The Time To Choose
NEED TO KNOW The Time To Choose BRAZIL Tanks rolled and soldiers marched through the streets of the Brazilian capital of Brasilia […]
Going A-Courting
NEED TO KNOW Going A-Courting AFRICA In the universe of Marvel Comics, Wakanda is a secret kingdom in sub-Saharan Africa ruled over […]
Tectonic Shifts
NEED TO KNOW Tectonic Shifts RUSSIA After World War II, British influence gave way to American power everywhere around the globe except […]
If You Can’t Beat Them…
NEED TO KNOW If You Can’t Beat Them… SWEDEN A local politician in Sweden, Saida Hussein Moge, recently quit the ruling Social […]
The Best, the Worst, of Times
NEED TO KNOW The Best, the Worst, of Times SAUDI ARABIA It was a time of lavish spending on ambitious projects. It […]
Wasting Away
NEED TO KNOW Wasting Away SOMALIA Death has two faces in Somalia these days. If famine doesn’t claim one’s life in the […]
Pinned Down
NEED TO KNOW Pinned Down ECUADOR Ecuador’s president, Guillermo Lasso, managed to drag his country out of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, however, […]
The Long Road
NEED TO KNOW The Long Road UKRAINE Just over six months after the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Sébastien Roblin at NBC […]
Out of Touch
NEED TO KNOW Out of Touch CHILE Technocrats, scientists, environmentalists, and other experts and policymakers love Chile’s proposed new constitution. As Nature […]
Choosing Forgiveness
NEED TO KNOW Choosing Forgiveness INDONESIA Indonesian officials are considering granting early release to Hisyam bin Alizein, also known as Umar Patek, […]
Breathing Room
NEED TO KNOW Breathing Room SOUTH SUDAN Rather than hold elections in December as previously planned under a 2018 peace agreement that […]
From the Energiewende and Back
NEED TO KNOW From the Energiewende and Back GERMANY German officials this winter may keep open three nuclear power plants that they […]
The Little Country That Could
NEED TO KNOW The Little Country That Could LATVIA Latvian authorities began dismantling a 262-foot-tall Soviet-era monument that commemorates the Allies’ victory […]
Lights Off
NEED TO KNOW Lights Off EUROPE Not a drop of rain has fallen this summer on the reservoir in Sau, a town […]
Twisting and Turning
NEED TO KNOW Twisting and Turning IRAQ From 2003 to 2009, the Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr waged an insurgency against American troops […]
The Old, the New and the Dead
NEED TO KNOW The Old, the New and the Dead ANGOLA The recent return of the body of the late president of […]
Door Fees
NEED TO KNOW Door Fees SINGAPORE In the 2013 novel (and 2018 hit film) “Crazy Rich Asians,” the ingénue travels to Singapore […]
A Changing Country
NEED TO KNOW A Changing Country UKRAINE Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Ukraine had 40 million people. Now it is […]
Two Diamonds
NEED TO KNOW Two Diamonds INDIA/ PAKISTAN India and Pakistan had the rare experience of separating from one another at the same […]
A Grave Hour
NEED TO KNOW A Grave Hour UKRAINE The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 was among the worst nuclear accidents in world history. Now, […]
The War Dividend
NEED TO KNOW The War Dividend CAMEROON A few months ago, elite government soldiers in Ndop in the Northwest region of Cameroon […]
Terror, Redux
NEED TO KNOW Terror, Redux AFGHANISTAN On Monday, the Taliban marked the first anniversary of their takeover of Afghanistan with a national […]
Suffer the Monkeys
NEED TO KNOW Suffer the Monkeys WORLD What’s in a name, Shakespeare once wrote. Well for monkeys these days, everything. Since May, […]
Having a Cow
NEED TO KNOW Having a Cow NETHERLANDS Near the prime minister’s office in The Hague, the seat of the government of the […]