Global Pulse

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  • Peru election result close as vote counting continues

    Peru election result close as vote counting continues

    Peru’s high-stakes presidential runoff has devolved into a razor-thin deadlock, leaving the nation facing a prolonged period of political uncertainty that echoes chaotic electoral battles from recent years. Early independent vote tracking by leading pollster Ipsos places left-wing candidate Roberto Sánchez on a narrow 50.3% to 49.7% edge over right-wing veteran Keiko Fujimori, a margin so tight it qualifies as a statistical tie. Though this tally is not the official count, Ipsos’ tracking has proven a reliable predictor of final outcomes in past Peruvian elections. Official counting, which has processed over 85% of all ballots, confirms the race remains too close to call, with a full recount widely expected to take weeks to resolve.

    The contest brings two fundamentally opposing visions for Peru to the ballot box, pitting a veteran of national politics against a first-time presidential frontrunner campaigning for systemic change. Fujimori, a household name in Peruvian politics who is making her fourth bid for the presidency, has leaned heavily into the controversial legacy of her late father, former President Alberto Fujimori. Though Alberto Fujimori was ultimately imprisoned for crimes against humanity, his base credits him with crushing violent insurgencies and delivering tangible social support to impoverished communities. Keiko Fujimori has centered her campaign on one key voter priority: a brutal military crackdown on soaring organized crime and extortion, issues that have dominated voter anger across the country.

    On election day, Fujimori kicked off her voting in San Juan de Lurigancho, Lima’s most populous district, where informal impoverished settlements cling to steep, arid mountains. She was greeted by throngs of enthusiastic supporters, who voiced urgent hope that she would deliver on her anti-crime pledges. “She will fight crime like her father did years ago,” supporter Alicia told reporters. Another voter, Catalina Solana Guamá, noted that previous administrations had ignored the needs of working-class hillside communities like hers. “It’s about time a woman governed us, one who makes us feel valued,” she said, adding that she backed Fujimori’s promise to deploy the military against gangs that have targeted transportation workers for extortion. “It’s not right that we go out to work and don’t know if we’ll come back alive.” Jennifer, another local voter, echoed that frustration, saying “right now things are very bad, especially in this district… there’s extortions and killings, she wants to fight that.”

    Sánchez, by contrast, is running on a platform of sweeping left-wing economic and state reforms, including expanding the government’s role in regulating Peru’s lucrative natural resource sector, increasing public investment in marginalized rural regions, overhauling the national tax system, and renegotiating existing mining contracts. He frames these changes as critical to redressing deep systemic inequality, arguing that wealth from Peru’s vast copper and gold reserves has failed to reach most working and poor Peruvians. His platform has earned him intense support in rural and highland Andean regions, but has also spooked domestic financial markets, echoing the investor anxiety that marked the 2021 election of former left-wing President Pedro Castillo.

    Sánchez’s campaign is closely tied to Castillo, who he served under as a cabinet minister. A key campaign pledge from Sánchez has been his promise to issue a presidential pardon for Castillo, who was jailed in 2022 after attempting to illegally dissolve Congress and rule by emergency decree. The 2021 election, which also pitted Castillo against Fujimori, ended in a similarly razor-thin result that dragged on for weeks of vote counting and political chaos, a parallel that has amplified anxiety around the current deadlock.

    Ipsos’ early tracking lays bare the deep geographic divide shaping the 2026 result: Fujimori carried the capital Lima, urban centers, and coastal regions, while Sánchez swept rural areas and the Andean highlands. Analysts expect Sánchez to gain additional ground as the last remaining rural ballots are processed, a dynamic that keeps the final outcome too uncertain to call.

    In statements to their supporters following the release of early counts, both candidates stuck to sharply differing narratives. Sánchez framed his narrow lead as a reflection of popular demand for systemic change, calling it an “important lead that reaffirms the will of the people, who want democracy and justice.” Fujimori, by contrast, described the race as an unambiguous “dead heat” warning that “there will be long days ahead” before a winner can be declared. She argued it would be “irresponsible” to call the result based on early partial tallies, stressing that “every single tally sheet must be counted.”

