The next push to combat climate change comes soon in Spain, when more than 190 countries meet to tackle global warming. Here’s what to expect. Smoke rises behind a destroyed apartment complex, Ventura, California, 5 December 2017 (AP Photo/Noah Berger) At the...
The Kurds are the world’s largest nation without a state. Yet, when thrust onto the world agenda, questions over the group’s identity invariably arise. Supporters of Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party dance during Nowruz, the Kurdish New Year, in Istanbul,...
Are the Houthis in Yemen “Iran-backed” or “Iran-aligned”? Are Hezbollah members “terrorists” or “liberators”? Labels can make a big difference. Hezbollah supporters wear headbands with pictures of Iran’s Ayatollah...
The people of Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens but have no vote in Congress. The island is a U.S. territory, but many Americans know nothing about it. Tattered Puerto Rico and U.S. flags, eight months after Hurricane Maria, 16 May 2018, Yabucoa, Puerto Rico (AP...
Central banks are among the world’s most powerful institutions, but often operate in the shadows. What do they do? And why do they matter? London in 2008 during the Great Recession (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File) The ideal global economy is a Goldilocks...
It’s been 50 years since the U.S. put a man on the moon. It’s worth recalling how the U.S. lagged at the start of the Space Age. And what about Earth? A footprint left by a U.S. astronaut on the moon, 20 July 1969 (AP Photo/NASA) The Space Age began on...
Abortion is wrapped up in politics in many nations including the U.S. But one in four pregnancies ends in abortion, making it a global health issue. A woman demonstrates for the legalization of abortion, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 28 May 2019 (Nicolas...
Why are the U.S. and Iran at daggers drawn while Donald Trump has vowed to pull troops out of foreign wars? Mutual antagonism goes way back. Demonstrators protest against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Tehran, Iran, 9 October 1979. The effects of the 1979 revolution...
Some think there is a global conspiracy to promote harmful vaccines. But doctors and health experts agree: Vaccines are safe and they save lives. Earlier this week we published an article by correspondent Maggie Fox explaining what vaccines are and how they work. We...
Vaccines save millions of lives every year. Yet some people resist being immunized. Here’s how vaccines work and why humankind needs them. Burial of four Ebola victims in Butembo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 17 May 2019 (EPA-EFE/Hugh Kinsella Cunningham)...