World politics
Explainer
World elections
‘I am Giorgia’: Italy’s far-right leader and the confounding world of Italian politics
Italy’s first female PM is also the first to govern from the far right in decades. Has Giorgia Meloni’s agenda changed in power? Where did her politics come from? And why has Italy had 68 governments since World War II?
- by Angus Holland
Latest
A reporter, a Russian killer and everyone else freed in the prisoner swap
Twenty-four prisoners were freed in a multi-country exchange on Friday, the largest exchange between Russia and the West in years.
- by Ivan Nechepurenko, Valerie Hopkins and Alina Lobzina
PM urges Australians to leave Lebanon due to ‘real risk of escalation’
After the deaths of senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, it’s thought conflict in the region could heighten amid retaliatory strikes.
- by Olivia Ireland and Josefine Ganko
‘Curious kiss’ between Macron and French sports minister causes a stir
Amelie Oudea-Castera, a former professional tennis player, appeared locked in a close embrace with the president, sparking controversy in the French media and online.
- by Henry Samuel
Kim Jong-un ‘training’ his young daughter to be his successor
Believed to be about 11 years old, Kim Ju-ae, was first revealed by her father in November 2022 and has since been mingling with top generals at major military events.
- by Nicola Smith
Paris security ramped up for Israel soccer match as Gaza tensions rise
Israel’s Olympic athletes are under 24-hour protection after a French MP declared they are not welcome in Paris.
- by Chip Le Grand and Marta Pascual Juanola
Vietnam’s most powerful leader dies leaving no obvious successor
Vietnam’s Communist Party’s Nguyen Phu Trong presided over his country’s transformation and reshaped its leadership with his “blazing furnace” anti-corruption campaign.
- by Sui-Lee Wee
Opinion
Opinion
The West, like Biden, is in the wars. But the architects of peace are mobilising
Despite rising global uncertainty and geopolitical anxiety, Western democracies have started building the “sinews of peace” to prevent another colossal war.
- by Peter Hartcher
Analysis
World elections
Respect for Macron falls to new low among French public
Emmanuel Macron was once France’s young and charismatic president who embodied hope. He is now widely despised, considered narcissistic and disconnected.
- by Rob Harris
Brazil’s ex-president indicted over undeclared diamonds from Saudi Arabia
The jewellery would have been exempt from tax had it been a gift from Saudi Arabia to Brazil, but not Jair Bolsonaro’s to keep for himself.
- by Gabriela Sa Pessoa and Mauricio Savarese
Analysis
UK election
So long UK Conservatives, and thanks for all the memes
The tumultuous Thatcher years were memorialised in song and literature, but this current generation of Tories are probably best forgotten.
- by Rob Harris