World Affairs: Global Issues

A sense of an ending

Washington must cut the umbilical cords that ties it to Tel Aviv. If it doesn’t, the conflict in the Middle East will hasten American decline

Back to the point of departure

Journeys that once took weeks can now be completed in a day. But every so often a tragedy reminds you just how vast our world is

How Iran went nuclear

In the week of the Iranian elections, David Patrikarakos tells the remarkable story of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme, which began as an expression of western modernity but has now hardened into a statement of reaction, isolation and rage

3 comments

After the revolution

30 years on from the Islamic revolution, can sensible, sober diplomacy win out?

20 comments

Making over the militia

Observations on Hezbollah

1 comment

A bleak future for Baha'is

International pressure may have set Roxana Saberi free, but the plight of seven Iranian Baha'is, imprisoned in Tehran a year ago, has gone largely unnoticed.

10 comments

How to mend a broken Britain

Neither of the major parties has a credible plan for limiting the damage caused by borrow-spend-and-tax economics. So what is to be done?

2 comments

Cycle of violence

Tricycle Theatre's series of plays about the history of foreign intervention in Afghanistan conveys a mixed message

The black lake’s secret

Once a year, a ritualised walk marks the Irish potato famine

The right to survive

The world's major cities are increasingly under threat from climate-related disasters. A greater awareness of the humanitarian impact is needed, argues Oxfam's Chief Executive