Running Out the Clock
NEED TO KNOW Running Out the Clock UKRAINE/ RUSSIA Near the front line in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Ukrainian soldiers detail how […]
Seeding Fury
NEED TO KNOW Seeding Fury EUROPEAN UNION In Italy, a sign on the front of a tractor flying the Italian tricolor in […]
An Election of One
NEED TO KNOW An Election of One AZERBAIJAN President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan recently ordered a snap presidential vote. He was slated […]
Self-Serving Justice
NEED TO KNOW Self-Serving Justice SLOVAKIA Thousands of people took to the streets in the Central European country of Slovakia late last […]
Saving Stalin
NEED TO KNOW Saving Stalin GEORGIA The late communist dictator Josef Stalin is arguably the most controversial native son of the former […]
The Politics of Co-Dependence
NEED TO KNOW The Politics of Co-Dependence FINLAND The former president of Finland and 2008 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari died […]
Troubled Justice
NEED TO KNOW Troubled Justice NORTHERN IRELAND Violence between British-backed Protestants and Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland has been relatively subdued in […]
Cops & Robbers
NEED TO KNOW Cops & Robbers RUSSIA/ UKRAINE In 2022, a Russian court sentenced Vladislav Kanyus to 17 years in jail for […]
Operation Dismantlement
Editor’s Note: Dear Readers, This holiday week we’re reprising some of our lead stories of the past year, ones that illustrate ongoing […]
Standing Up
NEED TO KNOW Standing Up ICELAND Iceland is considered one of the most gender-equal countries in the world based on income, education, […]
The Stuntmen
NEED TO KNOW The Stuntmen SERBIA Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, a 73-year-old American born in California, recently became a Serbian citizen. “Now […]
Help Wanted
NEED TO KNOW Help Wanted PORTUGAL The Portuguese government is cracking down on so-called “digital nomads,” the remote workers who moved to […]
Faltering Resolve
NEED TO KNOW Faltering Resolve UKRAINE/ RUSSIA The admission shocked Ukrainians who have shown little but resolute courage as they tried to […]
Germany Divided
NEED TO KNOW Germany Divided GERMANY The far-right, xenophobic Alternative for Germany political party has long concerned observers who fear a resurgence […]
New Beginning
NEED TO KNOW New Beginning NETHERLANDS In a surprise announcement in July, after 13 years in office, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte […]
Prelude and Epilogue to War
NEED TO KNOW Prelude and Epilogue to War GEORGIA Russian soldiers, currently occupying some 20 percent of the former Soviet republic of […]
Pardoning Politics
NEED TO KNOW Pardoning Politics SPAIN Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party achieved a political masterstroke to remain […]
Shattering Glass, Splintering Peace
NEED TO KNOW Shattering Glass, Splintering Peace EUROPEAN UNION Eighty-five years ago, the Jewish cemetery in Vienna was one of the main […]
Importing a War
NEED TO KNOW Importing a War EUROPEAN UNION Police in Europe recently arrested alleged terrorists for supposedly planning attacks in connection with […]
Operation Dismantlement
NEED TO KNOW Operation Dismantlement POLAND The results of the Oct. 15 parliamentary elections in Poland are echoing throughout Europe. Women and […]
Something Old, Something New
NEED TO KNOW Something Old, Something New NAGORNO-KARABAKH Simon Maghakyan, a visiting scholar at Tufts University who studies heritage crime, recently warned […]
‘The Champagne Fascist’
NEED TO KNOW ‘The Champagne Fascist’ ITALY Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, an icon of the far-right in Europe, recently announced that […]
Down in the Valleys
NEED TO KNOW Down in the Valleys SWITZERLAND Polls show that Switzerland’s right-wing People’s Party will garner the most votes in parliamentary […]
Bloody Franchise
NEED TO KNOW Bloody Franchise UKRAINE Ukrainians are fighting to defend their country’s sovereignty and, ostensibly at least, democracy. That’s why the […]