Cuba’s deepening crisis has once again pulled the Vatican into a familiar role. In March, it was revealed that Cuban officials ​turned to the Holy See to help persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to ​ease its oil embargo, underscoring the Church’s position as one...

Rising tensions between Washington and Iran are now threatening to reach the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a U.S. ally. Hamidreza Moghaddamfar, an adviser to the commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), warned in February that assets in the UAE linked to U.S. President...

Sri Lanka’s 2024 elections have fast-tracked reforms that began after the country’s 2022 economic crisis, when mass protests forced limits on presidential powers. In 2025, the new government has been pushing further toward a parliamentary system, which was in place during...

You’ve seen them in front of houses and public spaces like food stores, parks, schoolyards, and coffee shops; small, birdhouse-like cases that anyone can take a book from or leave a book in for others to enjoy. ...