Beijing has tightened its grip on Hong Kong in recent years, dimming hopes that the financial center will ever become a full democracy.

The alliance is bolstering its military deterrent in Europe amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has expanded to include Finland and Sweden.

Modern vice presidents can trace much of their political influence to the broad reforms that Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale made to the second-highest elected office in the late 1970s.

The International Monetary Fund, both criticized and lauded for its efforts to promote financial stability, continues to find itself at the forefront of global economic crisis management.

Since its founding in 1944, the World Bank has evolved from a lender focused on European reconstruction to the preeminent international institution for economic development and poverty reduction.

Russia has renewed its long-stalled push for unification with Belarus, using the country as a launchpad for its war against Ukraine and a hardening bulwark against NATO rivals to the west.

Founded as a loose confederation of states in 1945, the Arab League has struggled to overcome dysfunction and disunity among its members.