CATEGORIES

Israel-Gaza One year on: A chasm between viewpoints

YOU'LL BE AHEAD OF ME ON THIS ONE. By the time you read this, it's possible that Israel will have hit back in response to the ballistic missiles that Iran fired on Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities last Tuesday. As I write, the world is bracing itself for that expected Israeli retaliation and what threatens to be an all-out regional war, pitting the Middle East's dominant powers against each other.

Secular elite question their place in Israel's future

Conflict accelerates a brain drain of liberals uneasy over the rise of religious influence

'I fear I will lose one of my children or more of my family'

Gazan families mourn their dead and remember their lives before the war

Weathering the storm

Despite deep unpopularity outside his rightwing base, Benjamin Netanyahu continues to use war and political divisions to his advantage

'It felt like death was chasing us everywhere we went' One family's journey across Gaza

The artist Maisara Baroud and his family have been displaced 12 times since the start of the Israel-Gaza war. He describes their journey and the impact of the fighting

Israel isolated by year of war

For many Israelis, the shedding of support since 7 October attack has revived a belief they cannot rely on others

DNA sheds new light on victim of doomed Arctic trip

For more than a century, the bones of sailors who joined polar explorer Sir John Franklin's ill-fated Northwest Passage expedition lay scattered on the rocky shores of an Arctic island.

Singer's case highlights rising crisis in online gambling

In less than 24 hours, Gusttavo Lima, one of the most famous Brazilian country singers, sang at a rodeo in rural São Paulo state, watched Akon perform at the Rock in Rio festival, jetted to Miami - and became the target of an arrest warrant on suspicion of money laundering.

Repeated risk Targeting of Hezbollah leaders has yet to deal group a fatal blow

In 1992, Israeli media celebrated an assassination.

Be a batch maker: cook-ahead ideas for effortless meals and treats

Cook-once, eat-all-week recipes are a godsend, just so long as they're versatile. \"I would roast a load of tomatoes to make sauce,\" says Jess Elliott Dennison, author of Midweek Recipes. \"You get that fresh flavour.\"

Where reality meets Nintendo

Anew museum in Kyoto takes fans of the Japanese gaming giant’ products on anenchanting trip down virtualmemory lane if only youcan get a ticket...

Silk Roads spin a tale of collective treasures

Amesmerising show at the British Museum follows China’ epic ancient trade routes through fabulous oases, desert palaces and burial mounds

'More people say they've seen an alien than a trans person'

Harper Steele came out as a trans woman in 2022 at the age of 61. Her friend Will Ferrell had questions. So why not take a road trip and make a documentary about it?

Trump v Harris has opened up a gulf between the sexes

I hesitate to give JD Vance any ideas, but if American women were denied the vote, Donald Trump would be restored to the White House in a landslide.

Seeing double

What does it feel like to discover, in adulthood, that you are a twin? Here, five sets of brothers and sisters tell their stories of meeting for the first time and what happened next

The shapeshifter

Giorgia Meloni been called a neo-fascist and a danger to Italy. But she worked hard to achieve a degree of respectability and has won over many heads of Europe, including the new UK prime minister. Should we be worried?

Swing time The county that could decide the election

A local law says that residents of Saginaw Township in Michigan cannot publicly display political signs in support of a presidential candidate until 30 days before the US election, even on their own front lawns.

Football-mad nation hopes for World Cup final in its own ark

The rendering is dramatic, a vast white stadium inspired by the Maghrebi communal tent, known as a moussem.

Balkans become a path to freedom

Asmall but growing number of people fleeing China are travelling to the region with the hope of getting into the EU

Autocratic bloc FPÖ victory continues far right's advance across Europe

It had been expected for months - the party had been leading the polls since 2022.

Calls for No 10 shake-up to end rows over freebies and fallouts

Cabinet ministers are demanding a rapid shake-up of Keir Starmer's Downing Street operation, which they say has failed to spot obvious political banana skins, indulged post-election infighting and been unable to promote a sufficiently positive story of Labour's mission in government.

'In El Fasher you only face death' Civilians flee besieged city

Aisha had wanted to stay with her husband when the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) laid siege to the Sudanese city of El Fasher earlier this year.

'Marriage competition" that gripped and divided a nation

On a hot June day in Juba, groups of young people sang as they weaved through the slow-moving traffic of South Sudan's capital, the boys carried long sticks while the girls wore colourful beads, skirts and lawas, a long piece of cloth tied on the shoulder.

A destabilising force In Gaza and Lebanon, there is no excuse for Israel's actions

A common defence of Israel's belligerence, within the Palestinian territories and in the wider region, is that it must act this way because it is surrounded by countries that are trying to annihilate it.

A YEAR OF CRISIS

It began with the Hamas attack on 7 October, it continues with a rain of Israeli strikes on Lebanon, but for many caught up in the conflict, it has shattered time and space

Starlink's conquest of the Amazon leaves Brazil in a dilemma

The helicopter swooped into one of the most inaccessible corners of the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian special forces commandos leaped from it into the caiman-inhabited waters below.

Dalai Lama's mountain town feels the strain of tourist boom

SUVs and saloon cars pass slowly along McLeod Ganj's narrow one-way Jogiwara Road, blaring horns at pedestrians and scooter riders and playing loud music.

'I am all the world' The brutal rule of a West Bank settler

Palestinians tell ofblacklisted Yakov's reign across the Jabal Salman valley and heisjust one of many violent bosses

Stormy waters New flashpoint emerges in South China Sea dispute

Hopes that tensions in the South China Sea might ease have been short lived.

'Justice delayed' Why trust in public inquiries to bring closure is fading

After the final report of the Grenfell fire inquiry was published, Hisam Choucair, who lost six family members in the blaze, said: \"We did not ask for this inquiry... It's delayed the justice my family deserves.\"