World

Madagascar’s coup marks a bitter victory for youth protest — and a risky detour from democracy When Colonel Michael Randrianirina announced that he would soon be sworn in as Madagascar’s president, he presented the move as an answer to months of public fury. For young protesters who began taking to the streets in late September demanding water and power, the military intervention felt like a breakthrough. For many outside observers, it looked like a familiar, worrying rewind: a military hand placing itself at the centre of…

New frontier or dangerous spectacle? The Enhanced Games is forcing sport to ask what it values Las Vegas next Memorial Day weekend may host something more than another flashy sporting weekend. The Enhanced Games — a proposed, privately funded competition that invites athletes to use performance‑enhancing substances under medical supervision — has touched a raw nerve in the world of elite sport, exposing fault lines that run from athlete pay and personal autonomy to public health and the meaning of fair play. What the…

"Genuine peace must be the product of many nations..." "Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts. It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each new generation. For peace is a process." — John F. Kennedy Ireland, UNIFIL and the hard calculus of stabilising Gaza When nations talk about “stabilisation” today, they are describing an uneasy, long-term business: dismantling armed networks, reconstituting local policing, protecting aid corridors and — crucially — building…

International stabilisation force for Gaza is being sketched — but will it work? Plans are under way to assemble an international stabilisation force for Gaza — a concept pushed hard in President Donald Trump’s 20-point proposal for the battered Palestinian territory. U.S. advisers say Washington will back the effort and provide as many as 200 troops in an oversight and coordination role, with roughly two dozen already staged in the region to help assemble partners. On paper, it looks like a pragmatic answer to a collapsing…

A cult British comedy may be coming back: rights unlocked, creators plotting More than a decade after school corridors went quiet and the crush of pub humiliation subsided, fans of The Inbetweeners are being given reason to hope. Banijay UK and Fudge Park Productions — the production company set up by the show's creators Iain Morris and Damon Beesley — have struck a deal that the companies say has "unlocked" the rights to the title, opening the door to new material across film, television and even the stage. The…

Twenty freed after two years: faces and small artifacts of a long national grief When word reached Tel Aviv that 20 living hostages had been released from Gaza under a ceasefire deal, the city's already taut air broke into song, sobs and the kind of relieved, stunned silence that follows long waits for a miracle. Families who had camped for months outside government offices embraced strangers. At a central square, a woman who had been at almost every protest sat down and laughed with disbelief. A radio blared an old pop…

Trump to address Israeli parliament: a charged visit that underscores shifting ties Former U.S. President Donald Trump will address Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, in a high-profile appearance that promises to deepen political fissures at home and abroad while underscoring how Washington’s relationship with Jerusalem has been reshaped in recent years. What the speech means — and why it matters An address by a former American president—or by a leading U.S. presidential contender—before the Knesset is not merely…

Tomahawks, Trump and the Perilous Calculus of Escalation In a development that could reshape the next phase of the war in Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump is reported to be preparing to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a working lunch in Washington this week as discussions intensify over the possible provision of long‑range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv. The meeting, disclosed to reporters by multiple U.S. sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because plans have not been publicly announced,…

Ceasefire’s fragile calm: a pause that forces questions about Gaza’s future The quiet that fell over Gaza for a third day was not the deep silence of peace so much as the cautious hush of people catching their breath. A US-mediated truce has created a narrow corridor for the release of hostages, the return of displaced families and a summit in Egypt billed as the moment to “end the war.” But beneath the immediate relief — and the carefully choreographed optimism in Jerusalem and Sharm el-Sheikh — lie hard political choices…

U.S. hints at fresh sanctions as Russia steps up strikes on Ukraine’s infrastructure WASHINGTON / KYIV — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday his administration "might" impose additional sanctions on Russia, as Kyiv reported a fresh wave of Russian attacks this week targeting energy and rail networks that Ukrainian leaders say are intended to sow "chaos." "I might," Mr. Trump replied to a reporter at the White House when asked whether more measures were coming. Standing alongside Finland’s president, he added that…