WORLD ROUNDUPThe Mystery of Hezbollah’s Deadly Exploding Pagers | Narendra Modi Starts Losing Battles | Global Democracy Continues to Decline, and more

German Police Reintroduce Spot Controls at All Borders  (Sabine Kinkartz, DW)
Germany is reintroducing border checks at all its borders for at least six months. The aim is to help restrict migration. DW visited the border area between Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands to see how it was working.

The Mystery of Hezbollah’s Deadly Exploding Pagers  (Lily Hay Newman and Matt urges, Wired)
At least eight people have been killed and more than 2,700 people have been injured in Lebanon by exploding pagers. Experts say the blasts point toward a supply chain compromise, not a cyberattack.

Another Blow to Trudeau: Liberals Lose a Long-Held Seat  (Norimitsu Onishi, New York Times)
The election in Montreal had been seen as a referendum on Canada’s deeply unpopular prime minister, who has faced calls from within his party to quit.

Narendra Modi Starts Losing Battles  (Economist)
India’s prime minister is 100 days into his third term. He’s having a tough time

How Russia Exploits Right-Wing Organizations and Polarizes Societies  (Andrzej Kozłowski, New Eastern Europe)
The Russian authorities came to the conclusion that it was the liberals who were the main threat to the regime.

Mali Says Attack Repelled in Capital; Qaeda Affiliate Claims Responsibility  (Fadimata Kontao, Tiemoko Diallo and Idrissa Sangare, Reuters)
The attacks in Bamako were a rare case of unrest reaching the capital after years of armed conflict in the hinterlands between government forces and Islamist rebels.

The Crude System of Coded Messages Keeping Hamas’s Leader Alive  (Summer Said and Rory Jones, Wall Street Journal)
Yahya Sinwar’s use of low-tech communications has vexed Israel’s efforts to kill him.

Global Democracy Continues to Decline, Says Watchdog (DW)
According to a report, the global index for free and fair elections suffered the biggest decline on record in 2023, while disputed elections are becoming a global phenomenon.

How Dangerous Is the Islamist Victory in Jordan’s Elections?  (Cathrin Schaer, DW)
Jordan’s Islamic Action Front were successful in last week’s election, partly because their support for Hamas in Gaza made them popular. But their victory won’t cause a crisis, experts say, and could even be beneficial.