The Global Story

America’s rogue ambassadors

A diplomat’s job is traditionally to represent their country’s interests while maintaining good relations with their host nation. But some of Donald Trump’s ambassadors a

Why Trump is not going to war with the Houthis

Is Washington leaving Saudi Arabia to fend for itself? Last week, Houthi rebels launched a series of missile strikes on Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital. Surveillance foota

Could Gen Z bring down India’s Modi?

This week tens of thousands of young people have taken to the streets of Delhi, India’s capital, demanding changes to the electoral system and the resignation of the coun

Was World War Two worth it? Some US conservatives have doubts

Since World War Two ended, most people living in the United States or Europe have generally upheld a consensus about its morality; that it was a just war fought against a

Are we really living in unprecedented times?

Politicians and commentators keep telling us we are living through unprecedented times. But how unusual is the world we are living in, really? John Simpson has spent 60

What’s really happening with plague in Russia?

A plague scare in Siberia has become a Rorschach test for public health fears in a post-Covid world. Russian officials are investigating the death of a worker at a plagu

Why French teenagers are fighting for their education

What began as a revolt over public school funding has spilled into a much bigger fight over the future of France. Now, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the

The warnings before 7 October

Israel is marking three years since the 7 October attacks, in which around 1,200 people were killed by Hamas-led attackers and a further 251 hostages were taken back to G

Smart glasses or ‘pervert glasses’?

At a recent Meta product launch, Mark Zuckerberg promised that the company’s smart glasses would give wearers “new superpowers”, but what are they? Amid criticisms of i

America’s global hunt for execution drugs

Why do executions in the United States keep going wrong? Last week, Tennessee attempted to carry out the execution of Christa Pike, a convicted murderer who had spent th

How white South Africans became the face of Trump’s refugee policy

In the last year, the US has admitted just 13,000 refugees — a fraction of the number it has accepted in previous years. And almost all of those new arrivals have been wh

Inside the Flydubai attack that could upend Israeli elections

How did the passengers of Flydubai's flight FZ1073 prevent a catastrophe after a cockpit attack? And what does this incident mean for Israel at a politically charged mome

Is Meta dying?

Fifteen years ago, the film The Social Network told the story of Facebook’s rise to global prominence. As Meta faces growing scrutiny from regulators and pours billions i

Did a farmer foil a plot to attack a UK military base?

In the early hours of Sunday morning, three vans were spotted near a British military base used by the United States for its bombing operations in Iran. A huge police ope

The Super El Nino: what happens when it hits us?

Climate scientists have put out a dire warning about this year’s El Niño; that it will likely be the worst in recorded history. And if previous ‘super’ El Niños are anyth

Katseye, America and the dark side of K-pop perfection

What happens when K-pop’s gruelling formula meets the American music industry? The global girl group Katseye has gone from a reality-show experiment to a global phenomen

Is a free press at serious risk in Trump’s America?

Last week, President Donald Trump barred CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House, accusing them of spreading "fake news". After their reporters had their press pass

Inside China’s push to become the world’s AI superpower

China’s President Xi returns to the White House on Thursday for the first time in over a decade. A priority for both leaders will be to discuss AI. The two countries are

Why the world wants American surrogates

The United States is one of the few wealthy countries where commercial surrogacy remains legal. Bans elsewhere in the world, combined with a largely free-market approac

Searching for Russia’s missing soldiers

While Russia’s president continues to insist that his, “special military operation” in Ukraine is succeeding, the estimated number of Russian soldiers killed and wounded