Soon Ukrainians will head to the polls to a pick a president. And Putin is paying attention. Ian will dig into it and then dig a whole lot deeper with former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul. And of course, we've got your Puppet Regime.
Cyberspace has become a battlefield and powerful cyberweapons are being used against civilians. There are huge ramifications for communities and countries. Microsoft President Brad Smith provides a thoughtful and urgent contribution to that effort, among other issues like digital privacy, in his new book, "Tools and Weapons." Read about it here.
America's internet giants are being pulled into political fights right and left these days. Speech – what can be said, and who can say it – is increasingly at the center of those controversies. Consider these two stories from opposite sides of the world:
India's 177 million Muslims are the largest Muslim minority population in the world, even though they account for less than 15 percent of India's total population. Here's a look at the world's largest Muslim minorities, by size and percentage of the population.
Italy's prime minister resigns – Giuseppe Conte, the caretaker prime minister appointed to mediate an uneasy governing alliance between Italy's anti-establishment 5Star Movement and the right-wing Lega party, resigned on Tuesday. Rather than wait for a no-confidence vote triggered by the rightwing Lega Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, Conte stepped down on his own terms. Salvini, who's popularity has been rising, had hoped that by triggering snap elections he could get himself appointed prime minister, will now have to wait for Italy's president, Sergio Mattarella, to decide what comes next. While Lega and smaller right-wing allies want a new vote, center and left-wing parties are apparently working to see if they can form a majority coalition – perhaps including 5Star -- that would allow Mattarella to appoint a new government without fresh elections. We're watching to see how the dust settles in Europe's third-biggest economy.
300: The US tested a new medium-range cruise missile on Sunday that flew more than 300 miles. This marks the first time the US has tested a weapon that would have violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a Cold War era pact that was officially abandoned three weeks ago, sparking fears of a new global arms race.