    Sánchez’s supporters in Lima voiced similar determination to see their candidate win, with many warning that they would take to the streets in protest if the result does not go their way. Many cited Castillo’s ouster and imprisonment as a core motivation for backing Sánchez this cycle. Giovanna, a Sánchez supporter gathered to hear him speak Sunday night, condemned the Fujimori family’s legacy, referencing the forced sterilization program carried out under Alberto Fujimori that harmed thousands of Indigenous and poor Peruvian women. “If we have to rise up, at the very least I would do it,” she said. Street vendor Hilda, who voted for Castillo in 2021, echoed that threat, saying “We voted for change… Previously we voted for Pedro Castillo, but our president who was elected has been removed and is in prison. That’s why we’re voting for Sánchez. Everyone is going to protest, we are going to go out into the streets.”

    The runoff comes after a chaotic first round marked by delays in delivering electoral materials to polling stations, with both sides trading accusations of electoral fraud. For the second round, however, independent election observers and Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) have confirmed that voting proceeded without major disruptions or irregularities. Still, the prospect of weeks of recounting and political wrangling leaves Peru facing a fresh period of instability, a challenge that has plagued the country’s electoral system for much of the last decade.

  • John Lithgow and Lesley Manville lead Tony Award winners

    John Lithgow and Lesley Manville lead Tony Award winners

    The annual Tony Awards, Broadway’s most prestigious ceremony honoring excellence in U.S. theatrical performance over the preceding year, wrapped its 2025 iteration Sunday night with historic wins for veteran actors and a dominant showing from a classic American drama revival.

    Eighty-year-old John Lithgow closed out a decades-long Broadway career by taking home the award for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his turn as iconic children’s author Roald Dahl in *Giant*, making him the oldest male actor ever to claim a Tony. Lithgow’s first Tony win came 53 years earlier, for his 1972 performance in the Broadway production *Changing Rooms*, a gap he referenced in his acceptance speech. “Two Tony bookends with 53 years between them,” Lithgow told the crowd. “In those years, I have worked with hundreds of just fantastic theatre artists. I’ve had dozens and dozens of ecstatic moments on the stage, but I have to tell you right now, this moment has got to be one of the best.”

    British stage and screen star Lesley Manville earned her first ever Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play, recognizing her portrayal of Jocasta in the revival of Greek tragedy *Oedipus*. Manville, who made her Broadway debut with this production, spoke about her shock at the win. “I’m a bit overwhelmed, it was my first time on Broadway so this is such a big deal,” she said. She also paid tribute to her fellow nominees—Rose Byrne, Carrie Coon, Susannah Flood and Kelli O’Hara—before jokingly calling out for more opportunities for female performers: “Would someone like to write a play for five women? We are quite bankable.” Notably, both Lithgow and Manville’s winning productions ran at UK venues before transferring to Broadway, mirroring their success at the previous year’s Olivier Awards.

    Arthur Miller’s *Death of a Salesman* emerged as the night’s biggest overall winner, taking home six Tony Awards including the coveted prize for Best Revival of a Play. Laurie Metcalf, the Bafta and Oscar-nominated performer known for her work on *Roseanne* and *Lady Bird*, added a Tony to her collection for Best Supporting Actress in a Play for her role in the production. In her acceptance speech, Metcalf looked back to her early training, paying homage to the group of peers she met as a theatre student in college, naming the ensemble that included Gary Sinise and John Malkovich. “When I was in college, I met six fellow students in the theatre department. We worked really hard to amuse each other, and I still consider them family – and I still draw on lessons that I learned from them,” she said.

    The production’s win also marked the first Tony Award for controversial producer Scott Rudin, who stepped back from all Broadway projects in 2021 following public allegations of widespread bullying and abusive behavior toward his employees. At the time, Rudin acknowledged his “history of troubling interactions with colleagues” and issued an apology for the pain his conduct caused. Rudin did not attend Sunday’s ceremony, and the Best Play Revival trophy was accepted on the production’s behalf by cast member Nathan Lane, who centered his remarks on the legacy of playwright Arthur Miller rather than the producer.

