The coca plant grows in the eastern foothills of the Andes mountains. For centuries, locals have enjoyed its leaves as a mild stimulant, and they were part of the original recipe for Coca-Cola. In concentrated form, however, coca is a highly addictive drug. Snorted, inhaled, or injected it can produce a deep, though brief, sense of happiness and co…

An archive of news stories on any country will be mixed—some happy, some sad. Congo, or the Democratic Republic of Congo to give the country its full name, might be the exception. Despite its extraordinary natural resources, including large deposits of diamonds, copper, uranium, and coltan, and enough hydro-electric potential to power all the count…

Public protests against governments are common. But it’s unusual when a neighbouring country takes advantage of the protests and invades. That’s what happened to Ukraine in 2014, when demonstrations in the capital city of Kiev prompted Russia to attack. Within weeks, Russian soldiers seized thousands of square miles of Ukrainian territory, includin…

Ask soccer fans which team they want to see play before they die and many will say Brazil. In their yellow shirts and blue shorts, Brazil has earned the reputation of playing attractive soccer more consistently than anyone else. When Brazilians dubbed soccer “o jogo bonito,” the beautiful game, it wasn’t just an aspiration. Brazil also wins. The te…

Which is the strangest looking country in the world? Contenders include the United States (think of Alaska and Hawaii), Papua New Guinea (shouldn’t it have the whole island?), Gambia (what’s it like to be entirely surrounded by another country?), and the United Kingdom (what’s with Northern Ireland?). The winner, however, might be Malaysia. It look…

For years, Audi advertisements have used the slogan “Vorsprung durch Technik.” Only a fraction of the millions who have read or heard the words know what they mean (“Progress through technology,” is the answer). The ad campaign works because people associate German design and manufacturing with quality, precision, and technical brilliance. Whether …

When people imagine Kenya, most think of safari parks filled with lions, leopards, and wildebeest. That may change, however, if Kenya continues to be the scene of sickening terror attacks. Tourist numbers are already down. People are worried that the lions won’t be the only predators they encounter on their trip. In the past decade, terrorists have…

Curiosity is a good quality, but what about when it is prompted by violence? Such is often the case with ethnic and religious divisions. It would be nice if people were intrinsically interested in the difference between Catholics and Protestants or Hutus and Tutsis, but most aren’t. It sometimes take a tragedy to make people curious. Sadly, that’s …

The road from Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport to the capital, Taipei, looks like the sort of highway you would see anywhere else. However, in Taiwan, things are not always what they seem. Sections of this road double as runways. They aren’t normally used for planes, but they are ready in case Chinese missiles ever destroy the country’s conve…

If you visit russianrailways.com, you can buy a ticket from Moscow to Vladivostok. It’s a journey of almost 6,000 miles that takes you across eight time zones all the way to the Pacific Ocean in seven days. Russia is much larger than any other country. The next three biggest—Canada, the USA, and China—are less than 60% its size. How did it get so b…

In an attempt to recruit more officers, the New Zealand police department has produced a series of commercials. In one, there is plenty of running and jumping but no criminals—unless you count the dog caught with a purse in its mouth. Unlike other countries, where people shy away from police work because of its dangers, in New Zealand it’s the bore…

“Look, this isn’t rocket science!” We hear the phrase from teachers when they want their students to know when an issue isn’t that complex. But there’s a problem with this phrase: it implies that rocket science represents the ceiling of human intelligence, and in using it we leave our rocket scientist professors without a complex problem of their o…

Daniela Ruiz rubbed her wet eyes and drank some more of her coffee. She was reading about yesterday’s demonstration on social media and in the international press. There was no point checking Venezuelan media—they had to be favourable to Maduro’s government so would either ignore the protests or make up some false story. But Daniela had been on the…

For more than fifty years now, the US and Cuba have snarled at each other across the Florida Straits. Havana is one of the few airports in the world that won’t come up on expedia. American credit cards don’t work there. US law prohibits all trade with the island—the United Nations has regularly said this is illegal, but the American government does…

Once upon a time there was a beautiful kingdom. It had stunning mountains, gorgeous valleys, and hundreds of miles of coastline. Its buildings were more impressive than anywhere else. Its government was sophisticated and efficient. Its leaders dressed in silk. It was the wealthiest country in the world. No wonder the other kingdoms looked on with e…

