A woman hands money to a vegetable vendor at a market in Kohima, India, June 30, 2020 (AP photo by Yirmiyan Arthur).

In many parts of the world, particularly in emerging markets, women are at a stark disadvantage when it comes to obtaining a loan. Studies have shown that expanding access to credit for women would spur economic growth, yet the financial gender gap remains stubbornly wide. In fact, there are more than 70 countries where women cannot even open a bank account. According to Mary Ellen Iskenderian, president and CEO of the nonprofit Women’s World Banking, emerging financial technologies, or fintech, have the potential to revolutionize access to credit for women in low-income countries by allowing them to receive loans from […]

A woman carries vegetables outside a wholesale market in Jammu, India, May 2, 2020 (AP photo by Channi Anand).

In 2015, a report from the McKinsey Global Institute found that up to $28 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2025 if women were allowed to achieve their full economic potential. Yet according to the World Economic Forum, there are more than 70 countries where women are not allowed to open bank accounts or obtain credit. The gender gap in financial account penetration tends to be widest in certain emerging markets, like South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and parts of the Middle East. Even when financial services are available to them, women often face bias and discrimination at various […]

Then-Crown Prince Salman, left, speaks with his son, Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 14, 2012 (AP photo by Hassan Ammar).

Saudi Arabia and Iran recently confirmed that they are engaging in direct negotiations to lower tensions between the two rivals and eventually normalize diplomatic relations. Officials from both sides are sounding cautiously optimistic about the endeavor. “We have initiated some exploratory talks. They are at a very early stage but we are hopeful,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, told Agence France-Presse on Tuesday. On the Trend Lines podcast this week, Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, joined WPR’s Elliot Waldman to discuss the complicated history of the Saudi-Iranian relationship and […]

A man paints Israeli, Iranian, U.S. and Saudi Arabia national flags on a wall during an anti-government protest in Baghdad, Iraq, Nov. 17, 2019 (Photo by Ameer Al Mohammedaw for dpa via AP Images).

In April 2018, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, said in an interview with The Atlantic that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “makes Hitler look good.” MBS, as the crown prince is widely known, also dismissed the possibility of any talks between the two regional rivals. Just three years later, MBS has changed his tune, saying in a recent television interview that he hopes to “build a good and positive relationship with Iran.” His remarks came amid reports that the two sides were in the early stages of negotiations to deescalate tensions, which both […]

Annalena Baerbock of Germany’s Green party at a party convention in Leipzig, Germany, Nov. 9, 2018 (AP photo by Jens Meyer).

Germany’s Green party has surged in public opinion polling ahead of general elections this fall, indicating it is likely to be part of the country’s next coalition government. On the Trend Lines podcast this week, Claudia Major, head of the international security research division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, joined WPR’s Elliot Waldman to talk about how the Greens’ views on foreign policy have evolved in recent years and how they fit into the German political mainstream. Listen to the full interview with Claudia Major here: If you like what you hear, subscribe to […]

Annalena Baerbock of Germany’s Green party at a news conference in Berlin, April 26, 2021 (pool photo by Markus Schreiber via AP).

Voters in Germany will go to the polls in September for elections that will be unusually consequential for the country’s foreign and defense policy. Chancellor Angela Merkel is retiring after almost 16 years in the position, and three major parties recently announced their candidates to replace her. Much attention has focused on one of the candidates in particular: Annalena Baerbock of the Green party, which is surging in popularity and is likely to enter government as part of a coalition in the fall. This could allow the Greens to exercise influence over decision-making in Berlin. What would that mean for […]

A car flying a Cuban flag drives past the American embassy during a rally calling for the end of the U.S. blockade against the island nation, Havana, Cuba, March 28, 2021 (AP photo by Ramon Espinosa).

At the eighth congress of the Communist Party of Cuba last month, Raul Castro stepped down as head of the party, passing the reins to President Miguel Diaz-Canel in a choreographed transition of power. This changing of the guard took place amid rising dissent on the island, as well as a severe economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and strict U.S. sanctions that were imposed by the Trump administration. Despite expectations he would return to a policy of engagement, President Joe Biden has so far chosen to keep Trump’s aggressive policies toward Cuba largely in place. This week on […]