For years, villagers who lived near the Alau dam in northeastern Nigeria had told government officials that the structure was broken and the reservoir behind it too full. But in early September, after heavy rains, a half-dozen officials stood overlooking the brimming reservoir, their feet squelching in the mud as …
Read More »For First Time in Decades, Japan Votes in a Knife-Edge Election
Japanese voters are not accustomed to nail-biter elections. But as the country holds parliamentary elections on Sunday, the party that has governed Japan for all but four years since 1955 is facing the possibility that it could lose its majority in the body’s lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Just …
Read More »Museums Around the Country Explore Democracy
This article is part of the Fine Arts & Exhibits special section on the art world stretching boundaries with new artists, new audiences and new technology. It’s always nice to put a face to a name, and visitors to the new exhibition at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston — “Power …
Read More »The Man Who Shaped China’s Strongman Rule Has a New Job: Winning Taiwan
When Xi Jinping held the first-ever talks in Beijing with a former president of Taiwan, seeking to press the island closer to unification, a bookish-looking official stood out for his ease around China’s leader. While others treated Mr. Xi with stiff formality, the official, Wang Huning, spoke confidently in his …
Read More »Republic of Georgia’s Ruling Party Claims Election Victory
The governing party in Georgia, which has increasingly steered the nation toward Russia and China, claimed victory Saturday in a parliamentary election that both the government and the opposition described as decisive for the country’s future. Georgia’s splintered opposition did not admit defeat, setting the stage for a likely political …
Read More »As Georgia Decides Its Future, Artists Are Worried About Theirs
On a sultry late summer night, in a horseshoe-shaped club cantilevered over the Mtkvari River that cuts Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, in two, the artist and drag performer Andro Dadiani was belting out the last bars of his aria act a cappella. Wearing a sweeping ball skirt the same shade of …
Read More »France’s Financial Morass Produces a Harsh Critique From Moody’s
Warnings over France’s financial situation grew on Friday when the Moody’s ratings agency issued a negative outlook for the country’s sovereign debt rating amid concerns about the nation’s rapidly rising debt and deficit. The outlook reflects what Moody’s said were heightened risks of political gridlock in France as Prime Minister …
Read More »Attacks on L.G.B.T.Q. People in Ivory Coast Shake Sense of Security
Ivory Coast had long been a haven for L.G.B.T.Q. people, even as they faced discrimination or persecution elsewhere in West Africa. But over the past two months, dozens of assaults, beatings and intimidation online and in the streets have shaken that sense of safety. Dozens of gay men and transgender …
Read More »DeSantis Is Going All Out to Defeat Florida’s Abortion Ballot Question
The campaign against the most contentious ballot question in Florida this year — an abortion-rights measure known as Amendment 4 — was relatively quiet until recently. But on its side all along was the most powerful figure in Florida politics: Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has gone all in on leveraging …
Read More »Uruguay’s 2024 Election: Candidates, Issues and Predictions
The small South American nation of Uruguay will hold elections on Sunday to choose a new president at a time when it is a model of political and economic stability in Latin America. The 3.4 million people who make up Uruguay’s population may disagree on key issues, but civility and …
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