It is hard to believe how much richer the United States is than Latin America. Each year, the US economy generates more than three times as much wealth as the twenty countries of Latin America combined. Before Columbus arrived in 1492, the largest, wealthiest, and most technologically advanced societies were in South America and modern-day Mexico. …

75% of the world’s poorest countries are in Africa. The ten countries with the highest proportion of people living in extreme poverty are all in Africa. More than 25% of Africans are malnourished. 30% lack access to clean water. In 2016, Africa’s GDP per person was $1,809—barely 10% of the world average. Why is Africa so poor? To find the answer, w…

The competition for Korea’s most famous cultural export is now closed. With more than 3 billion views, Gangnam Style has done more to put South Korea on the map than anything else. The video portrays South Korea as confident, stylish, and prosperous—and that’s accurate. What’s remarkable is how quickly South Korea became one of the most advanced ec…

Every four years, people all over the world watch as the results of the American presidential election come in. By the end of the night, the result is usually clear but how the process actually works is anything but. The source of confusion is the Electoral College. To win, a candidate needs to have 270 votes in the Electoral College. But what is i…

When Boko Haram comes on the news, you may want to turn away. The report will probably warn you about disturbing images to come. Boko Haram is an Islamic terrorist organization in Northern Nigeria that has killed hundreds in the past decade. They have used children as suicide bombers. The media largely ignores the steady stream of horrors, but the …

Hundreds of miles south of mainland China, in waters that lie east of Vietnam, west of the Philippines, and north of Malaysia, China has been building islands. Starting with a rock or a reef, they pile up sand and rocks before covering the new land with cement. The islands aren’t big enough for farms or towns. What is China up to? The simple and ac…

The Syrian civil war began in 2011. Since then, more Syrians have died than Americans in World War Two. Half the population have fled their homes, and more than five million have left the country and become refugees. It is impossible to understand suffering on this scale. Why is this war still going on? What is it even about? Here’s a ten-point ans…

When Donald Trump addressed the United Nations in September 2017, he spoke about America’s role in the world in a way that no president had done in more than a century. He told the UN that he wouldn’t urge other countries to follow the American way. Rather, every nation had different values and as president he would respect them. Since the Second W…

Pakistan and India don’t like each other at all. With good reason. Pakistan’s intelligence agency has given support to Pakistani terrorists in India, who have killed hundreds over the past decade. On the Indian side of the border, where many would prefer to live under Pakistan’s authority, Indian troops have killed tens of thousands. Both countries…

Every time Tom Collins returned to Chicago, people asked him the same question. They wanted to know why Afghanistan was such a mess. His friends and family followed the news from that part of the world more closely than most because Tom had been working there for more than a decade. He had a group chat to reassure people that he was OK after every …

If you believe that governments should look after their people, you’ll love Sweden. Sweden’s welfare system—the benefits the state gives to its citizens—may be the best in the world. There’s free health care, subsidized housing, generous pensions, money for the unemployed, and 480 days of paid leave for new parents. Swedes live longer than people f…

America and Iran don't like each other. The two countries have growled at each other for decades. Iranian leaders have called the US the “Great Satan.” In return, American presidents have said Iran is part of a global “axis of evil” and called it a “rogue state.” What explains all this hatred? One easy answer is that conflict is inevitable between …

Why is Tibet Not Free? Viewed from space, Tibet is one of the most clearly defined places on the planet. Tibet is a large plateau, ringed by many of the tallest mountains in the world—including the Himalayas to the south. The countryside stands an average of 4,500 meters (15,000 feet) above sea level. It’s no wonder Tibet has been called the roof o…

The question for this post came from students in my world history class at Westmont College. They also helped me edit an early draft. I am thankful for all their help. One of the best known things about Vladimir Putin is his chest. In 2009, the Russian press published photos of their country’s leader riding a horse in Siberia with no shirt on. The …

If you’re in search of bad news, you can rely on Iraq. Terrorists, internal conflict, poor government, lethal explosions—these are the all too familiar headlines. If you want uplifting stories of scientific breakthroughs, social progress, Nobel peace prizes, or rescued animals, it’s better to look elsewhere. Iraq’s recent past is sad. Much of its d…

One of the worst refugee crises for decades is currently taking place in Southeast Asia, and world leaders are looking the other way. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh. Their suffering is immense, but not immense enough to make the world care. This is their story. The Rohingya are a Muslim people who have lived …

