NEED TO KNOW EUROPE [heading4]Out of Sight…[/heading4] Two years ago, the world watched in horror as more than a million people fleeing poverty and war tried to cross land and sea borders to Europe – thousands died along the way. Now, it's happening again: Europe now has a second...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW AFRICA [heading4]The Big Five[/heading4] Rwandan President Paul Kagame is known around the world as a leader who helped rebuild his country after the horrors of genocide. But at home, Kagame is a brutal autocrat who tortures and assassinates his political enemies, wrote London School of Economics...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW SENEGAL [heading4]No Humdrum Affair[/heading4] As the only West African country never to have suffered a military coup, Senegal is widely viewed as one of the region’s most successful democracies. But that doesn't mean the democratic process in the largely French-speaking West African nation is a humdrum...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW VENEZUELA [heading4]The Zero Hour[/heading4] With violent demonstrations held against his rule on almost a daily basis – one protester died Wednesday – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro appears ready to quash the civil unrest that has gripped his country. Now the left-leaning, former acolyte of the late...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW VATICAN [heading4]Holy Crisis[/heading4] For years, Pope Francis has tended to his flock, flown to the world's hotspots speaking words of reconciliation, and pleaded with stony-faced leaders to help refugees. Now he is managing a full-blown crisis. Cardinal George Pell appeared in an Australian court Tuesday and prepared...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW UNITED NATIONS [heading4]Reforming Peace[/heading4] United Nations peacekeepers are charged with protecting the weak and vulnerable. It’s not an easy job. On Monday, a Moroccan peacekeeper was killed in the Central African Republic while guarding a convoy of water trucks, the BBC reported. It was just the latest...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW POLAND [heading4]Channeling 1989[/heading4] Tens of thousands of Polish supporters of diversity, free markets and globalization took to the streets over the weekend to protest their rightwing populist government’s alleged takeover of the country’s judicial system. Outside the presidential palace in Warsaw, they waved Polish and European...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW EAST TIMOR [heading4]Festa Demokrasia[/heading4] Democracy can be messy, ugly and sometimes downright inefficient. But the East Timorese don't seem to know that – or care. On Saturday, voters in East Timor will embrace it when they go to the polls to elect a new parliament. And this...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW CANADA [heading4]A Neighbor, A Beacon[/heading4] Whereas many Western countries are seeking to cut down on immigration, one exception stands out: Canada. Designed to draw in well-educated, highly skilled workers, Canada’s "ruthlessly rational" immigration policies have created the world's "most prosperous and successful immigrant population," according to...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW JAPAN [heading4]The Setting Sun[/heading4] In the Land of the Rising Sun, political tumult may be on the horizon for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Earlier this month, Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, sustained a stunning defeat at the hands of a novice political group...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW PAPUA NEW GUINEA [heading4]The Tomato Affair[/heading4] Allegations of election irregularities, vote buying, violence and voter intimidation have mired Papua New Guinea’s month-long election slated to conclude on July 24. Recently, the three members of an independent polling observatory commission resigned, saying they weren’t given sufficient access...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW PAKISTAN [heading4]Paper Surprise[/heading4] The Panama Papers haven’t garnered much press recently. But the leaked documents that revealed graft and corruption between global elites and offshore tax shelters have caused a burgeoning crisis in Pakistan. Pakistan’s Supreme Court is slated to render a decision today on corruption charges...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW TURKEY [heading4]The Walls of Fear[/heading4] It's been one year since an attempt to oust Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed and sent shockwaves through the Western world – as much due to the event itself as the crackdown that followed. In the aftermath of last July's...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW FRANCE-US [heading4]Making Nice[/heading4] When President Donald Trump meets French leader Emmanuel Macron for a two-day visit starting today, the two will be doing more than just enjoying the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower in honor of Bastille Day. These two nascent presidents haven't exactly seen eye-to-eye...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW CHINA-EU [heading4]Narratives and Sidekicks[/heading4] Rioting protesters running rampant through the streets of Hamburg may have overshadowed many of the high-level policy issues like climate change debated during last week's G20 summit. But Chinese President Xi Jinping was happy to avoid the limelight and focus on other...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW ZAMBIA [heading4]Cake, and a State of Emergency[/heading4] Zambian President Edgar Lungu’s state of emergency smacks of the strongman tactics that have helped many of Africa’s leaders consolidate power. Lungu invoked emergency powers on July 6 ostensibly to counter fires at public markets that he called acts...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW MEXICO [heading4]A Tequila Sunset[/heading4] At 77, Carlos Slim – Mexico's billionaire media mogul and sometimes-contender for the title of 'Richest Man in the World' – should probably be considering retirement. Instead, he's pouring his ambitions into the construction of a massive new airport – slated to...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW MALI [heading4]A Shaky Course[/heading4] Only a few years ago, the West African country of Mali was the battleground for jihadists' quest to establish an Islamic State-style caliphate in Africa. Violence still plagues the country, as shown by the June 19 terror attack at a luxury resort patronized by Westerners...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW GERMANY [heading4]The Street[/heading4] The leaders of the world's most powerful countries will finally descend on the German port city of Hamburg on Friday and Saturday for this year's annual G20 summit. And dozens of protest groups and thousands of activists are already here – protesting the...
Read full story →NEED TO KNOW POLAND [heading4]The Grander Plans[/heading4] US President Donald Trump might bypass Britain in his trip to Europe this week due to concerns over protests. Polish leaders, meanwhile, are busing in thousands of people to greet Trump when his trip to their country begins Wednesday night. NBC said they...
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