CATEGORIES

Omicron and decline in trade threaten growth

Britain’s economy heads into the new year weighed down by a decline in trade and falling business and consumer confidence.

A post-Covid New Deal could bring much-needed hope to the world

Christmas 1941 was grim.

‘He's clueless' In a Tory stronghold, PM's stock plummets

After a torrid week, doubts about Johnson’s abilities were heard even in the Brexit-supporting heartlands of Kent

Will the son of a Nazi drag us back to the dark days of Pinochet?

For more than 70 years, 10 December has been celebrated around the world as Human Rights Day, a way of commemorating the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed in 1948 by the UN. In Chile, my country, the date took on a special meaning after the 1973 coup by General Augusto Pinochet that overthrew the democratically elected government of socialist president Salvador Allende. During the 17 years of dictatorship that followed, it was an occasion to publicly rally for those rights that were being egregiously violated, as the regime arrested, tortured, executed or exiled opponents, and abrogated free speech and the right to assemble peacefully.

Trump still looms large over Pence's White House ambitions

‘Hang Mike Pence!” was the chilling chant of the mob at the US Capitol on 6 January. Can the same constituency be persuaded to vote for Mike Pence on 5 November 2024? He, for one, appears to think so.

Will Putin strike?

A game of nerves on Ukraine’s frontline

On the brink

He was the Tory saviour of Brexit – but sleaze, ‘partygate’ and Omicron have beset Britain’s PM. Now, many of his own MPs want him gone

Omicron could be fatal for us – or fatal for our faith in authorities

The emergence and rapid spread of the Omicron variant feels like a flashback to last year’s grim festive season when much of the world went into lockdown to avert the worst of the Alpha variant wave. But though the sense of eerie, impending doom feels familiar, the epidemiological and political situations are different from one year ago.

How vaccine makers are adapting to mutations

A focus on the exciting potential of T-cell immunity is spurring the sector on to create a new generation of jabs

Crude insult Recovery is slow from a Gulf War act of vandalism

Oilwells set alight by Iraqi forces in 1991 were put out within months, but insidious pollution still mars the desert

Can't find a PS5 console? Just head to Gaza City

It is surrounded on all sides, regularly bombed, and plagued by shortages of vital medicines. Yet in the lead-up to Christmas, the isolated Gaza Strip has had ample supplies of something the rest of the world craves but can rarely find: a brand new PlayStation 5. Sony’s flagship video game console is hot property this holiday season, although most people who have asked for one will be disappointed on Christmas morning.

Boosters What makes them more effective than the first two jabs?

Only recently, the rollout of boosters to older age groups was seen as contentious. Now they’re the single biggest focus. So why do boosters help so significantly compared with first and second jabs, and are we on a conveyor belt towards needing an ever-increasing number of top-ups?

For Trump's appointees, judgment day comes ever nearer

The growing gap between what the six conservative judges say and do threatens to ruin the court’s legitimacy

The next wave

Is the pandemic likely to fizzle out... or get much worse?

Johnson faces rising tide of voter distrust over sleaze

Trust in politicians to act in the national interest rather than their own has fallen dramatically since Boris Johnson became prime minister, according to figures in a disturbing study of the state of British democracy.

True colours

How abortion focused white evangelical anger

‘No quick fix'

Ultra-violent gang crime shocks a liberal nation

Nurdles: the worst toxic waste that you've never heard of

Billions of tiny plastic pellets are fl oating in the world’s oceans – and causing as much damage as oil spills

OUT OF THE BLUE

Before the pandemic, planes were in constant motion, pinballing between continents. But in March 2020 all that came to a halt. What did a year without flying do to our jobs, our horizons – and the planet?

Roe, Wade and America

The conservative-dominated US supreme court is considering a case that could lead to the reversal of the 48-year-old ruling on a woman’s right to choose. What damage would such a verdict do to the nation – and how did it come to this?

Unsettlers

As attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank worsen, Donald Macintyre and Quique Kierszenbaum speak to farmers, settlers and Israeli human rights activists – and the mother of a three-year-old boy injured in a raid

‘No standing down, no giving up': resistance to junta grows

Last Sunday morning, a small group of protesters walked together in Kyimyindaing township, Yangon , waving bunches of eugenia and roses. They carried a banner reading: “The only real prison is fear and the real freedom is freedom from fear.”

The world is ignoring Tigray's year-long nightmare of war

On 4 November 2020 the world was occupied with the US election. For myself and many others with family and friends in Tigray, however, that day marked the beginning of a continuing nightmare. And it’s one that the world has, mostly, ignored.

Lockdown protests turn violent as restrictions get tougher

Coronavirus europe

Global predators are circling a weak and unstable continent

Is Europe entering a dangerous new age of instability? Not since the height of the cold war with the Soviet Union has it looked so vulnerable to hostile forces.

Can they kick it?

A year from now, the tiny, super-rich Gulf nation plans to send a message to the world by hosting world football’s showpiece event. But the jury is still out over whether the message is one of real change, or just image projection

Action pledge after English cricket says sorry to Rafiq

English cricket has issued an unreserved apology to Azeem Rafiq, saying the racism he experienced is a blight on the game, before promising to take swift measures to restore trust.

‘We'll never forget' Wanjiru's family still seek justice

Allegations that a British soldier confessed to a Kenyan woman's murder in 2012 have deeply affected relatives in her hometown

Without alternatives, ditching coal is impossible

It was a dramatic 11th-hour decision, portrayed by some as a devastating blow to the success of Cop26.

Tennis player missing after sexual assault accusation

Feminist groups and tennis stars raised concerns over the whereabouts of the former doubles pro Peng Shuai after she accused the former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault.