| As inflation devastates Venezuela, artists make purses and paintings out of bills Posted: 10 May 2018 02:46 PM PDT ![As inflation devastates Venezuela, artists make purses and paintings out of bills]( "As inflation devastates Venezuela, artists make purses and paintings out of bills") In a windowless apartment on the outskirts of this Colombian border down, Jesús Campos puts the final stitches on his latest creation: A violet and khaki handbag made exclusively from Venezuela's rapidly depreciating currency. The bag is made with 800 Venezuelan bolívar bills that have been carefully folded in rectangles and woven together in a geometric pattern. In Venezuela, the bolívar bills used to make this purse wouldn't be enough to purchase a coffee, says Mr. Campos.
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| In Iraq, a ‘post-sectarian’ election, yet challenges to democracy linger Posted: 10 May 2018 12:59 PM PDT ![In Iraq, a 'post-sectarian' election, yet challenges to democracy linger]( "In Iraq, a 'post-sectarian' election, yet challenges to democracy linger") "They're all thieves!" shouted one of the men, about the candidates in Iraq's May 12 elections. When polls open Saturday morning, Iraqis will be choosing from some 7,000 candidates for 329 seats in parliament. This election season, some characteristics of Iraqi politics are new, such as a shift away from divisive, overt sectarian campaign rhetoric – among Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds alike – that has dominated public political discourse since US forces invaded Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.
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| Malaysia’s lesson for leaders who stay too long Posted: 10 May 2018 12:20 PM PDT ![Malaysia's lesson for leaders who stay too long]( "Malaysia's lesson for leaders who stay too long") Long lying low in a quiet corner of Asia with a humdrum democracy, Malaysia and its 31 million people sent shock waves across the region on May 9 with an election that has been dubbed a "people's tsunami." Voters rose up and threw out a party that had ruled the former British colony since it gained independence in 1957. For democracies and autocracies everywhere, Malaysia's election offers an insight on how citizens eventually know when entrenched and corrupt leaders must go. The main charge against the incumbent prime minister, Najib Razak, and his United Malays National Organization (UMNO) was that he led a "government of thieves." For the winning coalition of parties, known as the Alliance of Hope, that was not a difficult claim to make.
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| Debate amid Nicaragua unrest: Was the revolution fulfilled, or betrayed? Posted: 10 May 2018 12:02 PM PDT ![Debate amid Nicaragua unrest: Was the revolution fulfilled, or betrayed?]( "Debate amid Nicaragua unrest: Was the revolution fulfilled, or betrayed?") Andrea, a 20-year-old student, slides her bright pink Sandinista Youth membership card across the table in a crowded café in central Managua on a recent afternoon. It features the face of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, and is emblazoned with the word "militant" in bright-yellow capital letters. Growing up, she was taught about President Ortega's role in the toppling of a dictator and his Sandinista movement's fight for equality and freedom.
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