NEED TO KNOW Pax Redux Colombians will get another chance at peace – though justice is another matter. The Colombian government signed […]

Dear Readers, Today is Thanksgiving Day in America, a time of gatherings, feasting and gratitude across this vast nation and among our […]

NEED TO KNOW Down But Not Out The Islamic State is on the ropes in Iraq, Syria and Libya. It’s conceivable that […]

NEED TO KNOW Democracy and Restraint An offhand remark is threatening to destabilize one of the biggest countries in the world. In […]

NEED TO KNOW Decency, Dullness and Déjà Vu Maybe France will be different. After Americans elected Donald Trump president and Britons opted […]

NEED TO KNOW Pins and Needles President-elect Donald Trump is known for being candid – though some might choose a less flattering […]

NEED TO KNOW The Wizard’s Curtain The Kremlin has done its best to project an image of a resurgent, vigorous Russia striding […]

NEED TO KNOW The Wheel of Fortune Hundreds of thousands flocked to see Senator Barack Obama when he spoke in Berlin in […]

NEED TO KNOW Umbrellas and Oaths When Britain ceded Hong Kong to China in 1997, Beijing promised not to compromise the “one […]

NEED TO KNOW Pulling Apart President-Elect Donald Trump divided America. Now he’s dividing Europe. European Union foreign ministers met on Sunday to […]

NEED TO KNOW Divided, We Fall President-Elect Donald Trump doesn’t have much in common with Nelson Mandela. But he’ll need to borrow […]

NEED TO KNOW Shock in Mexico, Smiles in Moscow Americans weren’t the only ones shocked on Wednesday when it became clear that […]

NEED TO KNOW Challenges and Black Swans Domestically, President-elect Donald Trump has the tough job of reuniting the nation after one of […]

NEED TO KNOW No Joy Here Election Day is weird for expatriate Americans. Observing from abroad, and often spending lots of time […]

NEED TO KNOW The World is Watching The world is watching the American presidential election more closely – and with more horror, […]

NEED TO KNOW Falling Dominoes In the early days of the Cold War, US President Dwight Eisenhower suggested that the loss of […]

NEED TO KNOW The Invisible Hand Cameroonians donned black and sang religious hymns last month to mourn those who perished in a […]

NEED TO KNOW Of Poeticians and Refresh Buttons Will we look back on Iceland as the beginning of the end for populism? […]

NEED TO KNOW Hearts and Minds Moldova is shaping up to become the new Ukraine. The tiny country cleaved from Romania by […]

NEED TO KNOW Of Presidents, Protests and Rasputin South Korea seems to be succumbing to the same crisis of confidence that is […]

NEED TO KNOW Snake Charmers Some years ago, then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a rare, candid rebuke to Pakistan, a […]

NEED TO KNOW Tipping Scales African nations were among the most ardent supporters of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague […]

NEED TO KNOW Carrot, Meet Stick A few months ago, shortly after he became Israel’s defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman said he would […]

NEED TO KNOW O Wallonia! A region of Belgium with a population of 3.6 million actually can scuttle a trade deal involving […]