What China's hukou permit costs a rural migrant
China's hukou ties welfare to where you are registered. Rural migrants in cities earn less, struggle to get welfare, and often leave their children behind.
category archive
World.
Places, people and the forces reshaping the world around us.
North Korea ranks people by what their grandparents did
North Korea's songbun system grades each person by family background and loyalty, and shapes where they live, study and work, a UN panel and researchers say.
Cambodia's 1993 election was the UN's biggest peacekeeping bet
In May 1993 the UN staged Cambodia's election under a 22,000-strong force. The royalists won 58 seats to 51, and the coalition that followed broke up in 1997.
Russia's Kaliningrad exclave relies on transit through Lithuania
Some goods for Kaliningrad cross EU land under sealed transit rules. In 2022 Lithuania banned transit of sanctioned steel and iron-ore goods, angering Moscow.
Norway owns Svalbard, but a 1920 treaty lets others mine it
The 1920 Svalbard Treaty gave Norway sovereignty over the Arctic islands while letting citizens of every signatory live, fish and mine there on equal terms.
The NPT let five countries keep the bomb, on a promise
The 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty recognised five nuclear-weapon states and asked everyone else to go without. The deal rested on a promise to disarm.
A vote on autonomy, and East Timor's road to independence
East Timor's 1999 UN ballot asked about autonomy within Indonesia, yet everyone read it as an independence vote. Violence followed, then a UN mission.
Barbados swapped the Queen for its own president in 2021
On November 30, 2021, 55 years after independence, Barbados swore in Sandra Mason as president and removed Elizabeth II as head of state.
A Basel looted-antiquities dealer walked free as charges expired
Police recovered 5,361 looted antiquities from the Swiss warehouses of a Basel dealer, but the charges against him had already expired.
How Russia's shadow fleet slips past Western oil sanctions
Russia's shadow fleet changes names and flags, and coastal states can do little beyond 12 miles out. Sweden can only radio tankers. Britain has boarded one.
Five dead as Amazon cargo jet overruns Miami runway
A Boeing 767 freighter flying for Amazon ran off a Miami runway on 2026-09-06, killing five. The NTSB has published a preliminary report on the landing.
Haiti's restavek children work for their keep, not a wage
A restavek in Haiti is a child sent by poor parents to live with another household, where they fetch water, clean and mind children instead of school.
Bhutan scores happiness from 148 questions and nine domains
Bhutan's 2022 happiness survey scored the nation 0.781 out of 1. Youth unemployment reached 28.6% that year, and young workers are leaving for Australia.
Ethiopia finished its Nile dam, but Egypt still has no deal
Ethiopia launched its Nile dam in 2025 with no deal on running it. Egypt cites 1929 and 1959 treaties giving it a Nile veto, which Ethiopia never signed.
Mutinous soldiers failed to oust Niger's military ruler
Soldiers moved against General Tiani on 29 August and lost. Nigeria denies backing the attempt, and Niger's oil-driven growth rolls on regardless.
The African Union depends on outsiders to pay for peacekeeping
The African Union and its partners run ten peace operations. A UN official said in 2009 that their funding rests on the UN or a small pool of donors.
Ethiopia's constitution builds each state around an ethnic group
Ethiopia's 1995 constitution built its states on ethnicity, and lets any group that qualifies form its own. It has not stopped border violence.
Chile's flat school voucher sorted pupils by family income
Under Pinochet, Chile paid every school one flat voucher per pupil. Researchers found it rewarded schools for enrolling wealthier families.
Greenland became Danish in three steps, from 1721 to 1953
A 1721 mission, an 1814 treaty and a 1953 change in status tied Greenland to Denmark. Home rule in 1979 and self-government in 2009 gave it more control.