Archive

October 30, 2020

The Ballots Heard ‘Round the World

NEED TO KNOW WORLD [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/486ddb7e-3777-4543-ab44-3536360a3ce9.png"] The Ballots Heard 'Round the World It should come as no surprise to Americans that they are not the only ones with a vested interest in who becomes president of the US – most of the world is closely following the US elections. While...

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October 29, 2020

Round Two

NEED TO KNOW EUROPEAN UNION [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/597ff6f5-aa2a-4913-81c8-7a38f364a41b.png"] Round Two Ireland recently became the first European country to reimpose a hard lockdown in the face of surging coronavirus infections. Schools remained open under the new rule. But Irish officials are asking citizens to remain within three miles of their homes until...

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October 28, 2020

Influencers

NEED TO KNOW MOLDOVA [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/97a68dd9-6258-4ac6-85c0-7e56bb53bf0f.png"] Influencers The director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, recently accused the US of plotting a so-called “color revolution” in Moldova that would resemble other uprisings against Russian influence in former Soviet republics like Ukraine and Georgia. Specifically, the US would act...

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October 27, 2020

Sellouts and Patriots

NEED TO KNOW GEORGIA [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/e341329d-b90e-4b8e-8e3b-6429d9366897.png"] Sellouts and Patriots A few weeks before a general election on Oct. 31, political candidates in Georgia received a surprise. Officials in the former government under the United National Movement party allegedly gave away chunks of Georgian territory during negotiations with Azerbaijan. Both are...

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October 26, 2020

To the Tune of Politics

NEED TO KNOW TANZANIA [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/c7819ef2-af28-4877-8ca5-9689142b709a.png"] To the Tune of Politics Music has been politicized in Tanzania, where presidential and parliamentary candidates have been on the campaign trail ahead of general elections on Oct. 28. The ruling Party of the Revolution launched incumbent President John Pombe Magufuli's campaign in August...

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October 23, 2020

Swipe Left

NEED TO KNOW LITHUANIA [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/e7852ed7-2760-4e7e-a300-0fc715ec1ca8.png"] Swipe Left Lithuania’s economy has outperformed most of the European Union in spite of lockdowns to control the spread of the coronavirus. But many of the Baltic country’s 2.8 million citizens are unhappy. Some voters believe economic inequality is growing, a top issue in the...

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October 22, 2020

Out with the Old

NEED TO KNOW CHILE [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/baed026e-8c02-42fc-8c27-383b8bf87a6c.png"] Out with the Old Recently, an officer in Chile’s national police force, the Carabineros, was caught on video throwing an unidentified 16-year-old over a bridge. The teen is now in the hospital recovering from the 23-foot drop. During the days of Augusto Pinochet, the...

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October 21, 2020

The King and Them

NEED TO KNOW THAILAND [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/9aed0fb0-f5eb-4eda-ae64-69e423143eb5.png"] The King and Them In May 1992, Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej summoned a military leader who had just become prime minister through a coup and a pro-democracy opposition figure who opposed the junta to his palace. Loyalty to the king compelled them both...

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October 20, 2020

The Sick Man

NEED TO KNOW WORLD [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/97627ae9-28af-4953-8b2d-b63f97cce5bc.png"] The Sick Man The coronavirus pandemic is undermining democracies worldwide. A report from Freedom House recently found that Covid-19 has “fueled crisis for democracy around the world,” worsening democratic conditions in 80 countries as leaders have abused their power, silenced critics, weakened institutions and...

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October 19, 2020

Past as Prologue

NEED TO KNOW AFRICA [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/3d9c9459-9302-4fc1-a060-e8206615789c.png"] Past as Prologue Many experts predicted another public health disaster in Africa due to the coronavirus pandemic. They were wrong. Impoverished, lacking infrastructure and good governance systems, unprepared for climate change and already struggling against other diseases, African countries were supposed to be especially vulnerable...

