CATEGORIES

'Candid' talks but Blinken's Beijing visit could rein in tensions

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, wrapped up a rare trip to Beijing where he met President Xi Jinping, concluding a high-stakes visit aimed at stabilising spiralling relations.

The robot surgeon will see you now...

Keyhole surgery using robotic arms has transformed medicine-and advanced devices coupled with AI might surpass doctors' skills

Temperatures spike amid signs of record hottest year

Global temperatures had accelerated to record-setting levels by mid-June, an ominous sign in the climate crisis ahead of a gathering El Niño that could potentially propel 2023 to become the hottest year ever recorded.

Maori tribes with ocean ties pledge to 'protect what is left'

Warming waters push species away and erode cultural practices... and it's happening faster than anyone imagined

Rise of Vox - Far-right hopes to ride wave of nationalism

The man all but certain to be the next mayor of Rascafría, a small town in the green and mist-hugged mountains an hour north of Madrid, gives few clues about his political leanings as he lists his priorities for the coming years.

Are times catching up with London gentlemen's club culture?

25 The number of members who must sign, on club premises, in support of a potential member in one stage of Pratt’s admission process

This is going to hurt (for ever)

In 2020, Oliver Franklin-Wallis felt an ache in his arms. Three years on, he is one of the millions of people who are forced to live with chronic pain that may never go away

Grand old man of letters

The life and work of Kenyan novelist Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o has intersected with many of the past century's biggest events. At 85, he reflects on his long, uncompromising life in writing

In a true blue idyll, rumours abound of a revolution

The wealthy village of Bolton Percy is a tiny North Yorkshire idyll with one bus and where the post office is open only once a week, during a four-hour window on Wednesdays. It is a place where residents have neat gardens and fancy cars, and the friendly local church, which will celebrate its 600th birthday next year, is the social hub. In other words, it is exactly the kind of place the Tories could normally rely on for an abundance of support.

On the wire - As leaders move closer to Putin, EU hopes fade

Ruling party in Tbilisi claims it is pursuing a future within Europe yet rails against Brussels, Ukraine and Nato

Biden hits the 2024 trail...but can he last the pace?

It became known as the “basement strategy”. As the coronavirus pandemic raged outside, presidential candidate Joe Biden addressed the nation from a makeshift studio under his Delaware home, avoiding off-the-cuff gaffes and allowing rival Donald Trump to self-destruct.

Rival governments - Power vacuum makes it hard to effectively tackle people smugglers

The mass drowning of refugees heading from Libya for Italy as their large boat capsized off the coast of Greece underlines Libya’s continuing power vacuum and the inability of its divided leaders to deliver on their promises to stem the profi table people-smuggling trade. It is striking that the ship sailed from the eastern port of Tobruk, a city where local leaders have mounted a campaign against illegal migration.

Europe's response New pact, but underlying causes have not gone away

€20,000 Charge per head for EU member states that refuse to host refugees under a new migration and asylum pact

A deadly trade

As families mourned the hundreds of people lost in last week’s Mediterranean shipwreck disaster, grief turned to anger over the Greek authorities’ handling of the incident and Europe’s failure to tackle one of its greatest challenges

Kylie at 55: We can't get her out of our heads

The Australian singer was meant to be a fleeting star but now, 36 years after I Should Be So Lucky, the pop princess has won over the TikTok generation

THE POWER OF DOUGHNUT ECONOMICS

In 2017, economist Kate Raworth wrote a hit book laying out a path to a greener, more equal society based on sustainable living. Now she is on a mission to turn her ideas into meaningful change

Indictment of Trump is a stress test for US democracy

Former US president Donald Trump's stunning criminal charges have triggered a fierce counterattack from Republicans, putting America on a collision course between partisan politics and the rule of law ahead of a potentially explosive election

Road rage: Political row erupts over Māori traffic signs

Plans to introduce bilingual road signs have become a political battleground, as arguments over racial politics become prominent in the country's election race

The fightback against Big Sugar

A legacy of colonialism, fast food and a high-fat diet have led to a diabetes and blood pressure pandemic. Can the government change things?

Tory party runs out of time for Johnson

Former PM resigns his seat after a cross-party investigation concludes he lied to parliament

Experts issue climate warning as cities choke in orange smoke

Weeks of unprecedented wildfires in Canada have burned millions of hectares, displaced more than 100,000 residents and plunged the country into a nationwide crisis as exhausted crews battle hundreds of blazes

Miracle in the Amazon: How siblings stayed alive for 40 days

As more details emerged about four children's incredible feat of survival in the Colombian Amazon, it became clear that the ancestral knowledge of the eldest child played a vital role in keeping her younger siblings, including a baby who turned one during the ordeal, alive for 40 days

Berlusconi: media mogul, populist and forerunner of Trump

Вest known for his perma-tan, gaffes, \"bunga bunga\" parties and outsized ego, Silvio Berlusconi was a proto-Trumpian populist, the man to beat in Rome for more than two decades, and one of European politics' most controversial figures

A long game? Why Riyadh is spending billions to buy up sport

It's not often that a multi-millionaire sports star is a pawn in a global power play, but that was the situation Rory McIlroy found himself in last week. The Northern Irishman, currently ranked the third best golfer in the world, was having to explain how he felt after his long campaign to hold out against a disruptive Saudi Arabian competition had ended with the Gulf state sharing control over the entirety of his sport

Death of the dictatorship? Russians in exile dare to dream of Putin's fall

Is Russia about to experience a period of dramatic political change? If so, can exiled democratic forces unite into a coherent bloc and is there any way for them to force themselves on to the political scene?

The dam and the flood

Evidence suggests Russia destroyed the Kakhovka dam, creating a human and environmental disaster. The outcomes could prove crucial for Ukraine's future

Theatregoers behaving badly

What’s it like to star in a  show when audiences are chatting, singing, watching football and opening lagers? Actors vent their anger at the ‘Netflix mindset’

Cannes 2023 High marks in a year to be savoured

Few would deny Anatomy of a Fall the top prize – yet from Jonathan Glazer to Aki Kaurismaki to Wim Wenders, this was an outstanding festival

Organisers cancel Pride events in Florida amid safety fears

Kristina Bozanich knew that this year’s Pride month event in the Florida town of St Cloud would have to be modified to comply with a new law approved by Governor Ron DeSantis last month. One in a series of bills signed by DeSantis this year that escalated his assault on LGBTQ+ rights, the Protection of Children Act prohibits minors from attending “sexually explicit performances” and authorises the fining of businesses that allow children to attend and suspending or revoking their alcohol licences.

Role of US military in question amid cycle of violence

‘We fled here to Niamey with nothing. We don’t even know how to feed ourselves,” said Amadou as he sat outside a tiny concrete home on the fringe of Niger’s capital, recounting an attack on his village by government forces late last year.