International

Ahead but Short of 61: Israel's Vote Count Leaves Netanyahu's Bloc in Front, Eisenkot Claiming Victory, and No Clear Path to a Government

As ballots are tallied after a record-turnout election, the exit-poll picture of an opposition edge has given way to a narrow lead for the incumbent camp, with the decisive soldiers' and absentee ballots still to come.

World Politics 

Introduction

A day after…

A Nobel Laureate Comes Home: María Corina Machado’s Return Tests Venezuela’s Open-Ended Transition

World Politics

Background

María Corina Machado, Venezuela’s Nobel Peace Prize–winning opposition leader, returned to her country on Sunday after roughly ten months abroad, and was met by crowds that her movement and several news organizations put in the tens of thousands. The homecoming is…

Algeria's Parliament Backs First Foreign Troop Deployment Since 1973, Sending Forces to Niger

ALGIERS/NIAMEY

Algeria's parliament has approved sending troops to Niger, a decision that breaks with a half-century of Algerian reluctance to fight beyond its borders and binds Algiers more tightly to the military government in Niamey. The upper house voted on Sunday, with 148 of 174 senators in favor,…

Israel Votes: Record Turnout, a Deadlocked Map and Claims of a “Stolen” Election Before a Single Seat Is Counted

World Politics

Background

Israelis went to the polls on Tuesday in what commentators across the spectrum have described as one of the most consequential elections in the country’s history. It is the first national vote since Hamas’s attack of October 7, 2023, and it arrives after a war in…

Tinubu Opens Re-Election Bid Blaming Rivals for Hardship as Nigeria's Opposition Stays Split

KADUNA/ABUJA 

President Bola Tinubu formally launched his campaign for a second term on Saturday, telling thousands of supporters in northern Nigeria that painful economic reforms are beginning to pay off and that his opponents, not his government, created the hunger and poverty now gripping households. The…

Gabon Ends Eight-Month Social Media Ban, but Questions Remain Over Control of Online Speech

LIBREVILLE 

Gabon's media regulator has lifted the suspension of social media that it imposed in February, ending an eight-month blackout of platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. The High Authority for Communication (HAC) announced the decision on Saturday, Oct. 24, after…