Alberta vote boosts Mark Carney but referendum leaves Canada weaker
Prime minister gets breathing space to pursue international goals, such as closer ties with European Union
Global Briefing
The Global Briefing newsletter. Denis Staunton's guide to understanding world events - what’s happening, why it matters and how it affects you
Trump wants to talk nuclear disarmament with China and Russia. Beijing does not
China has long argued its nuclear arsenal is so far behind those of Russia and the US that it should not be included in arms talks
Why Trump, Putin and Xi are all courting Central Asia
US, Russia and China compete for influence in region that is geographically important and has huge resources of oil, gas and rare earths
Serbian students aim to graduate from antigovernment protests to forming new government
Anger at establishment led by Aleksandar Vučić has spawned movement that could enable the Student List to form government later this month
African countries look beyond the big three credit ratings agencies
Global Briefing: Continent’s leaders hope the new African Credit Rating Agency can help them save tens of billions of dollars in interest payments
South Korea goes on missile manoeuvres amid tensions with Washington
Seoul’s test launch of hypersonic missile is a hedge against US betrayal after Washington restricts intelligence sharing
Trump’s energy ceasefire is unfair to Ukraine but could it bring something better?
A comprehensive energy ceasefire beyond oil refineries could perhaps follow and open the way to a full ceasefire before winter
French students at forefront of global stirring of disaffected youth
Global Briefing: While education budgets are squeezed, EU governments are borrowing billions of euros to spend on defence
How Israel lost the world’s support after October 7th
Global Briefing: Three years after Hamas’s attack, the war in Gaza and mounting international outrage have made Israel more isolated and possibly less secure
A shift right for Brazil will damage its role as counterweight to the US on global issues
Right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro is the favourite to win election runoff with incumbent president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Oil refiners US and China have the leverage amid rising fuel prices
Donald Trump’s recent threat to halt diesel exports would have had calamitous consequences for Europe
US troops invaded Iraq 23 years ago. Now Iraq and Iran are celebrating their departure
US troops invaded Iraq in March 2003 amid the bogus claim that Saddam Hussein had developed weapons of mass destruction
Was Burnham’s speech to Labour Party conference a turning point on Brexit?
Global Briefing: UK prime minister pledged to consider all options on Europe, including single market membership and rejoining EU as a full member
US-Denmark deal on Greenland is a reward for American bullying
Document compromises Danish sovereignty over Greenland and gives Washington a bigger role in deciding what happens on the island
Are global controls needed for AI? The United States doesn’t think so
China, the other major player in developing AI, is not opposed to international oversight of the technology within UN framework
Sudan’s people suffer while rival forces are trapped in the logic of war
Global Briefing: A new US approach to pursuing peace in the country has yet to meet success and has put the Trump administration at odds with Saudi Arabia
Gaza ‘the world’s largest graveyard for children’, Erdogan tells UN, as Israelis walk out
Speakers at the UN in New York identified Israel’s killing of Palestinians in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank as an affront to the UN
‘Anything could happen with me’: Trump can’t decide on his Iran strategy
Trump has left open the possibility of meeting Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian in New York this week
The US declared it has deployed weapons in space. How will China and Russia react?
The US, China and Russia have all developed anti-satellite systems, some of them ground based but others operating in orbit
Greece’s growing ties with Israel spark tensions with Turkey
Global Briefing: Athens last month signed a €3 billion air-defence deal with Israel
Morocco heads to polls, but king and football hold sway over political future
Global Briefing: Election on Sunday comes amid unhappiness over lavish spending on 2030 World Cup and underfunding of public services
Peru balances relations with the US and China
Lima joins a Trump coalition to use military force against drug cartels but has China as its biggest trading partner
West fears AI may kill us all but China and others see ‘immense’ opportunity
Developing countries hope that AI will allow them to leapfrog entire stages of technology development
Brics nations seek payments system free of the dollar and US sanctions
India’s Narendra Modi hosts a meeting of Brics leaders this weekend, with China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin attending
The highest paid world leader is getting a pay rise of almost €1m
Global Briefing: Lawrence Wong says higher salaries are needed to attract capable people into politics and maintain standards of government
South Korea has not deployed forces in the US-Iran war - and Trump’s not happy
Tehran warns of ‘serious consequences’ if Seoul sends forces to the Strait of Hormuz
There was one important breakthrough at the Russia-Ukraine peace talks
US envoys were joined for final hour of talks in Kyiv by advisers from Germany, France and Britain
Pete Hegseth’s military purge comes at a risky moment for Pentagon
Global Briefing: US defence secretary’s campaign against ‘wokeness’ is causing unease among some Republicans
Netanyahu has new protector inside European Union
Israeli government has waged an intense campaign to dissuade governments from backing EU action over Gaza
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni faces a challenge from the right
Macho ex-general calls for a ‘Mediterranean patriarchy’
Starting gun fires on Europe’s make-or-break election in France
Emmanuel Macron’s potential successors have no apparent grand vision for Europe’s future
What on earth is a Gymnich and why is it coming to Wicklow?