    Other major winners from the night included *Ragtime*, the period drama following three families chasing the American Dream at the turn of the 20th century, which took home two Tonys including Best Revival of a Musical. *Schmigadoon!*, a stage adaptation of the canceled Apple TV+ comedy series that pays homage to Broadway’s golden age, also earned two awards, including the night’s top honor for Best Musical. Producer Christine Schwarzman joked in her speech that the show’s Broadway transfer only happened because of the streamer’s decision to end the series. “I think I should start by thanking Apple TV for cancelling the third season of *Schmigadoon!*, the TV show, because without them dropping it, we couldn’t have picked it up and ran with it,” she said.

    The punk-rock musical adaptation of the 1987 cult vampire film *The Lost Boys* also matched *Ragtime* and *Schmigadoon!* with two wins, while the reimagined *Cats: The Jellicle Ball* took home three awards. *Liberation*, the sweeping feminist epic that recently won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, claimed the Tony for Best Play.

    Pop singer Pink, self-described “Broadway’s biggest fan,” hosted the 2025 ceremony, opening the night with a reworked rendition of *Lady Marmalade* that winked at many of the night’s nominees before paying tribute to Broadway’s workforce. “I wanted to be here to pay tribute to the hardest-working people in showbiz,” she told the audience.

  • Armenia’s pro-West government wins election despite Russian pressure

    Armenia’s pro-West government wins election despite Russian pressure

    Armenia’s 2026 parliamentary election has delivered a decisive mandate for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his centrist Civil Contract Party, cementing the country’s trajectory toward deeper integration with the West even as traditional ally Russia wields economic pressure to alter its course. The final vote count released by Armenia’s electoral commission confirmed Civil Contract won 49.8% of the popular vote, a clear lead that will give the party a dominant majority in the national assembly. Trailing far behind were the pro-Russian Strong Armenia Alliance at 23.2%, the also pro-Russia Armenia Alliance at 9.9%, and conservative Prosperous Armenia with just 4% of the vote, with most of the 19 competing parties and blocs failing to clear the threshold for parliamentary representation. Overall voter turnout hit 59%, in line with pre-election projections.

    This vote marked the first general election Armenia has held since its 2023 crushing military defeat to neighboring Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, a conflict that reshaped the country’s domestic political landscape and foreign policy priorities. Widely framed as a de facto referendum on Armenia’s geopolitical alignment, the election outcome is set to shape the small South Caucasus nation’s ties with both Moscow and Western capitals for years to come.

    Pashinyan, who first rose to power in 2018 on a wave of mass anti-establishment protests against former leader Serzh Sargysan, declared victory early Monday morning, as preliminary results pointed to his party’s clear win. In his victory address, Pashinyan framed the outcome as a popular mandate for cross-border cooperation and regional stability. “Armenian people voted for peace, regional prosperity and cooperation,” he told supporters. He also clarified that while his administration would continue advancing its pro-Western rapprochement agenda, Armenia would remain an active member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the customs bloc that has long delivered tangible economic benefits to the country.

    The result has drawn swift reaction from across the globe, with European Union leadership and France among the first Western powers to extend congratulations, praising both the democratic conduct of the vote and Armenia’s ongoing efforts to deepen ties with European institutions. U.S. President Donald Trump has also previously endorsed Pashinyan’s accelerated peace talks with Azerbaijan, brokered through U.S. mediation.

    What makes this victory particularly notable is that it comes despite a marked decline in Pashinyan’s domestic approval ratings in recent years. Public opinion polling puts his current support at roughly 30%, down from 54% in the 2021 election. The erosion of popularity is largely tied to the fallout of the 2023 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which ended with Azerbaijan retaking full control of the mountainous enclave that had been home to 100,000 ethnic Armenians. Pashinyan’s critics across the political spectrum have refused to forgive his diplomatic concessions to Azerbaijan to advance peace, including his refusal to advocate aggressively for the release of former Nagorno-Karabakh leaders imprisoned in Baku. Even with the victory, the ongoing peace process with Azerbaijan remains deeply divisive among Armenians, with one recent poll showing 44% support and 41% opposition to the proposed framework.

