CATEGORIES

Baby blues PM's answer to birthrate crisis is stuck in the same old loop

Fumio Kishida is not a politician given to dramatic pronouncements.

Swift punitive steps pledged against Palestinians

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced a series of punitive steps against Palestinians in the wake of the deadly synagogue attack in Jerusalem.

Grief and anger at site of deadly synagogue attack

Calls for reprisals after worst attack by a Palestinian against Israelis since 2008, during spiralling week of bloodshed

Sunak's deficit Tax scandal stops PM from changing the conversation

Rishi Sunak was in his sprawling constituency home in North Yorkshire when just after 7am on Sunday he received the report by Sir Laurie Magnus, his new ethics adviser, on whether Nadhim Zahawi had broken the ministerial code over his tax affairs.

Nadhim Zahawi's extraordinary rise and fall

Nadhim Zahawi’s sacking as Conservative party chair-man last Sunday caps an extraordinary downfall for a man who less than a year ago ran to be Conservative party leader and, with it, prime minister of the UK.

Fatal beating fuels calls for wide-ranging reforms

As Nyliayh Stewart marched along Interstate 55 alongside protesters last Friday night, the moment of sorrow and anger felt familiar.

Demands to 'demolish and rebuild' police as city mourns

As Nyliayh Stewart marched along Interstate 55 alongside protesters last Friday night, the moment of sorrow and anger felt familiar.

"THE BIG BATTLE IS COMING"

After nearly a year of war, Russia and Ukraine both need a breakthrough – but a major offensive will be loaded with risk, whoever strikes first

AT 'Wishes are for extreme life events'

The Egyptian graphic novelist Deena Mohamed on going viral with her first web comic, growing up reading Enid Blyton, and her hit Cairo-set novelnow translated into English

Fast tracks What's with the craze for sped-up songs?

High-octane remixes of original hits are popular on streaming platforms, but who's driving the trend - and why-is less clear

The dark side

As David Lynch turns 77 – for him, a number of significance – how did his esoteric visions become such a normalised part of screen culture?

Cardinal George Pell chose his career over the safety of children

He was a company man. He did what he did to preserve the power and the assets of the church. If that meant thrashing H victims of abuse through the courts and boxing them into tiny settlements, that was fine by him.

I survived the horror of Guantánamo. Why is it still open 21 years later?

The US prison at Guantánamo Bay opened 21 years ago this month. For 21 years, the extrajudicial detention facility has held a total of 779 men between eight known camps

Striking workers are telling the truth about British politics

More strikes are coming to Britain, with 100,000 civil servants due to strike on 1 February. For 18 days across February and March, 150 universities will be shut down by University and College Union action.

FACING UP TO HISTORY WRECK FIND ADDS HUMANITY TO LEGACY OF SLAVERY

In 2015, a delegation from the Smithsonian Institution travelled to Mozambique to inform the Makua people of a singular and long-overdue discovery: 221 years after it sank off Cape Town, claiming the lives of 212 enslaved people, the wreck of the Portuguese slave ship the São José Paquete D'Africa had been found. When told the news, a Makua leader responded with a gesture that no one on the delegation will ever forget.

DEPTHS OF UNDERSTANDINGS

NEW REVELATIONS ABOUT THE MILLIONS OF SHIPWRECKS SCATTERED ACROSS THE OCEAN FLOOR FROM THE TITANIC AND SHACKLETON'S ENDURANCE TO THE SLAVE SHIP CLOTILDA ARE NOT ONLY REWRITING OUR HISTORY BUT COULD ALSO HOLD CLUES TO HUMANITY'S SURVIVAL

Five weeks before she was murdered, 35-year-old Zara Aleena started work at the Royal Courts of Justice.

ON HER FIRST DAY, SHE SENT A BRIGHTLY SMILING SELFIE to her friends and family, saying she couldn't believe she was actually there. It was an administrative role that took her one step closer t her lifelong dream of being a lawyer; something she had pursued doggedly even as her studies were interrupted by caring responsibilities and financial concerns.

I've got hope' Biden offers immigration lifeline as US visas resume

For almost six years, the US embassy in Havana has lain silent in the withering Caribbean sun. Tiles have fallen from its facade, the fence has rusted and the awning of the consular section has been shredded in the fierce winds off the Florida Straits.

In the Biden documents discovery, Trump is the winner

The discovery of government secrets at two locations associated with Joe Biden appears to have produced one big political winner: Donald Trump.

Air apparent

With its dependence on short-haul flights, Australia is a test ground for battery-powered aviation. Can it take off?

'We are ready' Joy at return of Chinese travellers

After almost three years of little to no business, Thai tour guide operator Anchalee Vittayanuntapornkul is more than relieved that Chinese tourists are allowed to travel again.

How Abe's murder and Moonies ties caused shockwaves

Unification church's links to members of the LDP have damaged trust and raised questions about donations

Refugees bet lives on boat crossings despite deadly toll

Hatemon Nesa recalled hugging her young daughter tightly as the cramped, broken-down boat they were sitting on drifted aimlessly

'It was hell' Grief and joy as Tigray reconnects to the world

When Lemlem read that phone lines had been restored to parts of Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray region last month, she attempted to call her elderly mother, who lives in the Tigrayan town of Adwa.

Saffron farms squeezed by climate and competition

A sharp wind shunts clouds across the low and endless skies of La Mancha as Carlos Fernández stoops to pluck the last mauve flowers of the season from the cold earth. Their petals, which stain his index finger and thumb blue, enclose an almost weightless prize - crimson threads that are treasured across the world.

'We need trees' Urban vision fails to take root

From Madrid to Berlin and Paris to Budapest, scientists and planners agree, trees, trees and yet more trees can help make Europe's cities more comfortable even survivable - as global heating strengthens its grip.

Country reels as deadly political clashes spiral

Lisbeth Candia wept uncontrollably as she waited in Cusco's central morgue to recover the body of her brother Remo, the latest protester to be killed by security forces as the country experiences its worst political violence in decades.

How one woman's bravery exposed a serial police rapist

David Carrick's campaign of terror went uninvestigated for many years and will further erode trust in London's Metropolitan police

Le Pen eyes 2027 win with image makeover

Far right leader seeks to hide National Rally's racist image and reposition the party opposite Macron's centrists

A united left Will Yolanda Díaz be first female PM?

As Spain enters an election year that will include municipal, regional and national votes, the woman who is, according to polls, its most popular politician is touring the country to build support for leftwing candidates.