Syria is in its 10th year of gruesome armed conflict — a war that has important implications for the region and increasingly for global security. Syrian men play backgammon at a market in Damascus during more peaceful times, 26 October 2005. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)...
Recently we published an article on the Rugby World Cup, and a hungry reader asked for more information. We listen to our readers — here’s chapter and verse on one of the world’s major sporting events. For more “decoders” explaining big...
This article is part of a News-Decoder series of “decoders” that explain crucial background to big issues. For more decoders, click here. By Pauline Bock Waves of migrants and refugees are threatening one of Europe’s bedrock achievements — the...
Cocaine seized by police in Panama City, 21 September 2011. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco) This article is part of a News-Decoder series of “decoders” that explain crucial background to big issues. For more decoders, click here. It’s the stuff of...
This is the second in a series of articles on the U.S. presidential election. To read about the election process, click here. For more “decoders” explaining big issues, click here. The 2016 presidential election is 14 months away, but candidates are...
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...
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...
Human rights are relatively new to international law. But these values safeguard our dignity and protect against government oppression around the world. (iStock.com/Rawpixel Ltd) This article is part of a News-Decoder series of “decoders” that explain...
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...
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...