This was a year in which billions of people living in more than 80 countries had the right to cast their democratic votes in elections. But with democracy around the world under ever-greater threats – from attacks on freedom of speech, equality of participation and plurality of media to name a few – how did the election process bear up? Jonathan Yerushalmy and Oliver Holmes find reasons for hope amid the pressure.
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The big story | France and the shadow of the Pelicot trial The mass rape case, in which verdicts and sentencing are expected this week, has horrified the world. But this is not French society’s first attempt to confront a sexually abusive culture, writes Kim Willsher, who has witnessed the harrowing proceedings in Avignon
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Spotlight | How Ukrainian power plant workers keep the country running As winter closes in, Shaun Walker visits a Soviet-era coal-fired thermal installation to explore how it has held up to Russian attacks
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Opinion | After the fall of Assad, the least Syrians deserve is our optimism With the tyrannical dynasty gone, it’s important not to impose a negative script on what comes next. Syrians deserve support and hope, argues Nesrine Malik
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The shamelessness of Fifa’s process in awarding the 2034 tournament to Riyadh was a display of contempt for governance, democracy and good sense, writes Barney Ronay
What else we’ve been reading
With France on its fourth prime minister in a year and Germany facing a snap election in February, Paris and Berlin correspondents Jon Henley and Deborah Cole explain why the driving forces of the European Union are in the doldrums. An excellent primer to understand what will be a shaky start to next year for European politics. Isobel Montgomery, deputy editor
When we met them a dozen years ago, they were teenagers in trouble, playing for a basketball team that always lost. Did they find a way to win at life?
Gas Could Mean Billions for Indigenous People in Canada. Some Fear a Cost.
New export terminals along the rugged Pacific coastline have reignited a generations-old debate over identity and environmental stewardship.
In an impoverished, war-ravaged country, the first prayers after the fall of a brutal regime drew jubilant crowds, even in areas seen as regime strongholds.
Nearly a million Syrians in Germany alone have made new lives. But after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, some politicians across the continent have suggested that refugees could return home.
McKinsey to Pay $650 Million in Opioid Settlement With Justice Department
A former senior partner will also plead guilty to obstruction of justice after destroying company documents.
The president-elect became convinced that letting Pete Hegseth fail would set off a feeding frenzy among senators. What followed was a MAGA swarm that helped salvage his bid, at least for now.
The suspect, Luigi Mangione, was an Ivy League tech graduate from a prominent Maryland family who in recent months had suffered physical and psychological pain.
The National Association of Realtors has created a nonprofit that gives more heavily to one side of the political aisle and to groups that have little to do with real estate and housing.
Amnesty International described it as a “human slaughterhouse,” where, other rights groups say, tens of thousands of people were detained, tortured and killed during the 13-year civil war.
Rage Grows Over a Spate of Brutal Murders of Women in Kenya
Almost 100 women have been killed in the span of three months, the police say. Rights groups want President William Ruto to declare femicide a national crisis.
A day after the regime of President Bashar al-Assad fell, civilians poured into the streets of Damascus, weeping in disbelief. Many sought word of relatives held in a notorious prison on the outskirts of the city.
President Bashar al-Assad had kept opposition forces at bay for a decade with help from Russia and Iran. But rebels struck at a moment of weakness for those countries.
With the fall of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Vladimir V. Putin has suffered one of the biggest geopolitical setbacks of his quarter-century in power.
Want a Job in the Trump Administration? Be Prepared for the Loyalty Test.
Applicants for government posts, including inside the Pentagon and the intelligence agencies, say they have been asked about their thoughts on Jan. 6 and who they believe won the 2020 election.
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