Last Man Falling
NEED TO KNOW Last Man Falling UKRAINE Ukraine’s plan for victory against Russia is well-known. As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently told […]
Knock-On Effects
NEED TO KNOW Knock-On Effects MIDDLE EAST The death of Yahya Sinwar in Gaza marked what could become the beginning of the […]
Diamond in the Rough
NEED TO KNOW Diamond in the Rough BOTSWANA The two main opposition parties in Botswana, the Umbrella for Democratic Change and the […]
Mix and Match
NEED TO KNOW Mix and Match TURKEY Turkey has always straddled Europe and Asia. Reflecting that geopolitical reality, the country is now […]
A Tale of Two Countries
NEED TO KNOW A Tale of Two Countries LIBYA Anyone interested in learning about how failed states survive might consider the story […]
Risks and Rewards
NEED TO KNOW Risks and Rewards JAPAN Polls show that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan will likely lose its […]
The Scent of Desperation
NEED TO KNOW The Scent of Desperation GEORGIA Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili had a question recently for Bidzina Ivanishvili, a pro-Russian billionaire […]
Hope, Change and Everything In-Between
NEED TO KNOW Hope, Change and Everything In-Between UZBEKISTAN When Uzbeks cast their votes in parliamentary and local elections on Oct. 27, […]
Victors and Spoils
NEED TO KNOW Victors and Spoils KIRIBATI The Tobwaan Kiribati Party (TKP) holds a sufficiently large majority in the parliament of Kiribati, […]
Where No News Is Good News
NEED TO KNOW Where No News Is Good News URUGUAY On Oct. 27, Uruguay voters will decide who they want to lead […]
The King’s Gambit
NEED TO KNOW The King’s Gambit MOLDOVA Moldovan police recently foiled an “unprecedented” Russian plot to meddle in the East European country’s […]
I Vote, Therefore I Am
NEED TO KNOW I Vote, Therefore I Am IRAQI KURDISTAN Lawyers affiliated with a range of political parties in Kurdistan recently volunteered […]
Paradise, Enraged
NEED TO KNOW Paradise, Enraged CARIBBEAN The tourism industry – hotels, restaurants, and other amenities – has long replaced the extractive colonial […]
Scripture and Strictures
NEED TO KNOW Scripture and Strictures AFGHANISTAN Three years after the US quit Afghanistan, the country’s ultraorthodox Islamic rulers, the Taliban, have […]
Metastasis
NEED TO KNOW Metastasis SWEDEN Criminals in Sweden are making big money selling strawberries at roadside stands. These allegations might seem silly, […]
Cutting the Gordian Knot
NEED TO KNOW Cutting the Gordian Knot GERMANY Twenty-five years ago, Germany was famously called the “sick man of Europe.” In the […]
New Man, New Plans
NEED TO KNOW New Man, New Plans JAPAN When Ishiba Shigeru was running to become leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, […]
Bullets and Ballots
NEED TO KNOW Bullets and Ballots MOZAMBIQUE Catholic bishops in the southern African country of Mozambique recently urged electoral observers to be […]
Escaping the Shadow
NEED TO KNOW Escaping the Shadow MEXICO When Andrés Manuel López Obrador left office on Sept. 30, he had recorded around 3,000 […]
Shapeshifting
NEED TO KNOW Shapeshifting MIDDLE EAST A year ago, after Hamas broke through a Gaza border fence on the morning of Oct. […]
Putting a Hand Out
NEED TO KNOW Putting a Hand Out CUBA In the early period of Cuba’s communist regime, the island was remarkably safe. Violent […]
‘The War of Liberation’
NEED TO KNOW ‘The War of Liberation’ TUNISIA Tunisian fruit seller Mohamed Bouazizi immolated himself in protest against his country’s uncaring, corrupt […]
Hoping For a Thaw
NEED TO KNOW Hoping For a Thaw BULGARIA Freedom of information advocacy group Reporters Without Borders once concluded that Bulgarian media mogul […]
Maxed Out
NEED TO KNOW Maxed Out LAOS A UNICEF official recently toured Laos to see the devastation wrought by extreme floods. “Classrooms filled […]