    In the lead-up to the vote, Russian leadership made clear its opposition to Pashinyan’s pro-Western shift, repeatedly pressuring the Armenian government to clarify its geopolitical alignment. In late May, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an immediate public referendum on whether Armenia would pivot to European integration or remain within the Russian-led EAEU, pointing out the steep economic costs of a Western shift. Last month, Putin explicitly warned Armenia that moving closer to the West would carry the same kind of crisis that followed Ukraine’s own efforts to pursue EU accession, highlighting that Russia currently supplies Armenia with natural gas at $177.50 per 1,000 cubic meters, a heavily discounted rate far below the European market price of over $600 per 1,000 cubic meters. In the final two weeks before election day, Moscow ramped up economic pressure further by banning exports of key Armenian goods including flowers, cognac, mineral water, and fresh produce, a move widely seen as an attempt to sway voter sentiment against Pashinyan.

    Pashinyan has spent the last several years deliberately steering Armenia away from Moscow’s sphere of influence: his administration has passed formal legislation to launch the EU accession process, hosted a high-profile summit of EU leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Yerevan earlier this year, and advanced U.S.-brokered peace talks with Azerbaijan. Despite these steps, European integration remains a long-term goal: Armenia has not yet been granted EU candidate status, and full membership is still years, if not decades, away. For now, the election result confirms that a majority of Armenian voters back Pashinyan’s balancing act: deepening ties with the West while maintaining existing economic and political arrangements within Russian-led blocs.

  • Israel, Iran trade fire for first time since truce

    Israel, Iran trade fire for first time since truce

    After two months of a fragile ceasefire that held across the Middle East, fresh violence has erupted between Israel and Iran, marking the first direct exchange of attacks since the truce took hold in April and throwing long-running diplomatic efforts to end the regional war into severe jeopardy. The escalation, which has already drawn in other regional actors and sent global energy markets swinging upward, unfolded against a backdrop of mounting tensions sparked by an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh district, a stronghold of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

    The sequence of violence began on Sunday, when the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the Israeli military had targeted a militant command center in the Beirut suburb, in retaliation for a earlier missile and drone attack by Hezbollah on two Israeli army barracks along the northern border. Lebanon’s national health ministry reported the strike left two people dead and another 20 injured, triggering immediate condemnation and a vow of revenge from Iran.

    Shortly after, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a wave of missiles at two key Israeli air bases, Nevatim Air Base and Tel Nof Air Base, framing the strike as a justified response to what it called “Zionist regime aggression.” The Israeli military announced it had launched counter-strikes against Iranian defense installations located across multiple regions of Iran, saying it had successfully dismantled key defensive capabilities. Air raid sirens wailed across Israeli cities from Jerusalem to Netanya, with AFP correspondents in the region reporting repeated explosions as Israeli defense systems worked to intercept incoming Iranian missiles. As of Monday, no casualties have been reported on either side of the exchange.

    The conflict quickly expanded to other parts of the region: Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement announced its own missile attack on Israel — the first such strike since early April — and reimposed a total ban on Israeli shipping transiting the Red Sea, reviving the threat of widespread disruption to one of the world’s busiest and most economically critical maritime trade routes. The strike that hit an Iranian petrochemical complex in the exchange also compounded existing energy market jitters.

    Iran has directly blamed the United States for enabling the resumption of hostilities, arguing that Israel would not launch any major military action without prior American coordination. “No one believes that the Zionist regime would carry out any action without prior coordination and cooperation with the United States,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters in Tehran during a press conference attended by AFP. “It is perfectly natural that the diplomatic process initiated to put an end to this imposed war would be affected.” Even so, Baqaei confirmed that diplomatic consultations would continue despite the renewed fighting. Iran’s parliament speaker and chief nuclear negotiator with Washington, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, went further, saying the U.S. had given a “green light” for the Beirut strike and declaring all American and Israeli assets around the world to be legitimate military targets.

    The renewed violence came as the U.S. continued efforts to push both sides toward a permanent peace deal, more than three months after the regional war erupted from joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly pushed for a negotiated end to the conflict, issued an urgent call for restraint from both sides. In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump pushed back against suggestions that Netanyahu set the pace of policy, saying “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots.” Speaking to Fox News later, he urged Iran to de-escalate, saying “What I would suggest to Iran: You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough, get back to the table and make a deal.”

    Global powers have widely called for an immediate de-escalation. European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas urged both sides to set aside hostilities and return to negotiations. China also issued a statement calling for restraint, with foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian noting that “resuming hostilities is not in any party’s interest.”

