What Happens This Week: Ukrainians head to the polls this weekend to choose between a comedian who plays a Ukrainian president on TV and a chocolate baron who plays a Ukrainian president in real life. No joke. Why It Matters: Because it’s Ukraine. For better or worse, Ukraine is the bridge that unites—or divides, depending…
China has strongly rebuffed criticism from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of Beijing’s involvement in Venezuela. According to the South China Morning Post, Lu Kang, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, said during a press conference Monday that the U.S. was spreading lies and slandering China. “The words and deeds are despicable. But lies…
(JERUSALEM) — The Israeli military lifted protective restrictions on residents in southern Israel on Monday, while Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant group reported a cease-fire deal had been reached to end the deadliest fighting between the two sides since a 2014 war. The escalation had killed 23 on the Gaza side, both militants and civilians, while…
(TOKYO) — German automaker Daimler, which makes armored limousines used by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, says it has no idea where he got them and has no business dealings with the North. Kim has raised eyebrows by using Daimler-branded stretch limousines at several very high-profile summits, including his meeting this week with Russian…
When the Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev came to Paris to tour with the Kirov ballet company in 1961, he was “like a wild animal out of a cage,” says Oleg Ivenko, the 26-year-old Ukrainian dancer and actor who plays Nureyev in the new movie The White Crow, out April 26 in the United States….
In January 2018 floods, the sea wall that Australia built to protect the residents of Yam Island collapsed. Residents of the island — just over 1 square mile — which lies off the coast of mainland Australia, waded through the floodwaters as quickly as they could, grabbing whatever belongings they could. But the force of…
After threatening to use its veto power on the U.N. Security Council, the U.S. succeeded in altering the language of a resolution on sexual violence, removing language perceived as code for abortion, Reuters reports. The resolution, which aimed to reduce sexual violence in conflict and the use of rape as a weapon of war, passed…
What Happened This Week: Last week, Russia’s parliament approved a law that might allow the country to cordon off its internet from the rest of the world, creating an unprecedented “sovereign” internet. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to sign it in short order. Why It Matters: It matters because if Russia is able to…
Fresh from a sold-out concert tour of the U.K. and Sweden, Afghanistan’s first female conductor is convinced music can help deliver peace to her war-torn country. If only the Taliban would listen. At just 22, Negin Khpelwak has already stared down threats and intimidation from her conservative relatives, who wished she would take on any…
Ma Jian has a flair for the provocative. In 2012, the London Book Fair partnered with the all-powerful Chinese state agency responsible for regulating publications and the Internet—the General Administration for Press and Publication. In protest, the author smeared an X across his face in red paint. He then attempted to hand a copy of…