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The Beat

Politics

From campaign trails to committee rooms: candidates, coalitions, lawmaking and the contests for control of government, covered as processes with real stakes rather than horse races.

28 articles Updated 31 Jul 2026 Page 2 of 2

Politics archive

Page 2 of 2
NATO heads of state and government prepare to convene for the alliance summit in Ankara, Turkey. Photo: Bart Maat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Politics

At the Ankara Summit, NATO Confronts the Gap Between Its Spending Pledges and Actual Force

As the alliance gathers in Ankara, the central question is whether commitments made a year ago in The Hague can be translated into interceptors, industrial capacity and sustained aid to Ukraine.

6 Jul 2026 ·7 min read
Emergency crews work at the site of a Russian missile strike in Kyiv in a file photograph. Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Politics

Kyiv Buries Its Dead Again as Ballistic Gap Shadows the NATO Table

A second mass strike on Kyiv in under a week killed more than 20 and left every Russian ballistic missile on target, sharpening Ukraine's plea for interceptors as leaders convene.

6 Jul 2026 ·6 min read
Haidian Christian Church in Beijing. Unregistered congregations like Zion operate outside the state-approved network. Photo: David Castor (dcastor), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Politics

Beijing Frees Pastor Ezra Jin as Eight Zion Church Leaders Stay Jailed

Pastor Jin Mingri reached Los Angeles on July 4 after nine months in detention, a release Beijing framed as goodwill even as eight Zion Church figures remain imprisoned.

6 Jul 2026 ·6 min read
Riot police and demonstrators in central Ankara in an earlier file photograph. Photo: Mstyslav Chernov, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Politics

Ankara Silences the Streets as Alliance Leaders Arrive

As NATO leaders converged on Ankara, Turkish police cleared the capital's central square, detaining more than 100 anti-alliance demonstrators in a lockdown that rights groups called a rehearsal for repression.

6 Jul 2026 ·6 min read
A head of state addresses a podium during a diplomatic address. Photo: Eneas De Troya, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Politics

Sheinbaum Ties Ecuador Detente to Embassy Reckoning, Slowing Any Thaw

President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters that reconciliation with Ecuador cannot be automatic, keeping a two-year rupture rooted in the Quito embassy raid frozen despite Daniel Noboa's overtures.

6 Jul 2026 ·6 min read
President Trump addresses a crowd on a storm-cleared National Mall during America 250 celebrations. Photo: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Politics

Storm-Delayed on the Mall, Trump Casts America 250 as a 'Golden Age' Dawn

President Trump used a rain-battered Fourth of July on the National Mall to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, promising a coming 'golden age' after storms pushed his address roughly two hours past its scheduled hour.

6 Jul 2026 ·6 min read