In Nigeria, Pressure Mounts on President to Bow Out of Race

Strongmen Are Weaker Than They Look. Authoritarians are on the rise around the world, but history shows they’re mostly helpless (Foreign Policy).

In Nigeria, Pressure Mounts on President to Bow Out of Race.  The pressure is mounting on President Muhammadu Buhari to step down after his first term expires next year. A diverse range of Nigerians have joined the chorus, and while the presidential vote is still almost a year away, campaign season in Nigeria is in full swing (the New York Times - Paywall).

Al-Qaeda Militant Raids Erode Malian President's Popularity. Support for Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has faded after five years. Islamist militants attack troops, peacekeepers almost daily (Bloomberg).

In a new crop of television dramas, Syria confronts its civil war. There is a new crop of Syrian-made dramas that, seven years into a civil war that's claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, are helping revive a television industry that once dominated the Arab world — even as that industry grapples with how to portray the war (the Los Angeles Times).