CATEGORIES

Slump in demand for coca pushes families to the brink

Noralba Galvis usually returns home to her village in the Colombian jungle with fresh supplies of rice, meat, salt and other foods stuffed into bags. But today, as the 40-year-old steps onboard a boat for the two-hour journey home along the Putumayo River, she carries just a single cardboard box.

Found in translation

The act of expressing yourself in a second language can lead to a more considered thought process, improved adaptability and less anxiety

How a singer beat prejudice by nurturing his voice

There's a painful scene in the new Netflix drama Can You See Us? when the protagonist, Joseph, is attacked by men who pin him down and hack at his leg with a knife.

Once bitten Snack foods on the rise in Africa and Asia

Ultra-processed foods are taking hold in lower-income countries as experts warn a disease toll is sure to follow

Treasures of the high seas

Signing of global treaty is a timely opportunity for governments to act in the interests of marine life

One year on Young Iranians keep flame of freedom alive

Young Iranians have taken their protests against the authoritarian regime underground one year on from the death in custody of a 22-year-old woman detained for allegedly wearing the Islamic headscarf incorrectly.

Rocket men What we learned from Putin-Kim summit

The US dismissed the meeting of pariah state leaders as 'desperation' - but there are fears over what it could signal

Rise and rise of the Tony Blair Institute

With more than 800 staff in 40 countries, is the former prime minister now more powerful than he was in No 10?

Straw polls The populist challenge to Europe's institutions

The shape of three European governments could be decided by the performances of or populist, anti-establishment far-right parties in elections in the coming weeks, as the continent's fractured political landscape continues to splinter.

At the ready Two nations' different responses to natural catastrophe

Two disasters struck this month: the earthquake in Morocco and devastating flooding in Libya. At least 2,900 people are known to have died in the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck in Morocco's High Atlas mountains on 8 September, and the authorities say the toll will rise.

Falling apart The climate crisis met a failed state-and disaster ensued

When the climate crisis meets a failed state, the outcome is the kind of disaster that has unfolded in Derna.

'I expected to die'

Journalists on the ground in Derna say reporting on the flooding disaster has been a harrowing experience and one that has deeply affected people

Tangled up in blue

A former minister exposes the 'shameful state' of Britain's Tory administration in this brilliant account of dysfunctional rule

Is Elon Musk really the guiding force the world needs right now?

When Elon Musk posted a personally crafted 280-character “ peace plan ” for the war in Ukraine last October, a Ukrainian diplomat offered a carefully considered review. It ran to two words: “ Fuck off”.

Les mots perdus

Proust, ChatGPT and the case of the forgotten quote In search of a passage among the French writer's voluminous work, I turned to AI to help me find it. The results were instructive - just not about Proust

'Something happened'

FIRST THERE WERE THE BEWILDERING DNA TEST RESULTS, THEN THE LONG-FORGOTTEN FERTILITY BLOG-AND A DISCOVERY THAT WOULD CHANGE THE LIVES OF TWO FAMILIES FOR EVER

Activists hail abortion ruling but warn of lack of access

Human rights activists in Mexico have welcomed a historic ruling by the country's supreme court that decriminalises abortion, but warned that the historic decision will not automatically make terminations accessible for all Mexican women.

Swing shift Can workers' gains lift Biden's poll fortunes?

David Coxistryingtopersuade his union members that Joe Biden has done more for working-class Americans than any president he has seen in his decades as a construction worker and organiser in eastern Ohio.

Waste not...Can lab-grown fruit ease food insecurity?

In the face of growing food security concerns due to climate change, scientists in New Zealand are attempting to grow fruit tissue in labs.

How El Niño is putting world rice supplies in jeopardy

Normally by this time of year Thongpoon Moonchan-song's fields are submerged in still waters, with scattered rice plants reaching up to her knees. The waters are usually so abundant that if you plunge a net into the fields, you can draw out fish and crab to eat.

The rule that saved my little boy's life

Australian protocol giving patients and relatives the right to a second medical opinion may soon be adopted in the UK

A cry for help from the traumatised teachers living in fear

South Korea's teachers know why a colleague killed herself after being subjected to abuse from parents, according to Park Seo-yoon*. \"We've all had similar struggles,\" she said.

Rubiales quits A victory for feminism but questions still remain

News that Luis Rubiales had resigned, three weeks after his unsolicited kiss and defiant refusal to step down sparked outrage around the world, was welcomed as a win for feminism even as questions swirled about his decision to make the announcement in an English-language interview.

'Into battle' New generation of Indigenous activists rises

The medicine man flashed a mischievous grin as he dabbed his warriors' eyeballs with a feather soaked in malagueta pepper and watched them grimace in pain. \"They're going into battle and this will protect them,\" José Delfonso Pereira said as he advanced on his next target with a jam jar of his chilli potion.

Business beats a path to Labour's green door

Labour is turning away business leaders who want to attend events at its party conference in Liverpool next month because too many have applied in the belief that Keir Starmer will form the next government.

'A good week' Starmer's core team sets course for No 10

Labour is hotly tipped to win the next election. Can the reshuffled shadow cabinet deliver?

Diplomatic win Biden defers to Modi on Ukraine in sign of India's growing influence

It took Indian diplomats 200 hours of non-stop negotiations, 300 bilateral meetings and 15 drafts, but in the end the G20 countries reached a consensus on the war in Ukraine - one that largely retreated into generalised principles rather than the specific condemnation of Russia that the same group of leaders agreed upon when they met in Bali a year ago.

'The war came to us': the Danube ports in the firing line

With Odesa out of action, Izmail and Reni are now the only places vital grain and sunflower oil can be exported

Fading hopes Offers of help flood in amid desperate search efforts

Select foreign aid and rescue teams joined desperate efforts to find any remaining survivors high in Morocco's Atlas mountains this week, as the death toll passed 2,800 people after a powerful earthquake that rendered many villages inaccessible.

'Everything is gone' Despair in villages reduced to rubble

As the dirt roads leading to some of the areas worst hit in last Friday's earth quake in Morocco were gradually cleared, the full extent of the disaster was being revealed, including whole villages destroyed in Al-Haouz province.