CATEGORIES

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.

A stranger for ever A family's struggles after the second world war are intimately captured across continents and generations

Here are some of the events that are not described in Claire Messud's ambitious novel about the lives of three generations of a Franco-Algerian family: the Algerian war of independence, as a result of which the Cassar family lose their home and national identity; the two years the family's most promising scion spends as a student in Paris, during which he endures something (racist bullying? Mental collapse?) that blights his adult life; his sister's broken-hearted suicide attempt; the courtship of a couple who have been held up throughout the novel as exemplars of married love and yet whose relationship - as we discover in the final pages - was shockingly transgressive.

Concrete comfort

China's 'lying flat' generation is drawn to seek spiritual solace among the brutalist blocks of the exclusive Aranya resort by innovative architecture and the power of social media

MY SECRET GERMAN GRANDAD

Women who 'fraternised' with German prisoners of war horrified British society. Could one of these illicit liaisons explain a mystery at the heart of Leo Hickman's family tree?

Sheinbaum signals hope, but can she pursue her own agenda?

A month ago in Chiapas, a Mexican state caught in a bloody battle between criminal groups, a car carrying the front runner to be the country's next president was stopped by a group of masked men.

Score draw Why anime is firing up young sports stars

The Bournemouth footballer Dominic Solanke twice thought he had scored the opening goal in a Premier League game against Brentford last month.

Kingmaker How will Meloni use her growing influence on EU politics?

Italy's far-right leader has so far been a model European. But this weekend's EU elections may reveal her hand

Eyes and ears of the First Nations

From crab monitoring and bear patrols to rescue operations, the Indigenous guardians protect their communities' pristine shores

Coalition talks begin as ANC loses majority for first time

Final results from last week's seismic South Africa elections confirmed that the African National Congress (ANC) party has lost its majority for the first time in 30 years of full democracy, firing the starting gun on unprecedented coalition talks.

Get out of jail? Why convicted felon Trump is likely to avoid prison time

A Manhattan jury convicted Donald Trump on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the hush-money case.

Soft power Foundation with links to the Kremlin revealed

Pravfond spent millions of euros financing pro-Russia propaganda and legal defences, leaked papers show

'For Ukrainians, time is life'

The big story In an exclusive interview, Volodymyr Zelenskiy tells of balancing urgency with democracy in securing western aid and how he faces the challenge of leading Ukraine in the war against Russia

Easter Island Monoliths Face Up To New Climate Extremes

The Ahu Tahai moai, on the east side of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is an impressive 4.5 metres high.

From Bad To Worse How Early Election Backfired On PM

Two days after Rishi Sunak stood in Downing Street to announce an early general election, only for the heavens to open, Tory MPs were still scratching their heads in disbelief.

Secrets Of The World's Most Trusting Country

In Danish society, people feel safe enough to leave their babies and bikes out on the street. How did they get to this point?

Ukraine Can Recover With Bolder Support - But Now It's On The Ropes

The mood in Ukraine is sombre these days.

Stark Warning ICJ Ruling Is Third Blow In A Week For Israel As Isolation Grows

The provisional measures issued by the international court of justice (ICJ) ordering an immediate halt to Israel's military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah represent the starkest warning yet to Israel that its offensive risks creating conditions that could be framed as potentially genocidal.

Why I Took To Cannes' Red Carpet To Call Out Sexual Violence

The 77th Cannes film festival reached its climax on Saturday when all eyes were on the Croisette, as the winners of the prestigious Palme d'Or were announced.

From mains to a sweet treat, how to serve up a thrill from the grill

If you don't have a kamado-style barbecue, what interesting things can you make on a simple grill?

Points of origin

Two takes on Covid's early days-one aimed at academics, the other a 'documentary novel' that mixes fiction and fact to powerful effect

Life after lava

Icelanders are famously hardy, but after a series of volcanic eruptions set houses alight and opened up 20-metre-deep fissures in Grindavík, the fishing town near the famous Blue Lagoon, residents are asking if they'll ever be allowed back home

How Church of England's slavery ties went to top of hierarchy

An archbishop of Canterbury in the 18th century approved payments for the purchase of enslaved people for two sugar plantations in Barbados, documents seen by the Observer have revealed.