    For ordinary Iranians, the return of open conflict has compounded weeks of economic and personal uncertainty, already worsened by Iran’s ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — the critical global chokepoint for 20% of the world’s daily oil trade — that has driven up prices across the country. The fresh outbreak of fighting sent global crude prices surging more than 5% on Monday, as investors priced in the growing risk that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed indefinitely. “I really have gone numb,” 32-year-old fitness trainer Elaheh from the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz told AFP. “Daily life? It’s a joke. Everything is horrible. We only try to survive,” she said, pointing to skyrocketing living costs.

    Even amid the fighting, limited diplomatic activity continues. Over the weekend, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi traveled to Tehran to deliver what he described as a “special letter” to Iran’s Supreme Leader, according to Iranian state media. A Pakistani official confirmed Naqvi has since returned to Islamabad, and Iran says diplomatic consultations mediated by Pakistan are continuing even as open hostilities resume with Israel.

  • Eriksen ‘doing well’ and expected to leave the hospital after on-field collapse, Denmark team says

    Eriksen ‘doing well’ and expected to leave the hospital after on-field collapse, Denmark team says

    ODENSE, Denmark — Less than 24 hours after experiencing a second on-field collapse during an international friendly against Ukraine, Danish star midfielder Christian Eriksen is recovering well and on track to be released from hospital imminently, according to the Danish men’s national football team’s chief physician.

    The 34-year-old veteran collapsed to the turf in the 65th minute of Sunday’s match hosted in Odense, after grabbing his chest with both hands while not in possession of the ball. Contrary to initial concerns sparked by his 2021 life-threatening incident, Eriksen was able to leave the pitch unassisted following on-site evaluation from medical teams, the Danish Football Association confirmed after the final whistle. He was transferred to Odense University Hospital for further observation and diagnostic testing.

    In an official health update shared Monday morning, Denmark team physician Morten Boesen shared encouraging news about Eriksen’s condition. “I spoke with Christian this morning, and he is doing well,” Boesen said in the statement. “He is with his family and is in good spirits. The expectation is that he will be discharged soon and can return home.” Boesen added that the football association is prioritizing support for all players and staff connected to the incident, maintaining regular check-ins with the group.

    This collapse marks the second time Eriksen has been taken to hospital after falling unconscious during a match, three and a half years after his widely publicized cardiac arrest during Denmark’s opening group stage match at UEFA Euro 2020. Following that 2021 incident, Eriksen received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator to regulate his heart rhythm. In a remarkable comeback, he returned to top-flight professional football less than a year after the near-fatal event.

    Currently, Eriksen plies his trade with German Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg, where he is under contract through the 2026-27 season. Denmark failed to secure qualification for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, ending the nation’s campaign early ahead of this summer’s tournament in North America.

  • At least 19 dead after major earthquake strikes southern Philippines

    At least 19 dead after major earthquake strikes southern Philippines

    A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit off the coast of Mindanao island in the southern Philippines has left at least 19 people dead and more than 130 injured, according to initial local official reports. The deadly seismic event struck at 7:37 a.m. local time on Monday, equal to 23:37 GMT on Sunday, sending shockwaves across the region and prompting emergency tsunami warnings across four nations: the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, and Australia. Most of these alerts were lifted within hours of the initial quake.

    Visual documentation circulating on social media and shared by local outlets captured the devastating force of the quake, showing multiple structures reduced to rubble. One widely circulated clip shows a local Jollibee fast-food outlet in a southern Philippine city completely crumbled, a striking image that has underscored the quake’s destructive power. Initial casualty counts, compiled by local authorities, list injuries across three hard-hit provinces — South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Sarangani — as well as General Santos city, the major urban center closest to the quake’s epicenter. These preliminary numbers are still undergoing formal verification by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the national body that formalizes disaster casualty statistics by aggregating data from police, local governments, and relief organizations, a process that typically takes roughly 24 hours to complete.

    In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued a public statement confirming that national government agencies were coordinating a unified disaster response. “The national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind,” Marcos assured the public. The quake coincided with the first day of the new Philippine school year, prompting Marcos to order an immediate suspension of classes across all affected regions. Footage from a primary school in Davao Occidental province captured the terrifying experience of students during the quake: dozens of children can be seen crouching on open ground as the earth shook beneath them, while a corrugated metal shelter collapsed behind the group. The school later confirmed that no students or staff were injured in the incident.

