Russia’s president has raised the prospect of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine. That’s a frightful notion. But it might not violate international law. Russian RS-24 Yars ballistic missiles in Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow,...
The presidential election in Brazil means more than the future of the country. The Amazon and the fight against climate change could depend on it. The Itaquai River snakes through the upper Amazon basin. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros) As Brazilians cast their votes in a...
Alternately revered and vilified, Mikhail Gorbachev shaped history as the last Soviet leader. Our correspondents recall his impact and legacy. Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev waves during a military parade marking the anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution, Red...
At a time of sharp division between the West and Russia, News Decoder remembers an era when another intractable divide was bridged. At the height of the Cold War, two adversaries, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, forged an agreement to reduce nuclear arms. Alternately revered and vilified, Gorbachev shaped history as the last Soviet leader and the one whose decisions helped lift the Iron Curtain. To mark Gorbachev’s death, News Decoder correspondents who covered the collapse of the Soviet Union examine how the former Soviet leader’s legacy has evolved over time.
Exercise: Gorbachev left an ambiguous legacy. He is heralded in much of the West but viewed less favorably in Russia. Can your student’s identify other historical or contemporary figures who are viewed in a contradictory way? What’s at the root of such contradictory perspectives?
Democracy is in trouble around the world and autocrats are on the rise. Why is there such dismay over the West’s predominant form of government? Supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump scale a wall of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC, 6...
My family can barely make ends meet amid runaway inflation and shortages of foodstuffs. No wonder Sri Lanka has kicked out a corrupt ruling clan. Protesters take over the office of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, demanding he resign, Colombo, Sri...
News Decoder correspondent Feizal Samath provides an on-the-ground glimpse of life in Sri Lanka following months of inflation, essential shortages and protests that led to the ouster of the president and the ruling clan. Samath gives context to a situation that many outside of the region ignored until images of protestors storming the presidential palace flooded the media. By painting a picture of his own challenges in procuring fuel and everyday foods, Samath puts readers in the shoes of those whose lives have been disrupted by turmoil.
Exercise: Ask students to imagine a part of the world different from their own and write a first-person narrative of what life looks like for a teenager there. How do the political and economic realities impact their family, their schools or their daily routines?