Council of Councils
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The White House’s latest travel ban imposes restrictions on citizens from nineteen countries. Many of those affected are contending with crises at home.
Mariel Ferragamo covers Africa, the Middle East, and global health, and previously was the main editor of the Daily News Brief. Her prior experience includes roles at the Energy for Growth Hub and in the U.S. Congress. Mariel holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy from Colby College and a certification in journalism from New York University.
Most Recent
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Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies and former ambassador Michelle Gavin breaks down the tense U.S.-South Africa meeting at the White House.
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Cinema was the latest item to fall into Trump’s tariff crosshairs. The White House has since walked the proposal back, but the industry remains on edge about its return and the possible economic consequences it could have on the arts.
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Censorship and Freedom of Expression
A mounting number of conflicts, coups, and authoritarian advances has worn down media freedoms worldwide. Watchdog groups say threats even in countries that have long defended media rights pose worrying new challenges. -
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As Sudan plunges into another chapter of fighting, the country is enduring the world’s worst humanitarian crisis at a time of drastically shrinking foreign aid.
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Public Health Threats and Pandemics
Vaccination campaigns have nearly eradicated some of the most deadly and transmissible diseases. In a rising tide of vaccine hesitancy, however, outbreaks are cropping up again. -
Public Health Threats and Pandemics
For more than a century, countries have wrestled with how to improve international cooperation in the face of major outbreaks of infectious diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic, which brought the world to a near halt in 2020 and killed nearly seven million people, underscored the urgency. -
President Trump has imposed steep tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico in the name of curbing fentanyl flows into the United States. In reality, supplies of the drug—and related deaths—have sharply declined in the past year, though they are still at worrying levels.
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The Democratic Republic of Congo has been mired in conflict for years. As fresh fighting surges in the east, the roots of today’s violence can be traced back to old problems.
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As BRICS grows in both membership and global sway, its expansion comes with divisions among its members old and new on how to set the stage for a revised world order.
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Iran’s nuclear program and missile arsenal have garnered increased international scrutiny amid its flaring conflict with Israel and reports of its growing stockpile of enriched uranium.
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The Gulf states are angling for closer ties with African countries, and the feeling is mutual. But critics say differences over governance values, labor rights, and ongoing conflicts could stoke tensions.
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Two new malaria vaccines offer Africans the hope of finally eradicating a disease that has long plagued them disproportionately. Experts say vaccination is just one tool in a much broader fight.
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Public Health Threats and Pandemics
A recent surge in avian flu outbreaks in birds and some mammals, including humans, is worrying farmers, scientists, and public health experts. The threat of the virus becoming a pandemic is said to be low, but its evolution continues to raise alarms and pointed questions about preparedness. -
After the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the country has made tremendous strides toward peace and development. But critics say these have come at the cost of political freedoms.
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The would-be independent state stands in contrast to Somalia as a place of relative stability, and despite its lack of international recognition, Somaliland continues to push its own foreign policy.
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African governments have increasingly welcomed economic, diplomatic, and security ties with Russia—leading Western countries to denounce what they see as Moscow’s destabilizing influence and seek their own, more equal partnerships.
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Overdoses involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are the leading cause of death among young Americans and a threat to U.S. public health, the economy, and national security. Combating the epidemic requires addressing China’s and Mexico’s roles in the global fentanyl supply chain.
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Onetime allies, the United States and Iran have seen tensions escalate repeatedly in the four decades since the Islamic Revolution.
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The coup in Niger, once seen as the cornerstone of U.S. counterterrorism efforts in West Africa, now threatens wider regional instability and could potentially open the door to further Russian influence.
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A devastating power crisis is plaguing South Africa, battering its economy and threatening to sink its climate goals amid the global race to renewables.
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Countries in Africa have some of the harshest and most discriminatory LGBTQ+ policies in the world. But some governments are taking hopeful steps toward inclusion.
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More than a year into the civil war in Sudan, over nine million people have been displaced, exacerbating an already devastating humanitarian crisis.
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The Democratic Republic of Congo has been subjected to centuries of international intervention by European powers, as well as its African neighbors. This timeline traces the role of the outside forces that have beleaguered eastern Congo since the end of the colonial era.
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The Kurds are one of the world’s largest peoples without a state, making up sizable minorities in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Their century-old fight for rights, autonomy, and even an independent Kurdistan has been marked by marginalization and persecution.
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Government leaders are optimistic that COVID-19 is becoming more predictable and manageable, but the pandemic isn’t over yet.
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The U.S. health agency regulates the country’s foods and drugs, among other products. With the FDA’s role in drug development and nutrition policy and its COVID-19 pandemic response driving controversy, President Donald Trump is set to shake up its leadership.
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Sub-Saharan Africa is home to many of the world’s longest-ruling heads of state. Pro-democracy advocates have at times successfully stopped presidents from extending their mandates, but the authoritarian trend could be accelerating.
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The International Criminal Court was created to bring justice to the world’s worst war criminals, but debate over the court still rages.
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U.S. trade with sub-Saharan Africa has plateaued in recent years, prompting analysts to question the effectiveness of a preferential trade program for the region.
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Public Health Threats and Pandemics
Opioid addiction has become one of the United States’ biggest killers, endangering public health, the economy, and national security. But closing the floodgates on fentanyl poses a significant foreign policy challenge. -
Africa continues to have more peacekeeping missions than any other continent. As conflict-stricken countries increasingly look outside the United Nations for support, experts say reforms are necessary to improve peacebuilding.