CATEGORIES

China backs peace talks after Jeddah summit

China is said to be in support of a third round of talks to find a framework for peace in Ukraine after a meeting of senior officials from about 40 countries in Saudi Arabia last weekend.

French disconnection France's empire in Africa is crumbling while Russia circles

Retreats from crumbling empires are inevitably characterised by hastily arranged evacuations. Panicked civilians make their way to rickety airport terminals in the hope of an emergency flight out of the chaos. This was the postcolonial scene in Niamey, the capital of Niger, last week, as hundreds of French nationals joined other EU citizens in scurrying away from the west African nation.

Sahel crisis: Military coup adds to chaos but may also offer hope

An intrepid traveller would now be hard-pressed to traverse the African continent at its widest point, passing from the Red Sea to near the Atlantic, while staying within a country that is not being torn apart by a civil war or recovering from one, has not suffered a military coup since 2021, or is not a failed state occupied by a toxic mix of rapacious politicians, militia and Russian mercenaries.

'These people are diehard': Trump fans shrug off his indictments

Many in Iowasee prosecution of the former president as a Democratic political move - and they say it will backfire

Jack Smith, prosecutor 'If I could be cowed...I would find another line of work'

A grand jury indicted Donald Trump on 1 August on charges of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The 45-page indictment against Trump - which includes one count of conspiracy to defraud the US, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights - was filed by special counsel Jack Smith in federal district court in Washington DC.

EVERY TIME HE IS INDICTED, HIS POLL NUMBERS GO UP

Many a politician's career has ended in ignominy in the wake of scandal whereas the former Republican president seems to draw strength from charges against him. Democrats, meanwhile, are watching the courtroom drama unfold without comment

In other words...

From Argentinian horror to Japanese thrillers, a new generation is reading more internationally than ever before

Has Nigel Farage become Britain's most influential politician?

Whatever one thinks of Nigel Farage, back in the news for bringing about the resignation of NatWest's chief executive Alison Rose and Coutts boss Peter Flavel, he has been instrumental in changing Britain. Few observers would argue that his campaign to remove the UK from the European Union has led to a beneficial change, but almost everyone would agree that it's been a profound one.

Stormzy's learning

The British rap artist has parlayed his fame into a book imprint, a football club and-to his bemusement-real political clout. But perhaps his greatest legacy will be putting dozens of Black students through Cambridge

Remarkable Washington hearing on UFOS buoys belief

As the world heard tales of recovered alien bodies, crashed extraterrestrial spaceships, and an apparently violent plot to conceal both, not everyone was willing to believe.

Benju boss Musician goes global in his 70s

When Daniyal Ahmed set off on a road trip from Karachi into the neighbouring province of Balochistan in early 2022, his only contacts were a few distant connections he hoped would lead him to a legendary musician. After circling villages near Pasni, a fishing port on the Arabian sea about a six-hour drive from Karachi, Ahmed by chance spotted Ustad Noor Bakhsh on the side of a lonely road sitting next to his broken motorbike, waiting for help.

Bamboo to the rescue as villages rebuild after the floods

A year ago, Shani Dana's mudbrick house was swept away in the worst floods on record to hit Pakistan. More than 1,700 people were killed and 900,000 homes damaged or destroyed. Sindh province, where Dana lives, was the most badly affected.

Joy and defiance at Indigenous gathering

Climate concerns prominent as hundreds attend celebration of Amazonian chief's nominal 91st birthday

Return to the narrow gaze of a pioneering naturalist

Farmers and volunteers are honouring the legacy of Gilbert White, an 18thcentury parson who inspired Darwin

Green retreat Raft of Tory climate policies under threat

Rishi Sunak has been accused of showing disregard for the climate crisis after Whitehall officials warned that some of his key green pledges were already unachievable.

Stalemate drags on as socialist party loses crucial seat

Spain's socialist party has suffered a setback in its efforts to form a new leftwing coalition government after last month's inconclusive election as a count of overseas votes handed a crucial seat across to the opposition conservatives.

Neighbours 'may use force' to reinstate the president

A powerful bloc of west African states suspended ties with Niger following last week's coup and authorised the possible use of force if the country's democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, is not released and reinstated within a week.

Egypt calls on Putin to revive Black Sea grain deal

Egypt's leader, Abdel Fatah alSisi, urged Vladimir Putin to return to the Black Sea grain deal during a Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg marked by concerns about the global economic fallout from the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.

No to Netanyahu Israelis' defiance is a lesson for anyone who cares about democracy

Beware the strongman leader who fears prison. Donald Trump is running for president in part because he sees a return to the White House as a literal get-out-of-jail-free card: reinstalled in the Oval Office, he would be able to pardon himself for the mounting pile of serious federal crimes for which he is indicted. His legal strategy is his political strategy.

What is the judicial overhaul vote about? And what happens next?

Israel's far-right and ultrareligious government has finally succeeded in passing an element of its wide-ranging changes to the judiciary. Legal action, a general strike and possible refusal from upwards of 10,000 military reservists to report for duty are on the cards as the country's largest ever domestic crisis enters a new chapter.

'A contract has been broken'

Conflict over Netanyahu's plans to overhaul the judiciary is leading to new levels of civil disobedience - and potential security risks

Graduates unconvinced by calls to toil in the countryside

Amid record joblessness, the government wants young people to go to the farmland. But the prospect is unappealing

Under-fire Odesa sets aside its Russian heritage

In the courtyard of Odesa's Fine Arts museum, a police officer unlocked a large, grey container and pulled back the doors to reveal Catherine the Great. She was laid out flat on a wooden tray, one arm outstretched and the other at her side, holding a scroll ordering the construction of Odesa.

Major sporting events are unsustainable.A new model is needed

The decision by the Australian state T of Victoria to pull out of hosting the Commonwealth Games issues a broader challenge to sports leaders, governments, athletes and citizens around the world.

China's growth is fading, as is its dream of middle-class security

In the UK, prime minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer are both putting faith in five-point plans. Never knowingly undersold, China's government announced last week that it's going for a 31-point strategy.

Lives in the capital once seemed to be immune to the dreadful violence that affected people elsewhere in Sudan.The rapid ruin of my former home is difficult to fathom The tragedy of Khartoum

WE THOUGHT IT WOULD LAST A DAY, TWO AT most. When the sound of gunfire began to ring around parts of Khartoum early one Saturday in April, calls from family and friends in the city sounded relatively little alarm.

Will strikes spell trouble for Biden in a summer of discontent?

It became known as the winter of discontent. After the Labour government tried to freeze wages to stem inflation, Britain was convulsed by labour strikes and disruptions in public services, leading to a fierce political backlash that swept Margaret Thatcher's Conservatives into power.

METEOROLOGY - Rain or shine

Climate anxiety is fuelling our interest in weather forecasts anda growing range of apps that cater forall conditions

The fungi winning hearts and minds on forest floors

One day, the forest floor might be filled with leaf litter, soft decomposing logs and tiny tree saplings. The next, the O logs flush with gilled oyster mushrooms, rivers of brightly coloured waxgills or puffballs - white orbs, as big as footballs, suddenly appear in the undergrowth.

"Tourists do not feel safe' Deadly air crashes cast long shadow

Fear, anxiety and resignation stalk Nepal's domestic airports. Norwegian tourist Waldemar Wergeland is relieved to have landed safely at Kathmandu's domestic terminal.