the Eastern Mediterranean. It could also shake up the Israeli-Palestinian […]
The Exile and the Mob
NEED TO KNOW The Exile and the Mob BRAZIL The former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, might finally be planning to return […]
The Forever Pandemic
NEED TO KNOW The Forever Pandemic CHINA China recently lifted mandatory quarantining for visitors, ending three years of travel restrictions designed to […]
The Balancing Act
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