Festa Demokrasia
NEED TO KNOW EAST TIMOR Democracy can be messy, ugly and sometimes downright inefficient. But the East Timorese don’t seem to know […]
A Neighbor, A Beacon
NEED TO KNOW CANADA Whereas many Western countries are seeking to cut down on immigration, one exception stands out: Canada. Designed to […]
The Setting Sun
NEED TO KNOW JAPAN In the Land of the Rising Sun, political tumult may be on the horizon for Japanese Prime Minister […]
The Tomato Affair
NEED TO KNOW PAPUA NEW GUINEA Allegations of election irregularities, vote buying, violence and voter intimidation have mired Papua New Guinea’s month-long […]
Paper Suprise
NEED TO KNOW PAKISTAN The Panama Papers haven’t garnered much press recently. But the leaked documents that revealed graft and corruption between […]
The Walls of Fear
NEED TO KNOW TURKEY It’s been one year since an attempt to oust Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed and sent shockwaves […]
Making Nice
NEED TO KNOW FRANCE-US When President Donald Trump meets French leader Emmanuel Macron for a two-day visit starting today, the two will […]
Narratives and Sidekicks
NEED TO KNOW CHINA-EU Rioting protesters running rampant through the streets of Hamburg may have overshadowed many of the high-level policy issues […]
Cake, and a State of Emergency
NEED TO KNOW ZAMBIA Zambian President Edgar Lungu’s state of emergency smacks of the strongman tactics that have helped many of Africa’s […]
A Tequila Sunset
NEED TO KNOW MEXICO At 77, Carlos Slim – Mexico’s billionaire media mogul and sometimes-contender for the title of ‘Richest Man in […]
A Shaky Course
NEED TO KNOW MALI Only a few years ago, the West African country of Mali was the battleground for jihadists’ quest to […]
The Street
NEED TO KNOW GERMANY The leaders of the world’s most powerful countries will finally descend on the German port city of Hamburg […]
The Grander Plans
NEED TO KNOW POLAND US President Donald Trump might bypass Britain in his trip to Europe this week due to concerns over […]
A Litte Star-gazing
EDITOR’S NOTE Today is Independence Day in America, the 241st anniversary of its birth as a new nation. And because July 4th […]
Now, Raqqa
NEED TO KNOW SYRIA The noose is tightening. On Sunday, Syrian rebels and Kurdish forces sealed off the northern Syrian city of […]
Finally, The Fall
NEED TO KNOW IRAQ It was three years coming. Iraqi soldiers were poised to retake Mosul Thursday after an eight-month-long fight to […]
Shadowy Lines
NEED TO KNOW QATAR An already shaky Middle East now faces the ongoing Qatar crisis. Saudi Arabia – along with Bahrain, Egypt, […]
A Telenovela
NEED TO KNOW BRAZIL Brazil is on track to lose its second president in a year to corruption allegations. On Tuesday, the […]
A President, an Administrator and Drones
NEED TO KNOW INDIA Fresh off his resounding win in the heavyweight Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the early spring, Indian […]
Trap of Luxury
NEED TO KNOW ITALY Living desperate and homeless on Italy’s tiny Lake Como might seem impossible. But that’s the plight of Ivory […]
Systems and Risk
NEED TO KNOW CHINA China might soon learn the lessons of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers. On Thursday, Chinese regulators suggested that […]
Tit for Tat
NEED TO KNOW RUSSIA Relations between Washington and Moscow have been under pressure since President Obama introduced sanctions against Russia for its […]
Freefall
NEED TO KNOW VENEZUELA As Venezuela continues to spiral out of control, Caracas’s voracious borrowing to prop up the nation’s withering economy […]
A Mosque, an Advance and Desperate Gambles
NEED TO KNOW IRAQ At the heart of Mosul’s historic center stands the Great Mosque of al-Nuri, a relic of the 12th […]