by News Decoder | 4 Sep 2015 | Americas, Middle East, Refugees
By Nelson Graves The images stick in my mind, examples of the power of visuals, the changing nature of media and our fearsome responsibilities. In one video, taken from the shooter’s viewpoint, a handgun is fired at startled TV journalists. In a photograph, a...
by Pauline Bock | 3 Sep 2015 | Americas, Decoders, Future of Democracy, Government
It’s complex and costly. A candidate can win without taking most of the popular vote. Here’s an explanation of how the U.S. presidential election works. A voter casting an election ballot in Norwalk, California, 28 October 2008. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) This...
by News Decoder | 2 Sep 2015 | Africa
By Hafawa Rebhi The winter of 1949 was extremely cold in France. A plumber sent a letter to Le Monde newspaper denouncing “la belle vie française,” the “beautiful French life” praised by the liberal newspaper. “You criticize repeatedly,...
by News Decoder | 31 Aug 2015 | Americas, Decoders, Human Rights, United States
More than a century after the end of the U.S. Civil War, race relations remain a problem, highlighted by the killing of black men by white policemen. Martin Luther King, Jr. leading the Selma voting rights march in Montgomery, Alabama, 17 March 1965. (AP Photo) This...
by Alan Wheatley | 28 Aug 2015 | Asia, China
China has drawn scorn for its efforts to propping up share prices. But President Xi Jinping may yet end up being the reformer China and the world need. A shadow of a man at the People’s Bank of China in Beijing, 11 August 2015. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) The Chinese...
by Betty Wong | 26 Aug 2015 | Asia
Global markets have been in turmoil in recent days, with the prices of company shares and foreign exchange rates fluctuating wildly. Betty Wong, who covered Wall Street markets for years, takes a look at the herd mentality that can jolt markets around the world. By...
by News Decoder | 25 Aug 2015 | Africa, Terrorism
Soldiers training before heading to the Somalia peacekeeping operation, 30 April 2012 (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) By Pascal Fletcher As the United Nations and African leaders try to push South Sudan’s civil war protagonists towards peace and Nigeria and its neighbors strive...
by Pauline Bock | 21 Aug 2015 | Decoders, Middle East
Palestinians and Israelis have been locked for decades in an intractable struggle. Its roots lie in history, religion and national identity. A Jewish man in front the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, 11 November 2009. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) This...
by Tiziana Barghini | 20 Aug 2015 | Americas, Art
The U.S. presidential campaign can be puzzling for a foreigner. But it’s a window on popular culture as Republican candidates jockey for position. U.S. presidential candidate Ted Cruz (IJReview) What does the race to the U.S. presidency have to do with bacon and...
by Pauline Bock | 17 Aug 2015 | Americas, Decoders
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...