CATEGORIES

What is DEI and why is Trump waging war against it?

When American voters headed to the ballot box in November, opinion polls suggested the cost of living, immigration and reproductive rights ranked among their biggest concerns.

Who are M23 rebels and why is there fighting in eastern DRC?

The armed group M23 and Rwandan soldiers entered the centre of Goma last Sunday after weeks of advancing on the main city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's North Kivu province.

Aid distribution What Israel's ban on Unrwa may mean for Palestinians

Israel this week insisted it would not back down over its plan to close the Gaza operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa), even though critics said the move would jeopardise urgent humanitarian aid efforts.

Anti-terror strategy failed to stop a killer

Southport attacker's lack of coherent ideology meant the Prevent scheme did not see him as a potential risk, exposing the need for reform

Last writes

Handwriting is disappearing - we are far more likely to use our hands to type or swipe than pick up a pen. But in the process are we in danger of losing cognitive skills, sensory experience and a connection to history?

I just want to hug those girls' Bittersweet joy and relief as freed soldiers return home

Nineteen-year-old Naama Levy became an indelible symbol of Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.

Eighty years after the liberation of Auschwitz, survivors call for courage amid the rise of hatred and antisemitism 'We must avoid the mistakes of the 1930s'

On a day of startling blue skies, Auschwitz survivors stood before princes and presidents on Monday to remind the world, perhaps for the final time, of the horrors they suffered there during one of the darkest moments of human history.

Davos lessons Trump's return heralds new era of harsh global competition

In the heady mountain air of Davos last week, away from the parties and the backslapping tech bros, another, more beleaguered crew touted their wares: the multilateralists.

Can the continent's publishing industry turn a page?

Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions, a novel about growing up in colonial Zimbabwe, is one of the most important works of 20th-century African literature and features on university curriculums across the UK.

Trump has arrived with abang-but can he follow through?

Little more than a week ago, Stewart Rhodes was serving an 18-year prison sentence for seditious conspiracy over his role in a deadly attack on the US Capitol.

A swell party

Almost two centuries after its creation, Hokusai's Great Wave print is more popular than ever, on everything from nail art to Lego to socks. What's behind its appeal?

Mo's town

Mo Amer's Netflix show was a funny, moving look at life as a Palestinian immigrant in the USthen 7 October turned everything on its head

On thin ice Calgary's Olympic Oval faces race against time

When Jeremy Wotherspoon laced up his skates and took to the ice, his field of vision narrowed. His world fell silent except for the deep cuts of his blades.

The homecoming

Tens of thousands of Palestinians crossed back to northern Gaza this week, taking the first steps under a fragile ceasefire deal after Israel opened checkpoints that had divided the territory for more than a year

Why is Sophocles so big in the West End?

The Greek tragedies ask enormous, irresolvable questions and say the unsayable. It's no wonder they're still relevant in our fractured, post-truth world

Back to life Chettinad's mansions find new purpose

Homes in a once-thriving hub of traders in southern India are being restored to their former grandeur as hotels

Power play The Solar Mamas who are lighting up Zanzibar

In a dimly lit corridor of a mudwalled house nestled among coconut trees, Sharifa Hussein stripped red and black cables, a screwdriver voltage tester balanced between her lips and rolls of cable lying by her feet.

Play it again and again

Spotify's Billions Club tracks the world's most popular songs, but many greats are nowhere to be found. What are the forces shaping pop's new canon?

David Lynch 1946 -2025

The maverick American surrealist film director sustained a successful mainstream career while also probing the bizarre, the radical and the experimental

Election fever grows ....but Trump is pulling the strings

The machinations of Elon Musk andthe returning US president loom large in minds of politicians and voters

International response America's allies hope for the best-but prepare for the worst

Western allies of the US are braced for the return of Donald Trump, still hoping for the best, but largely unprepared for what may prove to be a chaotic and disorientating worst.

Mood music

Listening to, or playing, the right song can soothe pain, lift depression and help treat conditions as diverse as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, PTSD and back pain. Neuroscientist and bestselling author Daniel Levitin gives his musical recommendations for better health, drawing on his experience of helping his friend, the legendary songwriter Joni Mitchell.

Gaza's devastation The terrible price exacted by Israel for 7 October attack

Israel began bombing Gaza on 7 October 2023 after Hamas crossed the border, killed about 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage to Gaza.

North Koreans' capture sheds new light on war

The news was sensational.

Fragile truce An agreement is in place-if it will hold matter is another

The hours-long delay in implementing the Gaza ceasefire agreement last Sunday was not a good omen for a deal that many fear could be doomed to failure as it moves through its challenging three phases.

Why did LA's wildfires explode out of control?

Acombustible combination of factors laid the groundwork for disaster as the city struggled with catastrophic blazes

Yeast, nuts and leeks - secrets to a great plant-based 'cheese' sauce

I love cheese sauce, but I'm now plant-based. Are there any easy alternatives? I don't want to use too many processed foods.

'An act of patriotism' Defiant anti-Maga hats go viral

Few items of clothing have come to exemplify American far-right nationalism in the 21st century as much as the red \"Make America Great Again\" hats worn and sold by Donald Trump.

The wrecking ball

A blitz of executive orders, a radical shake-up of the global order and a 'revolution of common sense' were among the 47th US president's immediate pledges, marking a new era of disruption and division.

Vanilla boom provides sweet deal for Choco's farmers

As he wandered around a corner of his land, Luilly Murillo González stopped and leaned down to examine a twisting green vine.