First president after 1979 Islamic revolution clashed with clerics and fled to exile in France a year laterAbolhassan Bani-Sadr, who became Iran’s first president after the 1979 Islamic revolution before fleeing into exile in France, has died aged 88.H…
Spies, lies and doublethink: Lea Ypi on growing up in Europe’s last communist state
She believed her parents loved Enver Hoxha’s Stalinist regime. But once Albania’s communist system collapsed, Lea Ypi began to realise nothing was as it seemed …• Read an extract from Lea Ypi’s memoir, FreeOne day, when Lea Ypi was a child, an empty Co…
At least four buildings on La Palma destroyed by volcano
Buildings near the crater on the Spanish island were engulfed by lava on Saturday morningBuildings near the volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma have been engulfed by rivers of lava, with the drama of the red-hot eruption intensified by the specta…
On the far side of borders, a new Ireland is taking shape | Susan McKay
Evidence is mounting that Northern Ireland is failing. A different constitutional future seems increasingly likelyA powerful new play has just opened at Belfast’s Lyric theatre. The Border Game, by Michael Patrick and Oisín Kearney, is a fractured love…
In Rodrigo Duterte’s war on press freedom, Maria Ressa stands up for the truth | Rachel Obordo
As a fellow Filipino journalist, I was inspired by the news that the Rappler founder had won the Nobel peace prizeFor the first time, a Filipino person, Maria Ressa, has been awarded the Nobel peace prize – “a win for Filipinos, for journalists, and fo…
US to hold talks with Taliban over easing evacuations
Focus of talks in Qatar will be allowing foreigners and at-risk Afghans to leave Afghanistan, says US officialUS officials will meet senior Taliban figures this weekend for talks aimed at easing the evacuation of foreign citizens and at-risk Afghans fr…
Turkey’s border wall and deported Haitians: human rights this fortnight – in pictures
A roundup of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Kenya to France Continue reading…
Netflix’s Squid Game owes its popularity to anxieties of modern life
It’s the first South Korean drama to top the US TV charts and its core message is ‘can I ever repay this debt?’Squid Game, a Netflix series made in Korea by Hwang Dong-hyuk, was released on 17 September and within 10 days was the platform’s highest ran…
Weatherwatch: the prized blood oranges from Mount Etna
Volcano’s unique microclimate is crucial for growing high-quality fruit that has earned EU protected statusA special fruit thrives in a unique microclimate around Mount Etna in Sicily. Blood oranges get their gruesome name from a distinctive red-colour…
Study finds Covid-19 pandemic worsened mental health around the world
Estimated 76m extra cases of anxiety and 53m extra cases of depression during pandemic, say researchersCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageCases of anxiety and depression around the world increased dramatically in 2020, research…