This article is part of a News-Decoder series of “decoders” that explain crucial background to big issues. For more decoders, click here. By Alistair Lyon Faith is often flaunted in the Middle East, but there are no angels here. One religiously-based state...
I covered the fall of Saigon when South Vietnam collapsed and North Vietnamese seized the city. I now ask myself: What was the sense of it all? The author standing on the steps of the former Saigon Opera, which had been converted into the South Vietnamese National...
Some U.S. firms have cut ties with manufacturers of guns following the mass shooting at a Florida high school. But the impact of the moves is unclear. Guns on display at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Danvers, Massachusetts, 28 February 2018(EPA-EFE/CJ Gunther) The mass...
In America, reactions to school shootings follow a numbing pattern: grief, outrage and unfulfilled calls for gun laws. This time, things are different. 7,000 pairs of shoes, one for every child killed by gun violence since the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, on the...
Students are leading the charge for stricter gun controls in the U.S. But they face entrenched opponents and a deep cultural attachment to firearms. A young woman stands in front of the White House during a student protest for gun control, Washington, 21 February...
Think of inflation the way you think of Goldilocks and the three bears: too much or too little is a problem. Just a bit can be just right. “The Three Bears” (Wikimedia Commons) Global stock markets, which marched inexorably upward last year, have been volatile in...
Being biracial should be simple: you are composed of half of each parent’s race. But I’ve discovered the reality is anything but. A mixed race couple with their twin sons, Washington, DC, 11 June 2008. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) My parents are not of the...
When Catherine Deneuve criticized the #MeToo movement, I was perplexed. Does feminism mean different things in different places? French actress Catherine Deneuve, Berlin, Germany, 12 February 2017 (EPA-EFE/Clemens Bilan) I quickly learned, as I stepped off of the bus...
I used to feel secure as a Muslim in America. This changed with Trump’s election and I do not believe Islamophobia will end when he leaves office. A political rally for Donald Trump, left, in Oklahoma City, 26 February 2016. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) I’ve always...
Casey Konermann has seen a lot during his years collecting garbage. Now, his U.S. city is modernizing — not only for efficiency but for safety. The changes and additions to the Sanitation Department’s fleet have cost approximately $2.5 million. (Photo by Azra...