Same Old Song
NEED TO KNOW GERMANY Same Old Song Bodo Ramelow, premier of the eastern German state of Thuringia, wants his country to adopt […]
Islands in the Stream
NEED TO KNOW INDONESIA Islands in the Stream When the longtime dictator of Indonesia, Suharto, lost power in 1998 after three decades […]
Money, Money, Money
NEED TO KNOW ZIMBABWE Money, Money, Money Zimbabwean businesses are operating at night when they’re more likely to have electricity. Over the […]
Frenzy and Fatigue
NEED TO KNOW UNITED KINGDOM Frenzy and Fatigue Members of the Conservative Party are voting to decide who next becomes prime minister […]
Across the South China Sea
NEED TO KNOW TAIWAN Across the South China Sea The Taiwanese are closely watching Hong Kong as pro-democracy activists and Chinese security […]
What Money Can’t Buy
NEED TO KNOW ISRAEL AND PALESTINE What Money Can’t Buy US President Donald Trump is “very fond” of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud […]
Blame and Responsibility
NEED TO KNOW EL SALVADOR Blame and Responsibility The new president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, took an extraordinary step recently. Upon […]
Bromance Politics
NEED TO KNOW NORTH KOREA Bromance Politics US President Donald Trump’s brief encounter with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the Demilitarized […]
Wanted: Trust
NEED TO KNOW ALGERIA Wanted: Trust Trust us, say Algerian military leaders. Military brass in the North African country recently made public […]
In the Hot Seat
NEED TO KNOW GEORGIA In the Hot Seat Business is bad in Georgia’s tourism industry. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently banned flights […]
De Tocqueville’s Moment
NEED TO KNOW ETHIOPIA De Tocqueville’s Moment Ethiopians recently mourned the death of Gen. Seare Mekonnen. They might also have shed a […]
Velvet Power
NEED TO KNOW CZECH REPUBLIC Velvet Power Czech protesters have been staging the country’s biggest rallies since the fall of the Iron […]
Playing Nice, or Not
NEED TO KNOW ALBANIA Playing Nice, or Not Pjerin Ndreu doesn’t seem like a very nice person. But then playing nice, apparently, […]
Magical Realism
NEED TO KNOW BOLIVIA Magical Realism One has to hand it to Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia for the past 13 […]
Bretton Woods, Redux
NEED TO KNOW WORLD Bretton Woods, Redux An expert at Chatham House, a British think tank, recently called for a new Bretton […]
Fifty-Move Rule
NEED TO KNOW ARMENIA & AZERBAIJAN Fifty-Move Rule The ex-Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a cease-fire agreement 25 years ago […]
Promises, Promises
NEED TO KNOW HONG KONG Promises, Promises Thirty years after the Chinese government’s crackdown in Beijing, is the spirit of Tiananmen Square […]
A Dirty Do-Over
NEED TO KNOW TURKEY A Dirty Do-Over “Who wins Istanbul, wins Turkey” is a popular saying among Turkish politicos. That’s why Turkish […]
Of Bondage, Of Shame
NEED TO KNOW MAURITANIA Of Bondage, Of Shame Voters in the conservative West African state of Mauritania go to the polls to […]
Mao’s Doppelgänger
NEED TO KNOW NEPAL Mao’s Doppelgänger Maoist rebels toppled Nepal’s monarchy more than a decade ago and secured a leading role in […]
A Monumental Act of Mourning
NEED TO KNOW COLOMBIA A Monumental Act of Mourning Drug lords, death squads and government soldiers used to fight for control of […]
Bribes and Milestones
NEED TO KNOW ROMANIA Bribes and Milestones For years, Liviu Dragnea has been the de-facto leader of Romania, running the ruling Social […]
Dried-out Streams and Broken Dreams
NEED TO KNOW GUATEMALA Dried-out Streams and Broken Dreams Many Americans blame Mexico for the migrant crisis on the southern border. But […]
Darkness Visible
NEED TO KNOW CHINA Darkness Visible Imagine if an American president put facial recognition security cameras in mosques, banned the traditional Islamic […]