    As of Tuesday morning, more than 130 aftershocks have been recorded across the region, with magnitudes ranging from a minor 1.3 up to a significant 6.7. In Sarangani, the coastal province closest to the epicenter, the initial quake knocked out power grids and mobile communication networks for several hours, though services have since been restored for most residents.

    General Santos, the largest city near the quake’s origin, holds two major claims to fame: it is widely known as the tuna capital of the Philippines, and it is also the hometown of legendary world boxing champion turned politician Manny Pacquiao.

    The Philippines lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region where seismic activity is extremely common. While most seismic events in the country are minor and cause little to no damage, large deadly quakes are a recurring hazard. In September 2023, a magnitude 6.9 quake struck the central Visayas region, killing more than 70 people.

    Immediately after the Monday quake, Japanese authorities issued an urgent warning for potential one-meter tsunami waves along the country’s coasts. By later Monday, only minor waves had been recorded: a small surge of a few centimeters hit southern Okinawa prefecture, and a 20-centimeter wave was measured in the distant Ogasawara Islands. Minor tsunami surges, ranging from a few centimeters to 1.4 meters, were also recorded along coastlines of Indonesia, Palau, and the Philippines.

  • Manav Suthar picks up 6-33 on debut as India enforces follow-on against Afghanistan

    Manav Suthar picks up 6-33 on debut as India enforces follow-on against Afghanistan

    On Monday, a historic debut performance from young Indian spinner Manav Suthar stole the spotlight in the one-off Test match between India and Afghanistan held in New Chandigarh, as the 22-year-old turned in a sensational 6 wickets for just 33 runs to bundle the Afghan side out for a total of 152 runs in their first innings.

    Suthar’s spell not only announced his arrival on the international Test stage but also carved his name into Indian cricket’s record books. His figures mark the second-best bowling performance by an Indian on Test debut, falling only behind Narendra Hirwani’s iconic 8 wickets for 61 runs against the West Indies back in 1988. He also became just the second Indian slow bowler to claim a five-wicket haul in his maiden Test innings, a feat last achieved by Amit Mishra, who took 5 for 71 against Australia in 2008.

    The day’s play built on India’s already dominant position in the match, after the home side declared their first innings at 564 for 8, earning a massive 412-run first innings lead that allowed them to enforce the follow-on on Afghanistan. When play resumed for the third day’s lunch break, Afghanistan had navigated four overs of their second innings without losing a wicket, reaching 18 for 0, with opening batter Sediqullah Atal not out on 16 and Abdul Malik yet to get off the mark, holding on at 2 not out.

    Monday’s first session had begun with Afghanistan resuming their first innings at 113 for 5, still five wickets away from being all out. Just five overs into the day, India seamer Prasidh Krishna broke the resistance, knocking over Azmatullah Omarzai’s stumps to claim his third wicket of the innings, finishing with final figures of 3 for 37.

    That wicket opened the door for Suthar’s match-winning spell. The young spinner picked up two key wickets across two consecutive overs: he had Sharafuddin Ashraf caught behind the wicket for 11, before clean bowling Rahmat Shah through the gap between bat and pads. Shah, who top-scored for Afghanistan, put up a valiant 60 runs from 135 deliveries, decorated with nine fours and one six.

    Suthar continued to dismantle the Afghan lower order, with the final five wickets of the innings falling for just 39 runs to wrap up the innings quickly. This one-off Test is just the second meeting between the two sides in the longest format of the game. Afghanistan’s inaugural Test match back in 2018 was also hosted by India in Bengaluru, where the home side secured a dominant innings and 262-run victory, setting the stage for India’s another commanding showing in this latest encounter.

  • Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan claims victory following general election

    Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan claims victory following general election

    In the early hours of Monday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared victory in the country’s snap general election, after official preliminary results confirmed his ruling Civil Contract Party secured a dominant first-place finish with 49.81% of the popular vote. The outcome of Sunday’s vote is widely viewed as a defining mandate for Pashinyan’s proposed new geopolitical trajectory for Armenia, a small South Caucasus former Soviet republic that has increasingly sought to distance itself from long-standing ally Moscow and advance its membership aspirations with the European Union.