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October 16, 2020

The Poisons of Power

NEED TO KNOW GUINEA [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/963d6fc3-90db-4090-ad9a-da882d906f12.png"] The Poisons of Power Once a persecuted opposition hero, Alpha Conde is the latest aging African leader stoking controversy by extending his term in office and flouting, if not the letter, then at least the spirit of the law. In 2010, Conde was the...

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October 15, 2020

The Do-Over

NEED TO KNOW BOLIVIA [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/8ed01a1e-5cea-4b63-b4c0-c3727f7de51c.png"] The Do-Over The US allegedly backed a military coup against the leftwing government of ex-president Evo Morales in Bolivia late last year. If that is the case, the coup’s impact doesn't appear to be lasting. The former senator who became interim president after Morales...

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October 14, 2020

Neverland, Discovered

NEED TO KNOW NEW ZEALAND [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/35e498e9-3807-40bd-bf6c-8c9506c3b2cf.png"] Neverland, Discovered It’s almost like New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is living in a fairytale. Ardern closed the island nation to foreigners and imposed a tough lockdown with the help of the so-called “team of 5 million,” – New Zealand’s population. Rather...

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October 13, 2020

Laws of God and Man

NEED TO KNOW FRANCE [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/d78d9fd2-f0df-4e59-9bd4-334bffdc4974.png"] Laws of God and Man An 18-year-old born in Pakistan recently attacked two people in Paris with a meat cleaver. The man was looking to target the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which had published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed. The magazine’s offices are...

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October 12, 2020

The Revolution Muscle

NEED TO KNOW KYRGYZSTAN [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/766aa12d-4910-4bb3-a204-adba72f724f9.png"] The Revolution Muscle Revolution has come to Kyrgyzstan – again. In 2005 and 2010, popular uprisings overthrew authoritarian presidents in the Central Asian country. Then last week, opposition groups seized central government buildings in the capital of Bishkek after demonstrations erupted over alleged vote-rigging...

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October 09, 2020

Newton’s Mantle

NEED TO KNOW LITHUANIA [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/e7852ed7-2760-4e7e-a300-0fc715ec1ca8.png"] Newton's Mantle The US recently sent troops to Lithuania to counterbalance security threats that could arise from social unrest in neighboring Belarus, where unprecedented demonstrations are calling for the resignation of Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko after a disputed election. The US and Lithuania stressed...

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October 08, 2020

A Fraying Hold

NEED TO KNOW TAJIKISTAN [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/9d76f4c2-491e-4a5b-85d4-b70af66ec3eb.png"] A Fraying Hold Usually, Tajikistan marks the Sept. 9 anniversary of its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 with concerts and other public ceremonies. This year, due to the coronavirus, the commemorations have been canceled. The celebrations have long been a...

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October 07, 2020

Simmer, and Boil

NEED TO KNOW ARMENIA & AZERBAIJAN [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/30fec2aa-e318-4e1c-a63d-8b70f85eb845.png"] Simmer, and Boil Recently, Azerbaijan released a video of Azeri soldiers firing rockets at enemy emplacements in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region in the South Caucasus, Reuters reported. They also released photographs of the alleged damage of Armenian shelling in the Azeri town...

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October 06, 2020

End of the Beginning

NEED TO KNOW WORLD [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/97627ae9-28af-4953-8b2d-b63f97cce5bc.png"] End of the Beginning More people have died from the coronavirus since late last year than HIV, malaria, influenza and cholera combined. Covid-19 might have supplanted tuberculosis and hepatitis as the world’s most lethal infection. The major difference between the new plague and...

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October 05, 2020

The Shadow of the Ottomans

NEED TO KNOW CYPRUS [map url="https://mcusercontent.com/a2e22d7f24f6d1e3464d05be4/images/880db9d5-aa98-4e2b-a4f2-fec3d1a85ab9.png"] The Shadow of the Ottomans Turkish Cypriots recently watched the first-ever debate between their presidential candidates. One of the leading contenders, Prime Minister Ersin Tatar, couldn’t attend the event, however, because he was on a diplomatic trip to Ankara, the capital of Turkey. That...

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