Mac Margolis Brazilians aren’t easily impressed these days. A brutal economic recession and 26 straight months of the worst political corruption scandal in memory have seen to that. But on May 9, an unusual news item caught the public eye. That day, one of Brazil’s biggest companies published an open letter to the nation. In the 770-word “Apology and …

  A self-confessed “man of many flaws and contradictions,” the Philippines’ new president-elect, Rodrigo Duterte, now has the tough job of uniting the country. However, the tougher job will be convincing everyone that the Philippines is not regressing and his polices are indeed fit for a modern democracy. The former mayor of Davao City used his first press conference since …

  The economic problems in southern Europe are deep and painful, but they are not unsolvable. Some of them are already beginning to mend. A case in point: Italy, which has started to grow again after enduring a nasty recession. Then there’s Greece, which looks like it’s headed for a new round of trouble. Although its crushing debt and crippling …