    Preliminary data from Armenia’s Central Election Commission shows that three opposition blocs crossed the 4% vote threshold required to secure seats in the new national parliament. The runner-up position went to the Strong Armenia bloc, led by imprisoned billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who captured 23.29% of the vote. Karapetyan, who amassed his business fortune in Russia, is currently under house arrest on charges of plotting to overthrow the sitting government — allegations he has repeatedly dismissed as a politically motivated fabrication targeting his opposition. His bloc’s platform centers on rebuilding and expanding deep economic and political ties with Russia, and it has openly accused Pashinyan of reckless actions that risk triggering direct conflict with the Kremlin.

    Two smaller parties also won parliamentary representation: the pro-Russia Armenia bloc took 9.94% of the vote, while Blossoming Armenia secured exactly the 4% threshold needed to enter the legislature. Final official data put overall voter turnout at 59.97%, a correction from an earlier erroneous report that incorrectly cited a 97% turnout figure.

    Speaking to reporters at his campaign headquarters shortly before official results were confirmed, Pashinyan asserted his party had secured a historic landslide win and planned to form a single-party majority government without needing to enter a coalition with opposition groups.

    The election outcome drew immediate congratulatory responses from top European Union leaders, who frame the contest as a critical litmus test for Russian influence across the post-Soviet space. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted the enduring legacy of Pashinyan’s 2018 Velvet Revolution, the mass protest movement he led that ousted long-time pro-Russian leader Serzh Sargsyan. In a public social media statement Monday, von der Leyen said, “The spirit of the Velvet Revolution you led in 2018 is alive and well. We deeply value our partnership with a democratic Armenia that is drawing ever closer to Europe. Armenia can count on us.”

    European Council President António Costa also extended his congratulations, emphasizing the EU’s growing strategic interest in the South Caucasus, a region that connects European energy markets to vast fossil fuel reserves in Central Asia. “Together, the EU and Armenia are building stronger links between people and creating new opportunities in energy, trade, and digitalization. Our strong partnership is an investment in a more peaceful and prosperous future for the region as a whole,” Costa wrote in a post on the social platform X.

    The result comes amid mounting pressure from Moscow on Yerevan, with the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union previously threatening to suspend Armenia’s membership over its push to deepen ties with Brussels. The election confirms a clear popular mandate for Pashinyan’s pro-Western shift, setting the stage for new geopolitical realignment in the volatile South Caucasus region.

  • Swiss healthcare united against immigration cap plan

    Swiss healthcare united against immigration cap plan

    As 80-year-old Marcelle Mivelaz marked her birthday surrounded by loved ones at a Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne nursing home in western Switzerland, the smooth running of her celebration and daily care at the facility depended entirely on a team made up mostly of immigrant nurses and caregivers. This small, personal scene reflects a widespread reality across Switzerland’s entire healthcare system: decades of chronic domestic staffing shortages have left the sector deeply dependent on foreign workers, a dependence that has placed it at the heart of a fierce national debate ahead of the June 14 popular vote on a strict immigration cap proposal.

    The initiative, dubbed “No to a Switzerland with 10 million!”, was put forward by the hard-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP). It aims to cap the Alpine nation’s total population — which currently stands at 9.1 million — below 10 million through 2050 by drastically cutting annual immigration levels. While the proposal has drawn broad opposition from the federal government, national parliament, and most major business groups, recent public opinion polls indicate the outcome of the vote remains too close to call, leaving the healthcare sector bracing for a potential devastating outcome.

    For many on the ground at care facilities across the country, the risk of the cap passing is an immediate threat to patient safety. Carine Savioz, a native Swiss nurse working at the Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne nursing home, told AFP that a steep drop in new immigrant caregivers would push the entire national healthcare system toward collapse. “If there aren’t enough caregivers, our healthcare system is headed for disaster,” she said. Her warning was echoed by 81-year-old resident Marie-Therese Barraz, who added: “We must have respect for the people who care for nursing home residents.”

