McAllen

How to volunteer abroad: five points to consider

Some 1.6 million people serve in places of need each year, according to a 2008 study. One popular country is Morocco, where volunteers are working in orphanages or assisting at schools. 

After Christchurch, Muslims ask: Are we safe in the West?

For Amira Elghawaby, it was the carpet.

After a tragedy, why leaders must be consolers in chief

When a calamity strikes, leaders must often take on a different role than bold leadership. This kind of servant-leadership rarely makes the news. In Nebraska this week, following floods that devastated more than half of the counties, Gov. Pete Ricketts toured the state to meet victims, volunteers, and first responders.

In an age of authoritarianism, the world sees glimmers of hope

In the past year, citizens of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Ethiopia have taken to the streets to demand accountability from their governments, while voters in Malaysia and the Maldives ousted corrupt governments at the ballot box. Countries with a strong civil society or decent-sized middle class continue to push back against autocrats, even though the headlines are more often about the threats to democracy. A new paper published this month found that the world has been in “a wave of autocratization” since 1994, and as many as 75 democracies have seen a reversal to autocracy.