Canton

No haven from hardship: Why some Syrians return from Europe

Inside the Arrivals hall of Thessaloniki airport, a young man sits in the corner charging his phone, irritation flickering across his face. While he waits, hundreds of people land in quick succession from German and other cities. For many Syrian refugees, these low-cost flights mark the end of their search for safety in Europe. In 2015, swept by the enthusiasm of Europe-bound cousins, he took the Balkan route to Germany.

How to soften big conflicts in small ways

One rare tool in diplomacy is to not let diplomats play a leading role in resolving conflicts between nations. An alternative approach, known as “track II diplomacy,” entails informal contacts between individuals and groups such as academics, artists, athletes, or simply residents across a hostile border. Now Armenia is exploring whether it can resolve a territorial dispute with Azerbaijan by using a “people-oriented” approach, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG).

For minors with life sentences, US sentencing reform brings hope for rehabilitation

When Marshan Allen was a teen in Chicago, he says he faced a tough choice: go to class or help his older brother. The youngest offenders have “diminished culpability and greater prospects for reform,” and to require those mandatory sentences without considering features of youth constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, Justice Elena Kagan wrote.

Witty repartee still features in Parliament. But does it persuade anymore?

Night had fallen when Sarah Jones rose from the green-upholstered bench in the House of Commons. Ms. Jones, the member of Parliament for Croydon, noted the late hour and what Oliver Cromwell had said in 1653 on dissolving the so-called Long Parliament. Recommended: Will British politicians OK a Brexit bill that few are happy with?