    The scale of the sector’s reliance on foreign labor is stark. Christian Weiler, director of the Primeroche Foundation that operates the Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne facility and cares for 360 patients across multiple sites, revealed that nearly 80 percent of his 240 total employees are foreign nationals. Weiler noted that the foundation already cannot meet existing demand for care: 240 elderly people are currently on waiting lists for nursing home spots in the Lausanne region alone. If the immigration cap passes and cuts off the supply of new workers, the foundation will not be able to expand capacity to meet that need, he warned, triggering a ripple effect across the entire health system.

    “If there aren’t enough places, they’ll go to the hospital,” Weiler explained. “And when hospitals are full of elderly people, they won’t be able to fulfil their role, and the system will become very problematic” as Switzerland’s population continues to age. This assessment is shared by the Swiss federal government, which has publicly warned that the proposal “threatens the proper functioning of society” by leaving hospitals and nursing homes unable to deliver the same level of care to sick and elderly patients that the public expects.

    The SVP has pushed back against these warnings, arguing that the cap will not cripple healthcare. Party leaders say the initiative still allows up to 40,000 new immigrants to enter the country each year, and they are calling for expanded training programs to increase the number of native Swiss healthcare workers. SVP parliamentarian Thomas Blasi, an independent pharmacist based in Geneva, also argued that overreliance on foreign workers has actually harmed young Swiss health graduates. “Despite the urgent need for healthcare staff, our young graduates cannot find employment because we prefer to rely on foreign workers,” he claimed.

    But healthcare leaders and sector representatives reject that argument, pointing to persistent data showing a chronic shortage of domestic candidates for open roles. The demanding nature of care work and relatively uncompetitive salaries have long discouraged many Swiss nationals from entering the field, they say, leaving foreign workers to fill the gap. A broad alliance of major healthcare groups — including the Swiss National Association of Hospitals and Clinics and the Swiss Nurses’ Association — has formed a dedicated committee to campaign against the proposal, which they have labeled the SVP’s “chaos initiative” that directly endangers patient lives.

    The committee warns that understaffing from an immigration cap would force facilities to rely on underqualified personnel, leading to a measurable increase in mortality risk, particularly for patients in emergency care settings. Official data from the Swiss Medical Association (FMH) backs up the sector’s claims of structural dependence on foreign-trained workers: 43 percent of all practicing doctors in Switzerland are trained abroad, and that share continues to grow each year. FMH vice-president Philippe Eggimann told Swiss newspaper Le Temps that Swiss universities only graduate between 1,200 and 1,300 new medical professionals each year, while the system needs 3,500 to 4,000 new doctors annually to meet demand.

    “The country remains far from being able to ensure the replenishment of its medical workforce on its own,” the FMH concluded. That gap is just as stark for nursing roles. At Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), one of the country’s largest public health systems, nursing director Sandra Merkli explained that the facility needs to hire 200 to 300 new nurses every year, but the local canton’s medical school only graduates 150 to 160 new nursing candidates annually. As of 2025, nearly half of HUG’s 13,000 total employees are foreign nationals: the share hits 60 percent for nursing staff, and 45 percent for physicians, reflecting a nationwide trend that leaves the sector scrambling ahead of the upcoming vote.

  • Rare footage captured of Great White shark in Mediterranean Sea

    Rare footage captured of Great White shark in Mediterranean Sea

    In a remarkable and unexpected encounter that has marine biologists buzzing, a volunteer diver has shared unprecedented footage of an endangered great white shark spotted in the Mediterranean Sea, between the coastlines of Tunisia and Sicily. The diver, who asked not to be named, recalled experiencing intense shaking as he came face-to-face with the massive predator, an encounter that most divers only ever dream of. Great white sharks are rarely documented in this part of the Mediterranean, making the new footage a significant contribution to marine ecological research. Sightings of the species have dropped sharply across the globe in recent decades due to overfishing, habitat degradation, and accidental bycatch, leading to their classification as an endangered species by major conservation organizations. Marine researchers say this rare documentation offers a critical new clue about the species’ range and potential habitats in the Mediterranean, a body of water that has long been understudied when it comes to large predatory sharks. Conservation teams are now hopeful that this sighting will highlight the need for stronger protections for marine biodiversity in the region, and help scientists better understand how endangered shark populations are adapting to changing ocean conditions.