Cleveland

As Imran Khan takes office, military looms over plan for 'New Pakistan'

When Pakistan installs Imran Khan as its new prime minister Saturday, the cricket star-turned-populist politician will be wearing an old sherwani, or traditional coat-length garment. As part of his bid to demonstrate frugality and a new path for Pakistan’s leadership, Mr. Khan plans to forego the crisp new sherwani traditionally crafted for the ceremonial swearing-in by one of Islamabad’s go-to tailors to the political elite. The gesture seems to fit a politician who ran on a slogan of “New Pakistan,” and attracted the support of down-on-politics millennials and a besieged middle class by promising an end to the country’s rife corruption, nepotism, and political-party patronage.

Amid 'summer of the gun,' Canada sees US firearms debate creeping north

This might sound like a familiar storyline in the United States. While streets in Canada are much less violent and its debate about guns much less virulent than in the US, many see an American “creep,” both in the prevalence of guns and the polarization around them. As the government weighs tighter restrictions, some are calling into question the comfort Canada has long taken in its relative peace compared with the US.

The nature of talking in Turkey

When financial markets were put on edge this past week by Turkey’s shaky economy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to offer some advice. Turkey, after all, is the largest economy between Italy and India, a pivotal state between East and West. “Nobody has an interest in economic destabilization in Turkey,” she said.

Russia takes a new look at an old enemy: Genghis Khan

In the south of Buryatia, near the present-day border with Mongolia, there is a mountain-sized rock outcropping known locally as the Merkit Fortress, which looks out over the arid, rolling steppe that gradually fades into the Gobi Desert a few hundred miles away. Taking the name Genghis Khan, which means “universal ruler,” he flung his vast army of highly disciplined, horse-mounted shock troops to the south and west, conquering China, most of Central Asia and the Middle East, present-day Russia, and parts of Eastern Europe. At its peak the Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous land empire in history, and it left its imprint everywhere.