CATEGORIES

No end in sight Israel's conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah grinds on

In 2019, Aviv Kochavi, then the chief of staff of Israel Defense Forces (IDF), delivered a bullish speech. The IDF, he proclaimed, is \"all about victory\".

Key powers fail to sign peace summit communique

Keyregional powers including Brazil, India, South Africa and Saudi Arabia failed to sign up to a joint communique issued at the end of a Ukraine peace conference in which more than 80 countries and international organisations endorsed its territorial integrity in the face of Russia's invasion.

Renewed Russian strikes take heavy toll on Kharkiv

The apartment at 24 Liubovi Maloi avenue was an eerie ruin. Its roof and outer walls had disappeared. In one corner, a row of suits hung in a wardrobe. There was a TV, a coffee cup, a maroon jacket on a peg. And a black-and-white photo album with old family snaps taken in communist times.

Identity crisis Beware rebranded far right's creep into the mainstream

Far right? Hard right? Radical right? Or just plain right? The success in the recent EU elections of parties such as Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National (RN - the rebadged Front National) and Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has generated a debate about whether the label \"far right\" should be retired because, as Spectator editor Fraser Nelson argues, many parties that carry that moniker are \"now mainstream in a way that wasn't the case 15 years ago\".

'Russian roulette' Macron's ballot box gamble is the stuff of centrist nightmares

The prime minister, Gabriel Attal, stared ahead with his arms folded while another minister covered his face with his hands. As the French president, Emmanuel Macron, gathered top government figures at the Élysée on 9 June to make the shock announcement that he would dissolve parliament and call a snap legislative election after a surge at the polls by Marine Le Pen's party, the mood, the prime minister said, was \"grave\".

Fears grow over far right's rise

Ahead of a snap parliamentary vote, Marine Le Pen's National Rally is polling high across much of the country. Can the party actually win power-and what would it try to do if so?

Keeping the peace

Military service for 18-year-olds is a key Tory election pledge in the UK.But in countries with conscription, opting out comes at a cost. Michael Segalov asks seven conscientious objectors why they refused to serve in the armed forces

How steroids got huge

Once upon atime, it was only hardcore bodybuilders who pumped themselves up with testosterone. Today it is no longer niche. But how dangerous is it?

The Drugs Trade How Big Is The Problem-And Who Is Paying The Price?

Over the past 10 years, Europe has developed a serious cocaine problem. The drug, originating in the jungles of South America, is being transported, sold and consumed across the European continent in record amounts.

Calamitous floods made more likely by global heating

The unusually prolonged and extensive flooding that has devastated southern Brazil was made at least twice as likely by human burning of fossil fuels and trees, a study has shown.

Paddington is back-and he's gone immersive

The bear from darkest Peru has donned his wellies and duffle coat for a live experience’ that is halftheatre, half-party, with lashings of marmalade

Elections are a travesty of democracy-give the people a real voice George Monbiot

Everything hangs on them but little changes. For weeks or months, elections dominate national life.

Tijuana border feels weight of Biden's order on closure

Every year, waves of people from around the world make their way to southern California to start a new life and find safe harbour.

Catania turns the tables on invasive blue crabs

In a suburb of Catania on Sicily's east coast, smoke billows from street stands selling grilled horse meat, and youngsters gather around kiosks selling the region's unique handmade drink, seltz limone esale (seltzer with lemon and sea salt).

Friends reunited Football and a troubled continent

Europe is suffering a crisis of identity but for four weeks the Euro 2024 tournament offers a kernel of something pure

Could this be the end of the Tories?

Even before last week, the party's prospects were grim. Nowsome believe it faces a wipeout that would reshape the UK political landscape

'Besieged' Army raid that killed hundreds

Nuseirat market was crowded with civilians when Israeli forces launched an assault to free four hostages held nearby

Joy at hostage rescue-but silence over Gaza lives lost

Eight months after the horrors of 7 October, last Saturday was a rare, joyful day in Israel after four hostages were rescued safely from Gaza.

Power down Voters slam the brakes on Modi's bulldozer

It was widely described as the week India's beleaguered democracy was pulled back from the brink.

Fighting a losing battle Death and destruction mark cocaine's path to Europe

GUAYAQUIL sign on the doorway said \"For rent\" and the house's lights were out.

The bloody cost of the cocaine boom

Europe's appetite for the drug is surging like never before. But the North African children forced to service the trade face a brutal reality of beatings, rape and torture

Pole position Von der Leyen must look left or right to seal second presidency

Ursula von der Leyen this week began trying to craft a majority for a second term as European Commission president, after major gains for the far right that are likely to mean a less stable European parliament.

Centre parked Mainstream alliance holds in the face of far-right surge

So in the end, with a couple of alarming wobbles, the centre held in Europe.

Into the void

Far-right gains in last weekend's EU polls sent shockwaves across the continent - and prompted Emmanuel Macron to call a high-risk snap election in France. Is Europe on the brink of a political earthquake?

Resistance is futile

Why does Franz Kafka's world of nightmare bureaucracy and modernist alienation remain a cultural touchstone, a century after his death?

A state of mind The truth about neurodiversity

Growing understanding of ADHD and autism has led to an increase in diagnosis. We look at the science helping to improve people’s lives

MONEY MONEY MONEY

It's Taylor Swift's world, everyone else just lives in it. But can the outsized success of one ubiquitous megastar trickle down to the little people in the music business?

'Forever war' Risk grows as militants return to Gaza's north

Israel could inherit an insurgency, warns the US, after Hamas regains strength in areas it was forced to flee

Democracy Comes Under Scrutiny Amid Battle To Buy Basics

After 25 years, Nigeria's role as the region's police officer is in jeopardy, with its people losing faith in a squeezed economy

Civil War And Bloodshed? Conviction Infuriates Trump's Base

The posts are ominous. “Pick a side, or YOU are next,” wrote conservative talk show host Dan Bongino on the Truth Social media platform in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s 34 felony convictions.