One of the many roles of Vietnam’s fascinating “cult of heroes” is to ensure government control over religious feeling, channeling it into nationalism.
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A new study finds that giving small loans to very poor people reduces both the incidence and depth of poverty in the developing world.
Why haven’t feminists noted that the film is too Western and too white?
A crackdown on the beef and leather trades has put hundreds of thousands of Indian Muslims and Dalits out of work, vexing already-tense religious relations and hurting India’s economy.
Mummies are scary but they also fascinate us, giving us the feeling that we can vanquish time by preserving our most perishable feature: flesh.
NASA’s Kepler Mission has identified thousands of exoplanets but leaves a lot of questions about alien worlds.
Yes, sign language has grammar – and it goes way beyond what you do with your hands.
The World Bank meets 2017 with a new face and that face is – for better or worse – worn by Jim Yong Kim.
There are refugees, there are migrants and then there are the millions of people who live in legal limbo because they defy easy categorisation. But everyone is just looking for a place to call home.
Accused of cooperating with smugglers, NGOs defend migrants’ right to life and point to the inadequate policies of European states.
New Zealand just conferred personhood upon the Whanganui River, giving it standing to legally defend its rights. Can this novel strategy save the environment?
India’s advertisements not only challenge but also reverse the dominant roles that Indian men assume with the women in their lives.
Despite a low voter turnout, the new French president has a solid majority in parliament. He will need it to push his reforms at home and in Europe.
Luz, a once-elegant 19th-century neighbourhood in downtown São Paulo, is prime real estate. But redevelopment means clearing out a homeless encampment known as “Crackland”.
A certain combination of demographics and corruption can lead to political upheaval.
Hit by weak monsoons, India faces unprecedented water shortages.
Weeks after Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris agreement, powerful US cities are asserting themselves like nation-states to maintain the pact made with the world to help save the planet.
Can Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexican politics’ long-time left-wing rabble rouser, finally win the presidency?
UPDATED Will reports of China’s increased militarisation in the South China Sea upset the delicate waltz between Washington and Beijing?
Some 60,000 Brazilians are killed each year, accounting for 10% of all homicides worldwide. As terrorised voters look to authoritarian leaders to impose order, Brazil’s democracy hangs in the balance.
Migrants crossing Libya to reach Europe increasingly face violence and human traffickers.
Can Poland reduce its dependence on cheap and dirty domestic coal power?
With the US administration sending isolationist signals, Germany stands to gain from the global power vacuum.
Art helps the youth of Timor Leste express their resistance to legal and political authority in the country.
How can we improve the PISA standardised tests?