This article is part of a News-Decoder series of “decoders” that explain crucial background to big issues. For more decoders, click here. The United States seems a monolithic hegemon to many outside its borders. But its political system is a complex and...
The world is in the midst of the largest immigration crisis since World War Two. How is it being handled? This article is part of a News-Decoder series of “decoders” that explain crucial background to big issues. For more decoders, click here. Why is this...
Transgender stars like Caitlyn Jenner have helped foster acceptance, but the path to civil rights for transgender people will be long and arduous. Marchers at the Trans March in Albuquerque, N.M., 29 May 2014. (AP Photo/Craig Fritz, File) Caitlyn Jenner has grabbed...
The Charleston massacre prompted shock and an emotional statement from U.S. President Obama — but guns are deeply rooted in American history. A gun owner testifying at a hearing on proposed new gun laws in St. Paul, Minnesota, Feb. 6, 2013. (AP Photo/The St....
Paintings for sale in the street in Havana, Cuba, in April 2015. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan) By Pascal Fletcher In the early summer of 1999, I was summoned for an interview with one of Cuba’s top economic officials, then External Trade Minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz....
By James Herlan On June 17 the world was shocked by the brutal shooting of nine African-Americans who were attending a prayer meeting at their church in the U.S. city of Charleston, South Carolina. Charged with the gruesome crime was Dylann Roof, an avowed white...
By Nelson Graves The Unites States enjoys broad global support for its military efforts against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, but its post-9/11 interrogation methods that many consider torture are widely criticized. Globally, U.S. President Barack Obama...
By Janet Guttsman If the Canadian province of Alberta were part of the United States, it would be what U.S. locals call a “red state.” That means a U.S. state that consistently elects the right-of-center Republican party, dislikes big government, believes firmly in...
By Bernd Debusmann When President Barack Obama announced the opening of a new chapter in U.S. relations with Cuba last December, he said, “We cannot keep doing the same thing and expect a different result.” The phrase echoed Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity...
By Alan Wheatley The dollar bestrides the globe. How are oil, copper and other commodities priced and traded? In dollars. Unsure what currency to take to a faraway country? Best take dollars. How does every nation measure the strength of its currency? By how much it...