What does the United States have in common with Peru, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, and Uzbekistan? Answer: none of them have a universal health care system. The US is the only country in the developed world that does not provide health care to all of its citizens. Before the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare as it is more commonly known, more than 40 mill…

In 1991, this question was easy to answer. The Soviet Union had just come to an end, the other Communist states in Eastern Europe were no more. There had been major protests against Communism in China, which the government could only stop by using tanks on its own people. Images of Germans smashing the Berlin Wall with hammers seemed a fitting pict…

Go into a school and ask children to draw a picture of a famine victim, and the colour of crayon they'll grab is easy to predict. The stereotype of a starving person is an African. And it’s accurate. In the 1800’s famines took place on every continent. In the past 40 years, by contrast, all the famines have been in Africa (with one exception, which…

North Korea doesn’t have an immigration problem. No one is lining up to move to a country known for its aggressiveness and shockingly low standards of living. For decades, it has threatened South Korea and Japan with missile strikes and it now has the ability to do the same to the USA. The country is ruled by Kim Jong-un, a dictator with few friend…

If you ask people to imagine a famous city, most of the time they will think of buildings. The Colosseum, the Burj Khalifa, Big Ben, the Sydney Opera House, the White House, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and so on. For Paris, people will think of the Eiffel Tower, but the picture in their mind is likely to be dominated by streets—wide, leafy avenues f…

If you live somewhere that’s relatively wealthy and successful, following world news can be uncomfortable. As you see countries sunk in poverty, war, or injustice you may wonder why the world is so unfair. And you probably also ask whether there’s a solution—whether there’s a way for other countries to flourish. On the surface, Singapore seems like…

Going to church is an essential part of every tourist’s trip to Europe. Whether they are in Barcelona, Prague, or Paris, they shuffle quietly into some of the most stunning buildings in the world. They look at statues, stonework, paintings, and stained glass. The especially curious might attend a service. If they do, they will wonder why almost eve…

Cars are expensive. Unless you’re talking antiques, their value only goes down. They cost a lot to repair and it’s a hassle when you have to. So it’s no wonder that reliability is a primary consideration when people buy a car. The last thing you want is a money pit. For the past thirty years, your safest bet has been to buy Japanese. Toyota especia…

Have you ever seen Vladimir Putin, Russia’s leader, smile? Probably not. Whenever he appears on the Western news, the report is that Russia has done something sinister, and he certainly looks capable of whatever it is. Invading Ukraine? Check. Tampering in the US election? Check. When someone threw antiseptic in the face of Alexei Navalny, Putin’s …

Ask a European, and they will tell you that Americans are violent. It’s not true. The number of assaults in America is similar to that in other countries. However, Americans are much more likely to die when attacked. The homicide rate in the US is four times higher than in countries like Australia, Britain, and Canada. The reason for that is that i…

A few years ago, a polling organization asked people in more than a hundred countries whether religion was an important part of their daily lives. 83% of Iranians said, “Yes.” That may sound high but it actually put Iran right in the middle of the pack. Dozens of countries had a higher percentage saying yes, including Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, Romania,…

The battle against sexism isn’t over anywhere. Still, it’s shocking to know that until recently women in Saudi Arabia weren’t allowed to drive a car. What good explanation could there be? The rulers of Saudi Arabia had their reasons. Safety was a concern given that women are required to cover their faces almost completely in public. Could they see …

It’s difficult to put the United States on a map. There’s the problem of what to do with Alaska, and the bigger problem of Hawaii. Putting the islands in their proper place would require double the wall space: Honolulu is farther from Los Angeles than New York is. Typically, Hawaii is placed in the Gulf of Mexico. I recently heard of someone so use…

Northern China. Northern France. Northern Canada. Northern Chad. All these are regions of particular countries. Northern Ireland is different. It is a different country from the south, with a different government, a different flag, and a different soccer team. Any map will show you that there are two different countries on the island of Ireland. Wh…

Some countries get all the luck. Canada is one of them. Not only does it have a strong economy and high living standards, it even gets stereotyped well. Canada is a place where the weather is cold but the people are warm. They enjoy moose and maple trees. They cheer ice hockey. They don’t get involved in wars. They have a cool flag. Crime is low. E…

Short answer: Yes. But it’s more complicated than that. Hong Kong is a small island off the south coast of China. Its spectacular skyline reflects its productive and profitable economy. If you go to the Happy Valley racecourse and watch the people rather than the horses you’ll see just how wealthy Hong Kong is. Hong Kong is part of China, but it ha…