Thousands of refugees are in limbo in a forest straddling Poland and Belarus, caught in a humanitarian vice that is raising tensions in Europe. A wooden cross in Białowieża forest in eastern Poland in 2016 (Photo by Helen Womack) In the ancient Białowieża forest in...
After Kabul fell to the Taliban, the hurried evacuation of Afghans and COVID-19 have complicated efforts to find the refugees new homes overseas. A child holds up a piece of artwork while drawing in a tent at U.S. Fort Bliss, in New Mexico, where Afghan refugees are...
Press freedom is under assault around the world and journalists are in increased danger. The Nobel Peace Prize highlights threats to the Fourth Estate. American actress Meryl Streep presented the 2020 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award to human rights lawyer Amal Clooney,...
Hungary opened the first cracks in Soviet Communism. Now, the world awaits its elections pitting a right-wing populist leader against a liberal opposition. A street performer in front of a statue commemorating the “Lads of Pest” — youngsters who took up...
In 1958, 4% of Americans approved of marriages between Blacks and whites. Now 94% approve. Data shows increasing racial tolerance in the U.S. Mildred Loving (L), who was married to Richard P Loving (R), challenged Virginia’s ban on interracial marriage, leading...
A civil war in Ethiopia and mounting criticism of Rwanda’s leader are increasingly imperiling U.S. strategy in volatile eastern Africa. Rwandan President Paul Kagame (C-R), Prime Minister of Belgium Charles Michel (C) and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed...
Innovative educators from Bolivia, the U.S. and Nigeria have won awards for teaching why news matters and about threats to journalists. An international jury has singled out educators in Bolivia, the U.S. and Nigeria for innovative teaching about why democratic...
The Taliban have seized power in Afghanistan after another failed foreign intervention. Will they ease their hard line? And what lessons can be learned? Taliban fighters in Afghanistan’s presidential palace, Kabul, Afghanistan, 15 August 2021 (AP Photo/Zabi...
The reconquest of Afghanistan by the Taliban is a fast-moving story, and the mainstream media is busy keeping us informed of the latest developments. It’s one of those stories that cries out for context, and Alistair Lyon delivers the goods in his tour de force, informed by his years on the ground in the South Asian nation. If those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it, then Lyon’s article might help young readers understand why the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan was almost destined to fall short — and help them avoid similar mistakes in the future.
Exercise: Ask your students to compare U.S. involvement in Afghanistan with another foreign entanglement, and to elaborate on similarities and differences between the conflicts.
The gap between rich and poor in many nations is widening. But stock markets are not the culprit. Here’s what can be done to curb economic inequality. Demonstrators call for a $15 per hour minimum wage in the United States, Washington, DC, 19 May 2021. (AP...
Lucy Jaffee interviewed a top expert to get a jump on the mainstream press in a landmark free-speech case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Lucy Jaffee Eight months before the U.S. Supreme Court took up a free-speech case covered by the world’s largest news...