Alison Sargent is pleased to welcome Tiziano Breda, Senior Analyst for Latin America and the Caribbean at ACLED. He argues that Peru's chronic instability is rooted as much in institutional weaknesses as in electoral competition. The reintroduction of a bicameral legislature, he notes, may help curb the cycle in which Congress has repeatedly "deposed presidents and reinstated new ones," but neither candidate is likely to enjoy the parliamentary support necessary to govern decisively. Peru's presidential election is unfolding against a backdrop of deep political fragmentation, rising insecurity, and growing public distrust in democratic institutions. 

At the MuMa du Havre, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei revisits Monet's famous Water lilies through two monumental works composed of 650,000 Lego bricks. Behind the technical prowess is also a more intimate story, marked by exile, dissent - and the artist's family history.

As preparations for the 2026 World Cup heat up, a massive hiring boom is sweeping across the US service industry. But local businesses are growing increasingly worried that skyrocketing costs and FIFA price hikes could ruin what was expected to be a historic economic celebration.

Tension between the United States and Iran is continuing in sport. Iran's World Cup squad landed in Mexico on June 7 under the shadow of a bitter diplomatic dispute. With some members of the entourage still lacking U.S. visas. The dispute comes just days before the kickoff of the 2026 World Cup on June 11, which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin is pleased to welcome Dr Narek Sukiasyan, Senior Policy Researcher at Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Armenia and Adjunct Lecturer at American University of Armenia. He argues that while Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's victory does signal a continued ouverture towards the West 'in the shape and form of the European Union" he must carefully manage Armenia's dependence on Russia. The election was about far more than foreign policy, explains Dr. Sukiasyan. Security, social concerns, economic vulnerability, and the legacy of conflict were equally central to voters' decisions. Armenia navigating multiple transitions at once: between war and peace, dependence and diversification, polarization and democratic consolidation. 

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's ruling party has won parliamentary elections, according to results from Armenia's electoral commission, cementing the nation's Westward tilt. The result comes despite threats from Moscow and claims of Russian interference. According to the country's electoral commission, voter turnout in the ballot was 59%.

The presidential election in Peru to determine the 9th head of state in a decade is too close to call. Right-wing candidate, Keiko Fujimori ran on promises to be tough on crime and is the daughter of the late, former president and authoritarian figure Alberto Fujimori who was convicted of human rights abuses. Left-wing candidate Roberto Sanchez, an ally of jailed former president Pedro Castillo, has vowed to address the socioeconomic divide between those living in cities and rural areas. The winner will likely be declared in some days after a full count is completed.

Pope Leo XIV honoured Spain's centuries-old tradition of religious devotion on Sunday as a “school of faith” for today, as he presided over a Mass before a million people and a procession highlighting one of the most iconic expressions of Spanish popular piety: flower carpets. FRANCE 24's Sarah Morris reports.

Iran's World Cup squad is expected to arrive in Mexico early Sunday under the shadow of a bitter diplomatic row between Tehran and Washington, after the United States refused to issue visas for some team support staff.

Police clashed with anti-government protesters Saturday in eastern Bolivia, with gunfire reportedly wounding four officers, as authorities attempted to clear a road blocked by rural workers demanding President Rodrigo Paz's resignation. A month of heated demonstrations calling for the center-right Paz to step down have paralyzed the Andean nation, with about 100 protest blockades around Bolivia causing severe food and medicine shortages in major cities.

Peruvians will choose on Sunday their ninth president in 10 years, in a tight runoff election between conservative Keiko Fujimori and leftist Roberto Sanchez who are trying to woo voters fed up with political chaos and rising crime. Fujimori, daughter of former autocratic president Alberto Fujimori, is making her fourth bid for the presidency.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer 's office on Friday condemned comments by US Vice President JD Vance, who blamed immigration for the death of a university student who was handcuffed as he lay dying from a stab wound.

Pope Leo arrived in Spain on Saturday for a week-long visit, his first to an EU country outside Italy, where he will inaugurate ​a new tower ‌in Barcelona's famed Sagrada Familia basilica and meet migrants who braved dangerous Atlantic waters to reach ⁠Europe. FRANCE 24's Sarah Morris reports from Madrid.

A sea #drone self-destroyed in the Romanian port of Constanta. #Ukraine's navy said it had been knocked off course by Russian jamming.

President Volodymyr Zelensky ⁠pledged on Thursday that ​Ukraine would keep to a clear timetable in talks on joining the ​European Union and in sticking to its obligations with the 27-nation bloc. FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks with Georgia's former minister of Euro-Atlantic integration and professor at SciencesPo Paris Tornike Gorgadze.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding his fifth wartime economic conference in St. Petersburg, with the Russian economy stgnating and his government struggling for ways to resume growth. FRANCE 24's Nick Rushworth reports.

One ballot box, two competing battles. In Armenia, voters are heading to the polls to decide the future direction of their country. But beneath the political campaigns lies a far more insidious warfare. Analysts warn that a massive, coordinated network of foreign disinformation - much of it tracing back to Russia - is systematically weaponizing the deep-seated trauma of recent wars. FRANCE 24's Olivia Bizot reports from Yerevan.

Russia-U.S. talks on economic and energy issues continue despite a pause in Ukraine peace negotiations, Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev told ​Reuters on Thursday, ‌adding he spoke to U.S. counterparts a day earlier. He spoke on the sidelines of the St Petersburg economic summit, where, as FRANCE 24's international affairs commentator Douglas Herbert explains, a veritable 'rogues' gallery' of notorious figures showed up in support of Putin's policies.

Anger is growing in #Albania over a plan to build luxury hotels and villas in a protected area on the #Adriatic coast. The project is being led by an investment #fund linked to #Trump's son-in-law Jared #Kushner. Protests started end of May after videos showed bulldozers on the #beach.

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to kick off across the North American continent, hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, Oliver Farry is pleased to welcome Thando Sibiya, Sports Presenter and Journalist. While the tournament was initially met with great fanfare: an expanded 48-country tournament hosted by three countries, Sibiya warns that the "deplorable issues" and multiple controversies risk "killing the ambiance" and keeping football fans and country supporters away. From exorbitant ticket prices to Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies, many fans will now be forced to follow their team from their home country. This could very well be 'one of the least anticipated World Cups of this era', laments Sibiya.