U.S. President Joe Biden

Biden Toughens Approach With New Vaccine Mandate

The U.S. president chastised those who have yet to get a shot, asking: “What more is there to wait for?”

Ralph Madonia from the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Hazardous Materials Response Team secures his Bio Hazard suit October 15, 2001 as he responds to a report of a powdery substance found in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

The Forgotten Biological Terror of 9/11

A new type of fear gripped the United States 20 years ago—and never stopped spreading.

Flags of Lithuania, the United States, and NATO are hoisted in front of a U.S. Air Force plane carrying U.S. soldiers at the air force base near Siauliai Zuokniai, Lithuania, on April 26, 2014.

Is Lithuania the West’s First Line of Defense?

The small Baltic nation is facing down threats from authoritarian regimes in Russia, Belarus, and China.

Leaving Afghanistan

What happens to the country and its people after the forever war ends?

Shadow Government

A front-row seat to the Republicans’ debate over foreign policy, including their critique of the Biden administration.

911-changed-america-chasm-alex-nabaum-illustration

Did 9/11 Change the United States?

We asked seven of our contributors what’s different after 20 years.

WHO chief Tedros briefs media on COVID-19.

Biden Must Move Fast to Replace WHO’s Tedros

It will take an all-out diplomatic blitz to block the director-general’s impending reelection.

A North Korean military parade is seen on a news program in South Korea.

North Korea Held a Midnight Military Parade and No One Is Sure What to Make of It

The event didn’t show off any ballistic missiles, but that doesn’t mean Kim Jong Un is ready for talks with Biden.

A man looks out of a car window as commuters make their way along a road in Kabul on Sept. 5.

Avalanche of Misinformation Follows Taliban Takeover

Fake news about the U.S. withdrawal and life under the new regime is surging.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin before their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Oct. 5, 2018.

Are Indo-Russian Ties the Next Casualty of Great-Power Shifts?

The fall of Kabul may have widened the rift between New Delhi and Moscow.

Guinean President Alpha Condé shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping before their bilateral meeting in Beijing on Sept. 1, 2018.

China Is OK With Interfering in Guinea’s Internal Affairs

Beijing has dropped its own usual excuse to oppose a coup for practical reasons.

Relatives of a man killed in the Kabul airport bombing bury his body.

Islamic State-Khorasan’s Reach Extends Far Beyond Afghanistan

With a growing digital presence, the extremist group seeks to destabilize South and Central Asia.

U.S. Army 3rd Division Bradley fighting vehicles take up their position.

How the U.S. Got 9/11 Wrong

The lone superpower inadvertently taught the rest of the world how to fight it—and win.

In the Magazine

In the Magazine

Angela Merkel

The Other Side of Angela Merkel

What the world has misunderstood about the German chancellor.

Bideneconomics_economy-reagan-trickle-down-mike-mcquade-illustration-homepage

The Bidenomics Revolution

If he succeeds, the president will cast 40 years of economic doctrine on history’s ash heap. But that’s a big if.

Age and the Agbayas

One word perfectly captures the clash between Nigeria’s leaders and its booming young population.

Kayakers on a flooded interstate in Philadelphia

There’s No Wake-Up Moment on Climate in America

Even as disasters strike daily, politics will keep obstructing solutions.

Traffic gridlock in Abuja, Nigeria

Poor People Weren’t Part of the Plan for Abuja

In Nigeria’s carefully designed capital, urban enforcers harass ordinary citizens.

South Koreans walk past replicas of missiles at the Korean War Memorial.

Talk of a Nuclear Deterrent in South Korea

North Korea’s resumed activity at Yongbyon has reawakened calls for Seoul to go nuclear.

A military transport plane takes off in Kabul.

The Falling Man of Kabul

Zaki Anwari represented what a free Afghanistan could achieve. His gruesome death is a vivid reminder of the human toll of U.S. abandonment.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addresses the U.N. Security Council from her office in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Sept. 4, 2020.

Belarus’s Unlikely New Leader

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya didn’t set out to challenge a brutal dictatorship.

A wildfire which engulfing a Mediterranean resort region on Turkey's southern coast near the town of Manavgat, on July 30, 2021.

The Middle East Is Becoming Literally Uninhabitable

One of the regions hardest hit by climate change is also one least equipped to deal with it.

Peacekeepers go on patrol

In Central Africa, Russia Won the War—but It’s Losing the Peace

Putin’s pursuit of influence, arms sales, and mercenary meddling in the Central African Republic has left Moscow mired in a quagmire.

visual stories

Afghan refugee children

The Month in World Photos

The Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan, earthquake devastation in Haiti, and extreme weather around the world.

An Afghan woman and her cousin are interviewed in Bamiyan province

As Taliban Expand Control, Concerns About Forced Marriage and Sex Slavery Rise

In some Afghan towns, women are fleeing ahead of insurgent takeovers.