World Leaders

A student activist aligned with left-wing organizations holds a poster of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid the ongoing protest in solidarity with the youth-led Cockroach Janata Party demanding the resignation of the country's chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, over alleged voter roll irregularities linked to the “special intensive revision,” in Kolkata on October 11, 2026.

Inside India’s Gen Z Cockroach Janta Movement Inside India’s Gen Z Cockroach Janta Movement

Young Indians are challenging the purge of voter rolls by Modi’s right-wing government. Shrishti Khanna, who was detained by Delhi police while covering the protests, explains.

Oct 20, 2026 / Q&A / Shilpi Chhotray

Protesters in Bordeaux, France, some in yellow vests, take part in a national mobilization alongside secondary school and university students, climate activists, and farmers on October 17, 2026.

The Specter of Lepenism Looms Over France’s Social Crisis The Specter of Lepenism Looms Over France’s Social Crisis

Joining forces with the “yellow vests,” youth demonstrators are raising the alarm in a country falling to the far right.

Oct 19, 2026 / Harrison Stetler and June Loper

South African lawyer Navenethem “Navi” Pillay speaks in Nuremberg following the announcement that she will be awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.

Why Navi Pillay’s Receiving the Nobel Peace Prize Is So Important Why Navi Pillay’s Receiving the Nobel Peace Prize Is So Important

She believes that human rights and international law are universal principles that must be enforced regardless of violator’s ideology, ethnicity, or geostrategic alignment.

Oct 14, 2026 / Stephen Zunes

People gather on and around the statue in the center of the Place de la République at the end of a demonstration part of a nationwide day of actions called by high-school students who have been demanding better learning conditions in protests punctuated by violent confrontations in Paris.

France’s Students Won’t Back Down France’s Students Won’t Back Down

Without full-time teachers, temperature-regulated classrooms, or school nurses, French students are turning their grievances into a national movement.

Oct 13, 2026 / StudentNation / Diana Sophia Cordoba

A man walks past buildings destroyed by Israeli air strikes on October 7, 2026, in Gaza City.

Writing About War as Bombs Fall Writing About War as Bombs Fall

While the Israeli government launched a well-orchestrated offensive of disinformation and hyperbole that would make the illegal permissible in the war on Gaza.

Oct 12, 2026 / Marwan Bishara

A soldier stands at the outer NATO border with Russia on July 16, 2026, in Vaalimaa, Finland.

Are Europe and Russia Slow-Walking to World War III? Are Europe and Russia Slow-Walking to World War III?

Dangerous rhetoric has been escalating on both sides for some time now.

Oct 7, 2026 / Stephen Crowley

Statue of a miner by the artist Raymond Roux, to memorialize Alès’s having been a mining town during the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Year I Taught in a Former Coal Mining Town The Year I Taught in a Former Coal Mining Town

Teaching in the South of France, I learned that equality was just a story teachers told about themselves.

Oct 3, 2026 / Brianna Di Monda

French students hold up signs during a demonstration for better educational conditions, demanding the hiring of substitute teachers and increased resources.

Why French Students Are Revolting Why French Students Are Revolting

France’s education system is stretched to its limits, as student anger kicks off a hot fall protest season.

Oct 2, 2026 / June Loper and Harrison Stetler

US President Donald Trump joins hands with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (left) and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (right) at the White House on August 8, 2025, in Washington, DC.

Revolution or No Revolution Revolution or No Revolution

Eight years after Armenia’s “Velvet Revolution,” Nikol Pashinyan’s government has deepened the country’s neoliberal trajectory while reorienting Armenia toward the West.

Oct 2, 2026 / Pietro A. Shakarian

Hundreds of climate activists take part in a protest in the run up to the German elections in Bonn, Germany, on February 14, 2025.

Germany and California Make Up an Environmental Superpower Germany and California Make Up an Environmental Superpower

The world’s third- and fourth-largest economies have pledged to environmental protections. Will others follow suit?

Oct 1, 2026 / Mark Hertsgaard

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