Why Political Leaders Are Never to Blame
Barack Obama and Margaret Thatcher are prophets who came to embody their countries’ stories and, crucially, changed those stories.
The Naked Feminist
What lies behind the arguments over a Mary Wollstonecraft statue?
Photos of the Week: Tiger Check, Spanish Fog, Duck Shields
The Bailong Elevator in China, continued wildfires in California, a surge in COVID-19 cases in the U.S., Christmas preparations during a pandemic, a rocket launch to the ISS, and much more
How Xi Jinping Blew It
Public opinion toward China has darkened, and with Joe Biden set to become president, there is little prospect of Beijing fixing its mistake.
Top Shots From the 2020 International Landscape Photographer of the Year
Some of the top and winning images from this year’s landscape-photography competition
The World Leader Backing Trump’s State of Denial
Presidents and their challengers haven’t always admitted defeat. Just look at Mexico.
Photos: The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War
After six weeks of armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, a peace agreement, a handover of disputed territories, and mourning
Joe Biden Has a Barack Obama Problem
Many leaders in Asia, in particular, remain unhappy with the former president’s foreign policy.
When Discrimination Targets the Privileged
Meet the feminist aristocrats fighting for the right of daughters to inherit peerages.
The U.S. Is for Democracy Again. But for How Long?
For perhaps no other country is the answer more immediately existential than Belarus.
Photos of the Week: Fire Tunnel, Golden Dog, Santa Mask
Dancing on Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, monowheel broomsticks in Brazil, celebrations of Joe Biden’s presidential win, a press conference at Philadelphia’s Four Seasons Total Landscaping, and much more
Winners of Close-Up Photographer of the Year
Some of the winning and honored images from the 2020 competition in close-up, macro, and micro photography
Europe Can’t Blame Donald Trump Anymore
The question for the Continent’s leaders now is whether they can agree on what they are collectively for, not just what they are against.
The Anti-Trump Hangover Is Here
When you’re used to fighting enemies, how do you go back to having mere opponents?
Joe Biden Won’t Fix America’s Relationships
Serious questions about America’s role in the world will not go away just because Donald Trump was defeated.
What Worries Foreign Election Observers
They have been a part of American democracy for nearly two decades. They’ve never seen anything like this.
America Still Thinks It’s the Election Police
After the 2020 election, who would bother to listen to the U.S. about how to run a vote?
Photos of the Week: Golden Monkey, Bubble Dining, Water Dance
Hurricane Eta damage in Nicaragua, a Halloween blue moon, a presidential election in the U.S., earthquake aftermath in Turkey, a whale-tail wreck in the Netherlands, and much more
Populism Is Undefeated
The U.S. election proves that this divisive style of politics is still viable.
The President Confirms the World’s Fears
Trump railed baselessly against fraud and laid claim to an election whose result remains in doubt.