EU ministers are gathering in Druids Glen hotel next week for a candid discussion of foreign policy challenges
Things look surprisingly rosy for North Korea’s Kim Jong-un
Russia, China and the US all want better relationships with the dictator
Binyamin Netanyahu wages rearguard action as he fights for his political life (again)
A desperate Israeli prime minister gives his personal phone number to Israelis ahead of October elections
Will standing up to Donald Trump pay off for Canada?
World leaders watch for clues as Donald Trump and Mark Carney square up in US-Canada trade row
Liechtenstein changes its heir ways after 400 years
Principality six times smaller than Dublin has been a slower mover on women’s rights
Drill, maybe drill: US mining company triggers annoyance and curiosity in Greenland
The arrival of a mining company run by a friend of Donald Trump has aroused fears of a resumption of an existential row on the island
War memories awaken old row in Japan, China and South Korea
China and South Korea noted what Japan’s prime minister didn’t say
Who orchestrated the Ceuta migrant crossing?
Global Briefing: Allowing a rush of people to approach Europe’s borders has been repeatedly used for political purposes
Presidential election tests strength of Zambian democracy
Incumbent Hakainde Hichilema has been accused of drift towards authoritarianism
Switzerland debates the meaning of neutrality
Swiss voters will have their say in a referendum on September 27th
Taiwan prepares for war, but China has other options
‘Blockade by fire’ could cut off supplies to the island while minimising disruption to others
What’s behind the Mecca defence agreement?
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey have been at pains to say their alliance is not necessarily directed against Iran or Israel
Europe stepping up back-channel talks with Russia as war in Ukraine gets nastier
Germany, France and Britain have been increasingly active as a formation in the search for a diplomatic resolution of the war
Sighting of Aung San Suu Kyi comes amid diplomatic offensive by Myanmar regime
President Min Aung Hliang has visited China and India and wants Asean to lift suspension of Myanmar’s membership rights
Iran has time on its side – for now
Donald Trump’s incentive to compromise over conflict is strongest over the next few weeks, but that changes as US midterms move closer
Ceuta crisis lays bare EU divisions
Global Briefing: Italy and Denmark cite EU policies ‘that can serve as pull factors’ for migrants, Spain laments petty politics and lack of EU solidarity
Cyprus’s new push for settlement is driven by an opportunity and a threat
Most serious diplomatic effort in nearly a decade on island that has been divided since 1974
The murky process of selecting the next UN secretary general is coming to a head
Global Briefing: Seven candidates are in the running to succeed António Guterres
Poland’s political landscape altered by split in main opposition party
Prime minister Donald Tusk relishes Law and Justice Party’s problems in advance of next year’s general election
India protests: How the ‘Cockroach’ movement forced Modi into retreat
Student protests forced the resignation of India's education minister after exam scandal
Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega: the one-time revolutionary hero is now a blood-soaked tyrant
Global Briefing: Ortega announced this week there will be no more elections in Nicaragua, but the United States has little to say on it
Guinea is the latest African country seeking to keep mineral profits at home
President banned raw gold exports last month, and Guinea has built a gold refinery in the capital
New prime minister Andy Burnham’s focus on domestic issues is good for UK
Labour leader is clear-eyed about Britain’s social and economic problems and candid about how Brexit has made them worse
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Stardust
Inquests into the nightclub fire that led to the deaths of 48 people
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices