Politics & Society.
Elections, protest, civil society, humanitarian crises — the public-life desk.
- Briefing · 15 June 2026 · By Cornelia Ash
Lebanon and Israel talk peace — but nobody will say what they're talking about
Direct negotiations between Beirut and Tel Aviv are under way for the first time since 1983, yet the scope and substance of the discussions remain deliberately opaque.
- Leader · 15 June 2026 · By Cornelia Ash
Pashinyan's citizenship baggage won't shift a single seat
The Prime Minister's dual-nationality history is back in headlines—but the arithmetic shows it's a distraction from the real story of the 2026 result.
- Leader · 14 June 2026 · By Cornelia Ash
Armenia's voter rolls swell before count — but who added 18,000 names?
The Central Election Commission's quiet revision of the electoral register has triggered a re-count controversy that overshadows Pashinyan's claim of victory.
- Bench · 14 June 2026 · By Mateo Vega
Rama's 'hybrid war' claim falls apart under scrutiny
The Albanian Prime Minister's attempt to paint environmental protesters as foreign agents reveals more about his government's vulnerabilities than theirs.
- Briefing · 13 June 2026 · By Cornelia Ash
Pashinyan's hollow majority: why Armenia's election settles nothing
The prime minister won, but lost his constitutional supermajority—and the real battles over courts, Russia, and legitimacy are only beginning.
- Bench · 12 June 2026 · By Cornelia Ash
Peru's right fractured: Fujimori's narrow lead masks a coalition in ruins
Keiko Fujimori limps into a runoff she should have dominated — proof that Peru's right can fracture faster than its left.
- Bench · 09 June 2026 · By Cornelia Ash
Peru's election crisis is the symptom, not the disease
Close results and fraud allegations matter less than the institutional collapse that made them inevitable.